days out, tried and tested
When the weather holds, everyone goes outside, and a good speeltuin is worth knowing about before you need one. Nineteen places are listed here: adventure playgrounds where children build with real hammers, nature gardens such as the Heemtuin in Amsterdam's Sloterpark, boat hire and farm golf at Het Twiske in Oostzaan, an adventure forest in Lelystad, archery in Nieuw-Vennep and a barefoot trail in Bovenkarspel. Ten are in Amsterdam and three in Oostzaan. Four cost nothing, twelve are wheelchair and buggy accessible, and three have a play area on site.
21 outdoor activities in the Netherlands
Every town with something in this category has its own page. The number is what is listed there today.
Four of the nineteen listed here are free to enter, and they are among the best of them: bouwspeelplaatsen — supervised adventure playgrounds like Het Landje in Amsterdam — cost nothing, and neither do nature gardens such as the Heemtuin in Sloterpark and the Gardens of West. Boat hire, archery and the adventure forest are the paid end.
A building playground: a fenced, supervised site where children are handed hammers, nails and offcuts of wood and left to build dens. They are a Dutch institution, usually free, staffed during opening hours, and aimed at roughly six to twelve year olds. Het Landje in Amsterdam is listed here, along with the adventure playground at Het Twiske in Oostzaan.
Twelve of the nineteen are tagged wheelchair accessible, which is the best guide to whether a buggy will cope. Park playgrounds and the nature gardens generally are; the adventure forest, the barefoot trail and anything involving a boat generally are not. Each listing carries the facilities the venue publishes.
