Knightsbridge Reserve Leabrook Playground Review

Review by Susannah Marks

If you’re looking for a toddler-friendly playground in eastern Adelaide then add Knightsbridge Reserve to your list.

Set in the quiet residential streets of Leabrook, Knightsbridge Reserve is shady and tranquil and a charming, low-key destination for little people. While it’s not overly fancy or new, it has good solid play equipment and the usual favourites like swings and slides that will keep little people entertained.

Play equipment at Knightsbridge Reserve

The Reserve has a variety of play equipment that will appeal to toddlers and younger school aged children alike.

There are two main play structures – a big red truck and a cubby house.

Truck

The big red and blue truck (which my little one says is a bus) has fun interactive features like a steering wheel you can turn and a gear stick.

It was near impossible to extract my little person from the bus, and if you’re invited to hop aboard the bus a) you may need a ticket and b) you may get stuck as it’s quite squishy for larger or taller grown-ups.

Cubby house

The other main structure is more along the lines of a cubby house with attached slide and stairs. My little one enjoyed testing out the ‘loud speaker’, probably destroying the tranquility of the neighbourhood with her shouts of “I’m The King Of The Castle”.

This bridge structure at the top of the cubby house was a lot of fun for ‘trip trapping’ along the bridge along the lines of the Billy Goats Gruff.

The cubby house features a small slide and a rope climbing structure for the more adventurous.

Swings and springers

In addition to the two main pieces of play equipment there are two ‘springers’, a standard swing and a toddler swing.

Is it a dinosaur, or is it a lizard?

There’s not a focus on ‘nature play’ as such but my little one enjoyed clambering over a series of low round boulders and playing hide n seek amongst the trees.

It’s fully fenced

One of the big pluses of Knightsbridge Reserve is that it is fully fenced, with a solid metal fence around the edge that faces the road with a child-proof lock on the gate. There’s a mixture of fencing between the reserve and adjoining houses.

Even on a hot summer’s morning this playground is still green and shady. Take time to stop and smell the roses.

What we like about Knightsbridge Reserve

• It’s fully fenced
• There’s a water fountain
• There’s space to run and grassy areas perfect for picnicking or playing chasey
• Being within a quiet residential area means that there is little through-traffic, or noise
• It’s set amongst established trees and planting, and some picturesque flower gardens and houses

Things to consider

• Unfortunately there are no public toilet facilities
• The play area is surfaced in bark chips so this may not be the playground for you if you’ve got a toddler or baby that likes to put everything in their mouth
• We have seen a few dogs in this reserve on occasion
• Parking is limited to street parking and if the park is busy with a birthday party then you may find it difficult to find a spot to park
• Although it’s fully fenced the fencing does consist of wire fencing at one point where it adjoins a neighbouring property and this wire fencing is set behind a hedge – theoretically a fun hiding spot for adventurous children
• There are no shade sails as such but the trees provide shade

Coffee and food options nearby

Leabrook Bakehouse & Patisserie, 4/457 Glynburn Road – 450m (there’s also an IGA here)

Woolworths, corner of Tusmore Avenue & Kensington Road – 1km away and has coffee shop, bakery and other shops on-site

Map link

Knightsbridge Reserve, 38a Rochester Street, Leabrook, SA 5068

This review was written and photographed by Susannah Marks. Originally from New Zealand, she now calls Adelaide home and loves getting out and about and exploring all the fabulous things for families to do in Adelaide. See her blog Seesaws & Cellar Doors for more of her work.

Our list of the best playgrounds for toddlers

See our top parks and playgrounds around Adelaide here.

For more information and all enquiries please visit the City of Burnside website

What: Knightsbridge Reserve

When: Any time

Where: 38a Rochester Street, Leabrook

Who: Everyone

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 Susannah Marks for Play & Go. See her blog Seesaws & Cellar Doors for more of her photographs.

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