Bromley Playgrounds and Parks for Children

The biggest and newest playgrounds in Bromley borough are the dinosaur playground in Crystal Palace Park, opened in March 2026; Kelsey Park in Beckenham, which has a cafe and toilets beside it; Church House Gardens in the town centre; and Priory Gardens in Orpington. All fifteen entries below were checked against Bromley Council’s parks directory and the park’s own Friends or trust pages on 25 October 2026.

We have not reviewed these playgrounds and nothing here is a rating. Each entry sets out what the council, the Crystal Palace Park Trust or the park’s Friends group publishes: the equipment, what else is in the park, whether there are toilets, a cafe or a car park, and any recent rebuild. Where a source did not say, we have not guessed.

Gate times. The clocks went back today. Bromley Council’s opening times table for gated parks and barrier car parks has gates opening at about 7.30am on weekdays and 9am at weekends and bank holidays, with the last gate closing at 5pm in November and 4pm in December. Many smaller recreation grounds are not gated at all.

Dogs. Under the borough’s dog control order, renewed from 1 October, dogs are banned from every playground. Our report on the order has the full list of no-dog areas.

Bromley town, Hayes and Plaistow

Church House Gardens and Library Gardens, Bromley town centre

The town-centre park behind the library and the parish church. The council’s directory record describes extensive ornamental gardens with a lake, a children’s play area, basketball, a skateboard area, tennis courts and a concert platform with terraces. It warns that some paths are steep and difficult for people with mobility problems, which matters with a buggy. The Bromley Civic Society records that the children’s sandpit in Library Gardens began in 1933 as a model boat pond. Gated, so the council’s closing times apply. Friends of Bromley Town Parks and Gardens: info@bromleytownparks.org.uk. Church Road, BR2 0EN.

Norman Park, Hayes Lane

A large park on the Bromley side of Hayes with a children’s play area, football pitches and a car park, according to the council’s directory record. Gated, so the council’s closing times apply. The council does not list public toilets here. There is a cafe at the community sports centre on Hayes Lane in our directory. The Friends of Norman Park post updates on Facebook. Hayes Lane, BR2 9EF.

Shaftesbury Park, Plaistow

The newest rebuild on this list. The play area reopened in August 2026 after a £105,000 scheme that the council says brought new toddler and junior swings, a replacement toddler and junior climbing frame and slide, new seating and a restored pond. The park also has a multi-use games court (council record). It is a small neighbourhood park with no toilets, cafe or car park listed, and Burnt Ash Primary School is round the corner, so expect it to be busy after school. Valeswood Road, BR1 4QZ.

Beckenham, Penge and Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace Park: the dinosaur playground

The borough’s newest big playground. Bromley Council and the Crystal Palace Park Trust opened it in March 2026, paid for partly by a £140,000 London Marathon Foundation grant. The council lists a dinosaur skeleton climbing frame, giant dinosaur egg play features, basket swings and a footprint-shaped sandpit for fossil hunting. For disabled children there is a wheelchair-accessible roundabout and picnic benches, an accessible slide and swing and adjustable-height games, and a Changing Places toilet nearby. The park has been run by the Crystal Palace Park Trust since September 2023. According to the council’s toilet record, the gates open by 7.30am every day and there are public toilets beside the information centre near the Thicket Road (Penge Gate) entrance. The same record gives the hours of Brown & Green Life cafe, which also has toilets, as 8.30am to 5.30pm each day. The restored dinosaur sculptures and the free farm are in the same park (our things-to-do guide has the farm’s hours). Thicket Road, SE19 2GA.

Kelsey Park, Beckenham

The council’s park page calls this one of the borough’s flagship parks and describes “a very popular children’s playground”, with a cafe, public toilets, a tennis court and mini golf. It is laid out around two lakes formed by damming the River Beck. A new bridge across the lake officially opened in March 2026 after the lakes were desilted. Dogs are kept out of the western side of the lakes and out of the water. The Friends of Kelsey Park have an information centre near the Manor Way entrance. Gated, so the council’s closing times apply. Manor Way, BR3 3LS.

Croydon Road Recreation Ground, Beckenham

Known locally as Beckenham Rec, home of the restored Bowie Bandstand. The council’s directory record lists a children’s play area, a cafe, toilets, a multi-use court, tennis and bowls. One change from older listings: the paddling pool is shut. The council said in August 2025 that an inspection had found significant health and safety concerns and that it would stay closed for the foreseeable future. The Friends of Croydon Road Recreation Ground are fundraising to replace it with a waterplay area. No reopening date has been published. Croydon Road, BR3 3NR.

Churchfields Recreation Ground, Beckenham

A 9.4-acre recreation ground whose playground the council says was refurbished in 2025/26 through joint fundraising with the Friends and local people. Alongside the play area the council record lists a multi-use court, football, an outdoor gym and a skateboard area. The Bromley Friends Forum notes that it adjoins a primary school and is well used by families who live nearby. No toilets, cafe or car park are listed. Churchfields Road, BR3 4XP.

