Melville Grove Reserve | off Hectorville Rd, Hectorville
Melville Grove Reserve has a little secret playground that is the cutest thing. It’s tucked away from view, secret squirrel style, down a small pedestrian lane. Just look out for this sign on Hectorville Road (just across the road from The Red Mill Bakehouse). There is also access down a lane from Melville Grove too.
Just follow the path, with the beautiful artwork along the fences leading the way.
You’re nearly there when you come upon this hopscotch.
More wonderful artwork, this time adorning rocks, will lead you to the play space.
The little playground is just adorable with farm theme equipment. Kids will be immediately drawn to the fantastic red tractor.
Tractor drivers even have movable switches and levers to use when ‘driving’. They can take a few friends for a ride in the back, but watch out, as those friends can escape by racing each other down the twin slides at the back.
Just beside the tractor, a windmill offers climbing ropes to get to the lookout at the top.
There are two swings, including a basket one.
Relax on the recliner loungers (below) while you watch the kids play.
Consistent with the farm theme, there are brightly coloured giant tomatoes and a pumpkin.
Adelaide Hills based ceramic artist, Tania Kunze, was commissioned to produce the wonderful rock art. See if the kids can find, count and name all the animals.
The reserve has a drinking fountain and a dog drinking station. There’s a picnic table and benches too.
Things to Note:
The reserve is a small pocket of land that is a triangle shape and you’ll find grassy areas in each corner.
Large established trees offer some shade at different times of the day.
There are no toilets here unfortunately as it’s designed to be a local community playspace.
It’s not fully fenced as the two laneway openings are not gated, but it’s a very safe space with quite a distance to the street.
There is street parking available on Hectorville Street.
The laneway murals were created in April 2019 by community members working with local artist James Parker over a two-day workshop at the Campbelltown ArtHouse.
James Parker also painted the laneway path hopscotch.
The many artworks add an enchanting touch to the secret playground, with wonderful colours, a lovely surprise element, and excitement along the pathway towards the reserve.
This is a wonderful community space that families with young children will be sure to love visiting frequently. It’s one of the cutest little playgrounds we’ve seen.
Thanks to our friends at @dreamliveexplore for the heads up on this little gem.
See some of their pics exploring the playground:
Our favourite nearby coffee spots are:
The Red Mill Bakehouse on Hectorville Road, is just across the road from the playground so you can grab a coffee to go and/or stay for a snack, breakfast or lunch.
A little further on Glynburn Road is Pasta Deli where you can grab lunch also, as well as take home salads, lasagne or pasta for dinner.
Also nearby is our favourite, Gelato Bello for a little ice cream treat. Right next to Gelato Bello is the Menz Fruchocs store on 77 Glynburn Road, Glynde.
Click here for all the Best Playgrounds for Toddlers
See our Top Parks & Playgrounds Around Adelaide here.
Location:
Melville Grove Reserve – off Hectorville Road, Hectorville
For more info about Melville Grove Reserve, see the City of Campbelltown website here.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently. All photos are by Play & Go and @dreamliveexplore as marked.
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