Days out with kids: the Costa del Croydon

The ‘Costa del Croydon’ may sound like a joke but it’s actually a brilliant idea to bring the beach to people who may not otherwise be able to go to one. Croydon in South London is about one and a half hours from the nearest beach (many of which are shingle rather than sand). But for the month of August, the beach is right on Croydon’s doorstep – or should I say rooftop.

The Centrale shopping centre has turned the roof of its car park into a pop-up beach, complete with sand pit, splash pad, hook-a-duck, ice cream van and more. It’s free entry – though you have to pay if you want to do some of the activities – with plenty of free of charge things to do to spend several hours there.

Booking is advised and goes live a week at a time, but plenty of spaces are reserved for walk-ins, and a couple of women I spoke to said they had been several times as they lived locally, without needing to book. They run two sessions, from 11.30-3pm and 3.30-7pm every day and close the venue in between (to reset and clear up) but one lady I spoke to said she sometimes came for the morning session then went to the shopping centre downstairs for half an hour and came back for the afternoon session!

You can bring your own food and drink and there are quite a few picnic tables, but I arrived at 11.38 on Sunday – eight minutes after the place opened – and every single table, bench or seat was taken, and remained so for the entire session. We sat on the ground (astroturf) – there’s a shaded area under cover where a lot of the picnic tables are, or more space across the other side which is in the sun.

The water in the splash pad runs for 10 minutes, then is turned off for 20 minutes, on a rolling basis – “you’re not paying the water bill,” one member of staff quipped. It’s a flat floor (with mats) and various water spouts which my six year old loved to run around and play in. The huge sandpit was great as well – deep enough to properly dig and make sandcastles, with a large green caterpillar in the middle to sit on, and benches under cover at one end (also a hammock according to photos I’ve seen but I didn’t notice that). It’s advisable to bring your own bucket and spade, and of course a towel and change of clothes! There is a block of toilets and also some small changing huts but they are open at the front with no doors – so don’t give a huge amount of privacy.

Other things to do include trampolines, which I think were £3 a go but my daughter couldn’t go on without socks which she was quite disappointed by, but it was such a hot day – 29C – that socks had been the last thing on my mind. She did go on the bumper cars – circular vehicles which just seat one, and have easy controls that she managed well and really enjoyed – that cost £4, while the hook-a-duck cost £5. There’s a prize every time and even though we got one of the lowest-scoring ducks we still won a decent size cuddly toy.

There was a giant Connect 4 game and chess set as well as a giant deckchair and photo board to pose in; and every day there is a different activity taking place. On Sunday there was a painting session with Pop N Paint where each child was given a small canvas with a pencil drawing already sketched out – either a seahorse, sea turtle or octopus, and a paint pallet. Only about six children could take part at a time so we waited a few minutes until a spot on the mat was free; my daughter really enjoyed painting her sea turtle which was then placed on the roof of one of the huts to dry for us to pick up before we left.

Other activities on different days, according to the website, include toddler sensory classes, yoga, storytelling, knitting, dance classes, a steel band, bingo and more – all free of charge.

Food and drink options consisted of a doughnut stall (four for £5), an ice cream van, a food truck serving burgers, hot dogs and chips (plus soft drinks) and an Indian street food truck called Indi-go plus a mobile bar serving beer, wine, cocktails and non-alcoholic cocktails. We enjoyed an ice cream and a soft drink and took our own snacks.

We stayed the whole time from 11.30-3pm and really enjoyed our day; aside from getting lost in the wrong shopping centre (the Whitgift centre is opposite and I’m not really familiar with either) and since we haven’t made it to the beach in the UK so far this year (or indeed either of the last two years) it was a very welcome addition to Croydon and one that I hope will be back next year!