Melbourne Parks – Bayswater

Having 2 young children, my wife and I are constantly on the lookout for parks which we can visit that present that mix of fun, relatively safe and interesting enough that we can while away a few hours whilst they explore the environment.

Melbourne Playgrounds http://www.melbourneplaygrounds.com.au is a neat website to visit, which gives you an overview of the different parks around Melbourne.

We wanted to go for a scenic drive earlier today, so we chose one with a largish playground which was near to the Dandenong’s. Enter Bayswater Park

Good things:

1. There’s a train! A really big, old fashioned steam train with an overhead protective awning where kids can run around, climb and play in.
2. A great big castle like super structure, which has been specifically custom crafted. Big enough for adults to play on too, with a pram/pusher.
3. Sand pits – lots of them.
4. Tan bark and/or soft rebound rubber path ways around all equipment.
5. A very cool merry-go-round swing.

Bad things

1. The perimeter fence whilst there, has very large open gate areas and holes/gaps through it, which kids can climb under. If you have a kid that is prone to exploring (as we do), you have to keep a close eye on them, as the park sits on a very busy main road.
2. The bushes that line the perimeter of the park in some places have a retaining wall that drop offs of 1 to 1.5 meters. Again, if you have children that like to explore, you really need to keep an eye on them, else they will drop off and potentially break something.

Overall: Recommended. We spent 1.5 hours there, read a book and then bundled the tired little tykes into the car and went for a leisurely drive up through the Dandenong’s having a Devonshire Tea up in the Sassafras/Olinda area. A nice way to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon.