The Playhive, Stockeld Park: I tried the UK’s best play centre – this is why it is unique

Just a short drive from Harogate, you’ll find Stockeld Park nestled in acres of woodland.

It is ranked the top place to play in the UK according to TripAdvisor reviews and it recently won an award for the best indoor play centre for the Playhive which inside the grcan be found inside the grounds.

We sent our reporter Sophie Mei Lan Malin to try it out.

I’m a playcentre veteran having tried everything from swinging through the treetops at GoApe to an inflatable assault course on the water at North Yorkshire Water Park.

I’ve experienced everything from the most lacklustre plastic prisons to tremendous timber and steel structures.

There’s a lot of hype for this adventure park to live up to with it currently being rated the best in the UK on TripAdvisor.

The attraction, off Wetherby Road, has even won awards for each area in their own right. I took the harshest critics, my children aged between nine months to 12 years, along to try all the play areas out in one day.

There’s a maze, indoor picnic area and cafe, an enchanted forest trail, buccaneer boats, inflatables, lots of play areas for all ages and imaginations. In 2022 The Playhive landed in the park adding an indoor play centre and pizzeria.

We started off at the maze which in hindsight we should have done after lunch because it is definitely a fun yet challenging maze. We started off so confidently until we followed every path except the right one.

It was nice to see the kids explore and problem solve their way back to the pizzeria they’d spotted because I don’t have a clue where I’m going without Google Maps.

We headed to the Playhive where the pizzeria is after working up an appetite.

There are plenty of picnic areas and places to eat, suiting all budgets without having too much on the menu.

It was then time for the Playhive. This indoor play centre with four interconnected zones has recently been crowned Britain’s best indoor play venue.

As we explored the circular play area we passed through space, the jungle, the sea and air.

There’s a giant circular space with a 30ft tower at the centre. You can access the adventure zones here via high walkways, as well as giant slides.

It’s spacious, clean and suitable for all ages.

My eldest two, aged 12 and 9 whizzed around from a plane to a spaceship and then climbed across the walkways and onto the slides.

My youngest, aged 9 months, enjoyed the sensory spaces with lights as well as the smaller tunnels and slides for little ones. Normally I’m one of the only adults running around with their kids but it was lovely to see most adults playing, rather than sitting down looking bored.

Despite being open for two years, the playcentre looks like new.

Once the rain cleared up, we headed back outside to try the forest trail and mini boats.

My mum and I loved being in the woods while the kids were giddy discovering the different play areas and characters in the woods.

Halfway around we came to the boating lake where you pay an extra £6 per boat to experience The Buccaneer Boats. They felt like calm bumper cars on water. I loved the varieties of landscape, activities and areas for the kids to explore.

Once we had finished the trail it was time to play again, still outdoors.

We checked out the inflatables which included a mini assault course, triple slide and a bouncing pillow.

It was all set out in an open space next to the outdoor playground. It was lovely seeing the kids running from activity to activity. We still hadn’t tried the pedal karts and we’d already had a jam packed day.

I like to try everything because I'm a big kid at heart. I enjoyed this more than go karting because you get to exercise, chat and enjoy the scenery. If we hadn’t had to leave to get back for football we would have stayed until closing time.

For us the weather worked out perfectly because when it rained we went into the Playhive and then explored outdoors when the sun was shining. If you’re not so lucky with the weather, they do have a rainy day guarantee should it rain continuously, meaning you can return for free.

The PlayHive indoor play centre was previously described by Stockeld Park’s owner Peter Grant as a lockdown “passion project.” It took years in the making and cost £3.5 million.

The cost does add up when you take a family there, as do most places nowadays, but it does work out to be good value for money.

There’s plenty of options to keep costs down too such as the option to bring your own picnic.

From the engaging enchanted forest to the maze and pedal go-karts, for us it certainly is one of the best play centres in the UK because it provides an entire day of activities for all ages - and even the parents.