Timbuktu is a safe haven – the garden that everyone wants to play in. Come make new friends, paint your portrait, climb on the rope bridge, hide in the treehouse, build a den, plant a seed or take a risk on the thrilling drop slide.

It is important that parents and carers understand that our playgrounds are not childcare services, they are play services. You should read more about this by following this link. Our open access adventure play service is for children aged 6 years and upwards. All of our playgrounds are free of charge.

The playground is hidden in plain site with wooden fences shielding a fun filled play space for all ages. There is an enormous sand pit and a pond with frogs and apple trees. Timbuktu provides an exciting and safe space for children to jump, climb, run and enjoy playing out, to meet neighbours and friends and explore the world of their imagination.

Please make sure your children are dressed for playing outside. This means clothes that can get dirty, play is a messy business. 

History:

When it first started, Timbuktu was known as Hanley Crouch Adventure Playground. It was set up by local residents and originally was sited just around the corner next to the Laundry. In its early years the playground was quite anarchic and political. Initially, with no building, the winter months were hard, until refuge was found through taking over the Laundry. This became the playground’s building and was originally run on a local neighbour’s electricity. Hanley Crouch Adventure Playground included a double decker bus which took children on trips out of the area. The playground moved to its current site in the mid 1980’s and changed its name to Timbuktu not long after. The Adventure Playground has since welcomed generations of Islington’s children to play.