We are excited to announce that our Toffee Park Adventure Playground will be undergoing a major redevelopment! While this means the playground will be temporarily closed, we are committed to creating an even better space for our children to enjoy.
**Expected Reopening:** Winter 2025 – Anticipated completion of works
Our goal is to enhance the playground experience with new features and improvements that promote creativity, exploration, and fun for all ages. We appreciate your understanding and support as we embark on this exciting journey.
For more information about the redevelopment plans, please visit Redeveloping Toffee Park and Radnor Street Gardens | Let’s Talk Islington. We’ll be sharing updates throughout the process, so stay tuned! We can’t wait to welcome you back to our revitalised adventure playground!
Toffee Park is in the heart of the city, close to the Old Street roundabout and surrounded by buildings but the playground itself is a haven for nature, including plants, trees, animals and of course children!
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 pond is filled with frogs and wildlife and the secret garden serves as an excellent picnic spot. Staff here use natural objects and growing plants to supplement play activities and there are always arts and crafts taking place. Many children here love performing and every year we have ‘Toffee’s got talent’ showcasing the best singing and sometimes lip synching in EC1.
Toffee Park provides an exciting and safe space for children to really jump, climb, run and enjoy playing out, meet neighbours and friends and explore the world of their imagination.
In 2021 children and artists made 2 amazing murals. Have a look by following this link Fabulous Murals at Toffee Park: Thank you to everyone who supports us!
Please make sure your children are dressed for playing outside. This means clothes that can get dirty, play is a messy business.
History:
In 1971 students from City University engaged in a community action project to help provide a permanent space for local children to play. At the time the site was officially unused, however it had already been identified by local children as a great place to play. In its early days the playground was called the ‘Venture’ and local people, students and children built the adventure playground together. In 1974 the students registered the playground as a charity and handed it over to a committee of residents from the local community who gained financial support from the Greater London Council. It is thought the name ‘Toffee Park’ was given, as historically there were many ‘posh’ visitors to the area who would arrive at St Luke’s Church on horse drawn carriages. The locals would shout ‘here come the Toffee nosed people,’ hence the name Toffee Park. The Adventure playground has since welcomed generations of Islington’s children to play.
