Spa Fields

A park at the base of Exmouth Market, positioned perfectly for a picnic, lazing away a nice day, etc.
My main drive on weekends is to find enclosed spaces for a toddler to run and play without fear of (major) injury. Spa Fields did the trick this weekend, and we’ll be back.
We spent about an hour in the play area where a fountain of water keeps children mesmerized for long swaths of time (water = key), allowing their weary looking parents to sit for several minutes at a time before having to steady a wobble, attend to a scraped knee, fetch them from a «too high» point or just chase them down the hill. Water, it really does the trick!
The play equipment here is geared at older kids but that’s cool. It is really well done and fun, there’s plenty of space to sprawl or play football in the adjoining fields as well. The Adventure Park is open for 6 – 13 year olds after school and on weekends and frankly, looks fresh as hell. I want to play on it! It’s a few years before my adventurer will be making an appearance, though I’m sure he can already picture himself in danger and smiles at the thought of the potential stress on his mother.
It’s a very nicely kept park, great community resource and plenty of takeaway shops nearby on Exmouth Market (Hummus Bros = good) and a fab beer/​wine shop (Borough Beer & Wine) for some tipple should you feel the urge. And I have a toddler, so like, I always feel the urge. We took some home for after bedtime. Thankyouverymuch Spa Fields, you made that bedtime much smoother by wearing him out!

There’s a scarcity of green space in Clerkenwell & Islington, but tucked behind Exmouth Market is a little patch of park space if you fancy a picnic.
Spa Fields can be a nice place to stop during the afternoon for a lunch, but as the sun starts to set, it’ll start to fill up with some packs of locals that probably have a few ASBO’s to their credit. It serves its purpose, and if you’re at all a history buff, you can read up on the riots that took place there in the 1800s. I’d stop by at night to see if they’re being re-​enacted at present-​day but I like my body sans-​stab wounds.
innit!