Betts Park, Anerley

A 13-acre park on what was Penge Common, with a children’s playground, a free outdoor gym, multi-sport courts, a skateboard area and a football field, according to the Friends of Betts Park and the council record. Its stretch of water is the last surviving trace of the Croydon Canal, and dogs are banned from the canal under the dog control order. The council approved £20,000 from its Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund for new play equipment here in 2022. No toilets, cafe or car park are listed. Anerley Road, SE20 8TJ.

Orpington, Petts Wood and St Paul’s Cray

Priory Gardens, Orpington

Ornamental gardens with a lake beside the medieval Priory, just off Orpington High Street. The council’s directory record lists a children’s play area and a toilet, and calls it a historic garden. It is on Historic England’s register of parks and gardens. A 2014 council report describes the play area as a toddler section and a larger senior section, and the council approved about £30,000 that year to improve the toddler area. The Friends of Orpington Priory and Gardens post news on Facebook. Church Hill, BR6 0HJ.

Goddington Park, Orpington

The Friends of Goddington Park describe a wide open space with “two children’s playgrounds”, sports pitches, a bowling green and a tennis court, and say a free 5km parkrun takes place every Saturday. They are currently raising money for a bench in the under-fives playground. The council record adds a car park. Gated, so the council’s closing times apply. Goddington Lane, BR6 9DH.

Petts Wood Recreation Ground (Eynsford Recreation Ground)

A play area rebuilt by the Friends of Crofton and Sparrow Woods with council contractor idverde. It reopened in August 2023 after a £20,000 Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund grant. The council lists a basket swing and a “Me to You” swing, a toddler train, hen and horse springers, new picnic tables and a rubber safety surface. The council record adds football pitches and a car park. Friends of Crofton and Sparrow Woods. Eynsford Close, BR5 1DP.

Hoblingwell Wood Recreation Ground, St Paul’s Cray

The council says this playground was refurbished in 2025/26. Its March 2025 announcement of the £74,000 Veolia Environmental Trust grant set out what was planned: an accessible roundabout, new swing frames for older children including an inclusive cradle swing, climbing boulders and sensory planting. The plans were shaped by a Friends of Hoblingwell survey in which 17 per cent of 150 residents said their children had additional needs. The park also has a cycle pump track, opened in 2022, a multi-use court and a car park (council record). Leesons Way, BR5 2QB.

Chislehurst, West Wickham and Biggin Hill

Chislehurst Recreation Ground

The council record lists a children’s play area, tennis courts and football pitches. The council approved £16,550 from its Jubilee Parks Fund to improve the playground in 2022. The Friends of Chislehurst Recreation Ground are building a natural play area in Whyte’s Wood. The group says the first phase is finished, with brambles cleared and wooden stepping stones put in, and a second phase will follow. No toilets or cafe are listed. Gated, so the council’s closing times apply. Empress Drive, BR7 5BG.

Coney Hall Recreation Ground, West Wickham

A large recreation ground whose council record lists a children’s play area, a skateboard ramp, a teenage shelter, football, bowls, tennis courts and a car park. This makes it one of the few on the list with something for older children as well as toddlers. The Friends of Coney Hall Recreation Ground run the community side. No toilets or cafe are listed. Church Drive, BR4 9JJ.

Biggin Hill Recreation Ground

The council lists Biggin Hill Recreation Ground among the playgrounds improved through its Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund in 2025/26. Its council record lists a car park, a multi-use court, an outdoor gym, a skate park and a teenage shelter, so older children have somewhere to go too. Friends of Biggin Hill Parks: bigginhillparkfriends@gmail.com. Church Road, TN16 3LB.

How we chose

We picked the large destination parks, the playgrounds rebuilt in the last three years, and at least one in each of the borough’s main towns. Every entry comes from Bromley Council’s parks directory and news releases, the Crystal Palace Park Trust, and the park’s own Friends group. Council records can lag behind what is actually there. If you know of a playground that has been rebuilt, closed or fenced off, we would like to hear about it. Run a park group or a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@bromleyonline.co.uk.

More for families: things to do in Bromley, what’s on this month, and for the adults afterwards, our Bromley pubs guide and Sunday roast guide. Local businesses are in the Bromley Business Directory.

Frequently asked questions

What time do Bromley’s parks close in winter?

Bromley Council’s table for gated parks and barrier car parks gives the last gate closing at 5pm in November, 4pm in December and 5pm in January. Gates open at about 7.30am on weekdays and 9am at weekends and on bank holidays. Crystal Palace Park is run by its own trust and opens by 7.30am every day.

Which Bromley playgrounds are accessible for wheelchair users?

The dinosaur playground in Crystal Palace Park, opened in March 2026, has a wheelchair-accessible roundabout and picnic benches, an accessible slide and swing and adjustable-height games, with a Changing Places toilet nearby. The plans for the Hoblingwell Wood playground in St Paul’s Cray included an accessible roundabout and an inclusive cradle swing.

Can I take my dog into a Bromley playground?

No. Under Bromley’s dog control order, renewed from 1 October 2026, dogs are banned from equipped and unequipped playgrounds, and from the paddling pool area at Croydon Road Recreation Ground. Assistance dogs are exempt. Breaking the order is a criminal offence.