What is The Big Adventure?
It's Europe's biggest indoor play centre for the under-12s. Recently opened, there's five levels of slides, climb tubes, mazes, helter-skelters and a huge 17-foot free fall chute.
What was your first impression of the place?
The admission procedure is great from a safety point of view. You give your name and book the kids in, and you also have to book out again before you're buzzed through, so no kids can get out of the building on their own.
When you walk in it's quite impressive, and we liked the fact that there was plenty of seating - often lacking in similar places.
Are there plenty of staff around to supervise?
Yes, there are people trained in childcare on the equipment (you can spot them in their blue uniforms) to keep an eye on the kids and show them how to use it properly.
Ellis found the scary skeleton chamber a bit spooky and asked one of the girls to take her round and play with her until she overcame her fears of the creepy sounds. Having people there to keep an eye on the kids and show them how to use it properly is a good idea.
The young staff have plenty of energy to play with the kids, but it would be nice to see a few more mature, experienced carers there.
Did you have any concerns about safety?
No, everything seemed fine. The one thing we did take a closer look at was the mat at the bottom of the helter-skelter. We thought it didn't look quite long enough for comfort. But we didn't see any kids going off the end, so it must be adequate.
One of our concerns when we go to places like this is that there are always bigger kids that run about daft and end up knocking over the smaller kids. But here they can't do that because of the design, with lots of little twists and turns and no long straights, so the bigger kids can't run amok.
How suitable was it for Cameron?
Ellis and her friends love it. Cameron played in the babies' soft play area for a while, but he's too young to really do very much.
They have a separate section for the under-fives, which is good because it keeps the bigger kids out, as well as the main section for the older children, where there is a height restriction on the big chute.
Can you have something to eat?
You can have snacks or a basic main meal for about £4. We had a cheeseburger and chips and a toastie and we thought it was quite nice. The food was decent but maybe a bit on the expensive side for a whole family when you add drinks. But they're happy to heat baby food and bottles for you.
The cafe was good because it was open-plan and you can see them cooking and although it might seem a wee thing, we liked the fact that you could see it was clean.
What's the family verdict?
We'd definitely go back again and it'll go down well with our friends with kids. In fact, we heard about it by word of mouth before we saw any adverts so people are already saying positive things about it.
And despite being scared at first, along with the helter skelter, Ellis' favourite thing turned out to be the skeleton chamber, of course.
Details...
The Big Adventure
Open: Sunday to Thursday, 10am to 7pm; Friday and Saturday, 10am to 7.30pm
Costs: Adults and babies in arms, free; under fives, £2.75; five to 12 years, £3.50; late admission (last hour), £1.50. Each session lasts two hours.
How to get there: Leave the M8 to follow the A737, turn at the Linwood roundabout which has AA signs marked for the centre.
What was your first impression of the place?
The admission procedure is great from a safety point of view. You give your name and book the kids in, and you also have to book out again before you're buzzed through, so no kids can get out of the building on their own.
When you walk in it's quite impressive, and we liked the fact that there was plenty of seating - often lacking in similar places.
Are there plenty of staff around to supervise?
Yes, there are people trained in childcare on the equipment (you can spot them in their blue uniforms) to keep an eye on the kids and show them how to use it properly.
Ellis found the scary skeleton chamber a bit spooky and asked one of the girls to take her round and play with her until she overcame her fears of the creepy sounds. Having people there to keep an eye on the kids and show them how to use it properly is a good idea.
The young staff have plenty of energy to play with the kids, but it would be nice to see a few more mature, experienced carers there.
Did you have any concerns about safety?
No, everything seemed fine. The one thing we did take a closer look at was the mat at the bottom of the helter-skelter. We thought it didn't look quite long enough for comfort. But we didn't see any kids going off the end, so it must be adequate.
One of our concerns when we go to places like this is that there are always bigger kids that run about daft and end up knocking over the smaller kids. But here they can't do that because of the design, with lots of little twists and turns and no long straights, so the bigger kids can't run amok.
How suitable was it for Cameron?
Ellis and her friends love it. Cameron played in the babies' soft play area for a while, but he's too young to really do very much.
They have a separate section for the under-fives, which is good because it keeps the bigger kids out, as well as the main section for the older children, where there is a height restriction on the big chute.
Can you have something to eat?
You can have snacks or a basic main meal for about £4. We had a cheeseburger and chips and a toastie and we thought it was quite nice. The food was decent but maybe a bit on the expensive side for a whole family when you add drinks. But they're happy to heat baby food and bottles for you.
The cafe was good because it was open-plan and you can see them cooking and although it might seem a wee thing, we liked the fact that you could see it was clean.
What's the family verdict?
We'd definitely go back again and it'll go down well with our friends with kids. In fact, we heard about it by word of mouth before we saw any adverts so people are already saying positive things about it.
And despite being scared at first, along with the helter skelter, Ellis' favourite thing turned out to be the skeleton chamber, of course.
Details...
The Big Adventure
