{"id":9332,"date":"2016-10-05T18:31:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T23:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/?p=9332"},"modified":"2016-10-20T15:58:15","modified_gmt":"2016-10-20T20:58:15","slug":"touring-the-playgrounds-frolicking-our-way-through-englands-jungle-gyms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/2016\/touring-the-playgrounds-frolicking-our-way-through-englands-jungle-gyms\/","title":{"rendered":"Touring the Playgrounds: Frolicking our way through England’s jungle gyms"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is the ninth in our “England 2015”:\/news\/category\/travel\/england-2015\/ series.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"At<\/a><\/p>\n

In our trip-planning, Jon and I had discussed our philosophy of travel, specifically what efforts must be made to guard against the overextension of our children. “We’re here to have fun,” we said. “We won’t be able to cram everything in, and we want to have some blank space in our days for spontaneous moments.” This developed into a clear policy: No more than two major activities each day.<\/em> This guideline allowed us to tackle some delightful adventures as well as protect time for spontaneous experiences and frivolous excursions \u2014 including impromptu stops at a variety of playgrounds.<\/p>\n

Compared with some kids, Lucy and Rosie are actually quite content to sit around on their duffs. But I thought it would be worthwhile to look for places where they could just be kids, where they wouldn’t have to worry so much about being polite and quiet. So we kept our eyes open for opportunities to play \u2014 and we were rewarded with some pretty amazing playgrounds.<\/p>\n

In Greenwich, the girls stretched their legs in a gorgeous setting while I sat on a park bench and read. Being in the middle of reading Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree<\/em> series, Lucy and Rosie got into some creative play, assuming the various personas of Silky, Moonface, and The Saucepan Man from that delightful and fantastical set of books.
\n\"A<\/a>
\nClimbing in Greenwich.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jon took this playground opportunity to walk a few blocks back to a statue of Admiral Nelson in order to document Lucy’s enduring observation that he lost his hand in battle “just like Luke Skywalker.”
\n\"Admiral<\/a>
\nThe force was with him.<\/em><\/p>\n

After visiting the British Museum on another day, we stumbled upon a playground (complete with a zipline) in a busy city area. Coram’s Fields<\/a> housed London’s first orphan hospital in the 1700s and, when the hospital relocated in the 1920s, became the site of London’s first public children’s playground.<\/p>\n