There's nothing like a cooling splash park for kids when the weather starts to get really sizzling. And families love this large outdoor water play park - which opens up only on sunny days - right next to a huge sandy beach at New Brighton, around an hour from Manchester.
The seaside resort in Merseyside has long been a popular destination for holidaymakers and families due to the huge beach - and the Puddles Splash Park offers another fun reason to visit for those with children aged from 2 - 11 years.
As the splash park is aimed at younger children, bosses only open up the venue when the weather forecast is set fair all day. They update their Facebook page on mornings when they are planning to open.
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For this reason, there are no bookings for the splash park, you simply turn up on the day and pay the entrance fees. It costs £7 for each child (up to age 11) and 50p for attending adults for an hour-long session inside.
It features ship-shaped play zones with water jets, spilling buckets and whooshing fountains. The water play zone is all based around colourful splash pads with star shapes, and blue and yellow strips to emulate the seaside right next to it.
The splash park reaches capacity when all of the 40 picnic tables around the water play splash pads are full. At that point they operate a "one family in, one family out" system.
You aren't allowed to take your own picnics or food inside "due to potential water contamination and wildlife issues". But there is a café hatch inside where you can order from a menu which includes 11" hand-stretched pizzas from £7.95, hot dogs from £4.10, chips for £3 or chicken nuggets and chips for £5.45.
They also serve wrapped ice creams like Magnums (£3), Twister (£2.30) and Solero (£2.50), but, if you're in the market for a Mr Whippy ice cream cone, you have to order back out on the promenade from the service hatch due to hygiene reasons inside the splash park. It's kept rigorously clean by staff at the centre, who carry out water and safety checks every morning, before updating their site on whether they will open for the day, based on the weather forecast.
Families heading along are encouraged not to forget towels and suitable clothing and footwear. Children in nappies must wear swim nappies for hygiene reasons and there are cabins available for children to get changed when their session is over.
It's all part of the Bubbles World of Play Centre site, with the soft play centre in a large white building next to the water park, by the promenade. For the soft play you need to have an online booking to gain entrance.
The play centre says it is the "largest and most innovative in the UK," open to children aged 0-11 who are encouraged to learn and explore over 30 different countries and zones. There is also a city role play area, housing a vets, garage, shop and police station, while there's also a foam ball cannon zone and talking penguin maze.
The facility is all located right next to one of the main access entrances onto New Brighton beach, across the Promenade. New Brighton first emerged as a popular seaside resort in the early 19th century and continues to be popular with families, thanks to the huge stretch of sandy beach down to the sea.
There are also rock pools along the beach wall, where kids might find themselves a tiny crab or cockles attached to the walls.
According to the New Brighton tourist page: "The area now boasts a unique mix of old and new. Its 19th century Grade II* listed former sea defence, Fort Perch Rock, and Perch Rock Lighthouse, together with a wide variety of other heritage and historical points of interest, is complemented by an £80million leisure and retail facility, Marine Point.
"Large grassed seafront areas, known locally as ‘the dips’, provide the perfect venue for large scale events. A short stroll inland sees a growing base of independent bars, cafes and restaurants on Victoria Road and Victoria Parade and the opportunity to purchase vintage, reclaimed and pre-loved finds on Seabank Road."
How to get there
Puddles Splash Park is next to the Bubbles' World of Play Centre at Marine Point, New Brighton, Wallasey. The postcode for sat nav is CH45 2HZ.
There is a free car park next to the play centre that is for customer use only with 60 spaces. This closes at 6pm when the play centre closes.
There is also space for some 600 cars at the neighbouring Marine Point car park. Opening hours for the Splash Park are entirely weather dependent - this is updated on the Puddles Splash Facebook page daily. When they are able to open, the hours are from 11.30am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm.
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