Preston Park has two long hillside slides and the city's first wheelchair swing. 15 Brighton and Hove playgrounds with toilets, cafes and what is shut.

The playgrounds most Brighton and Hove families head for are Preston Park, with two long slides down a hillside and the city’s first wheelchair swing; Hove Park, with its castle climbing frames and miniature railway; Queen’s Park, by the pond; and St Ann’s Well Gardens in Hove. Every entry was checked against the council’s own park pages on 27 October 2026.

We have not graded these playgrounds and nothing here is a ranking. Brighton & Hove City Council runs 53 playgrounds and names Hove Park, St Ann’s Well Gardens, Preston Park, The Level and Queens Park as the largest. Each entry sets out what the council publishes: the equipment it has installed, when, toilets and their hours, cafés, parking and access. Most park pages give no age range, so where we say a playground suits toddlers or older children, that is the council’s description of the kit. The council says its staff check every playground every two weeks, with independent inspections each quarter and each year.

Shut at the moment

The Level is the one big playground out of action. The council fenced off its play area from the week beginning 7 September for around 10 weeks, subject to weather, while Proludic builds a £300,000 inclusive adventure playground with a wheelchair-transferable pod swing, a flush roundabout and a long tube slide (council, The Level playground). No reopening date has been given beyond a celebration “towards the end of the year”. The skate park and café kiosk are open, and the council suggests St Nicholas’ church playground, Tarner Park and Queens Park in the meantime. Our report on the rebuild has the full equipment list.

The Kings Road playground and paddling pool on the seafront are closed while the arches under the road are strengthened, and the council is looking for a partner to rebuild them (our report). The city’s other paddling pools, at Hove Lagoon and Saunders Park, are shut for the winter: Freedom Leisure, which runs them, gives the 2027 season as Saturday 1 May to Sunday 12 September.

The big parks

1. Preston Park, Preston Road

The council gave the playground a £100,000 upgrade by Kompan in 2021: an adventure climbing trail leading to two long slides down a hillside embankment, steps up to a “snakes and ladders” castle with 30 challenges, a pendulum swing and a carousel, alongside the older swings, toddler huts, roundabout and picnic area (council, November 2021). In 2024 it became the first park in the city with a fully wheelchair-accessible swing, chosen after consultation with parents of wheelchair users.

Council park page.

Address Preston Park, BN1 6HN
Parking limited parking in the park, disabled visitors first
Toilets Changing Places toilet; Rotunda and Chalet toilets 10am to 4pm daily
Cafe two cafés, both open daily, including the Rotunda Cafe at the southern end
Good for wheelchair-accessible swing, two long hillside slides, climbing trail, castle with 30 challenges, carousel, picnic area

2. Hove Park, Goldstone Crescent

Hove Park’s playground was rebuilt in 2021 for £142,000 with a fairy-tale and castle theme: a double castle multi-play unit, a castle battering ram, swings, slides, a fairy-tale toddler section and a net climbing frame (council, May 2021). After parents complained that the kit was too easy for older children (reported by Brighton & Hove News), a second phase for the junior area was finished in February 2025; the tender asked for “dynamic and high-level play features”, teenage seating and a trim trail.

A miniature steam railway runs along the park’s western edge, and there is a climbing rock and table tennis. Council park page.

Address Hove Park, BN3 6BG
Parking on-street only
Toilets 10am to 4pm
Cafe 8.30am to 5.30pm daily
Good for castle climbing frames, fairy-tale toddler section, net climbing frame, miniature steam railway, climbing rock, table tennis

3. Queen’s Park, Kemptown

Queen’s Park’s playground was refurbished in 2023 with two bespoke multi-play structures, springer bowls, wide ramps and a tipi carousel with a top brace for children with mobility difficulties. The council says it now has the city’s first truly wheelchair-accessible multi-play unit.

Work for older children followed, finished in December 2024, and the toddler area’s multi-play unit was replaced in summer 2025 after a fire in March that year did about £25,000 of damage (council, June 2025). The wildlife pond is in the middle of the park.

Council park page.

Address Queens Park, BN2 0QU
Parking on-street only
Toilets facing the play park, 10am to 4pm; accessible toilet near the play area
Cafe daily in summer; weather permitting in winter
Good for wheelchair-accessible multi-play unit, tipi carousel, springer bowls, wide ramps, wildlife pond

4. St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove

The council lists St Ann’s Well Gardens among the city’s five largest play areas, and it was in the first phase of its refurbishment programme. Its park page does not list the equipment.

Next to the playground the gardens have a sensory garden, planted for “touch, fragrance and feel” and meant as a quieter space, and an area designed by local schoolchildren with the park rangers. Council park page.

Address St Ann's Well Gardens, BN3 1PL
Parking on-street, with accessible bays on Somerhill Road, Furze Hill and Nizells Avenue
Toilets Changing Places toilet; accessible toilet between the pavilion and the café
Cafe The Garden Cafe, Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm; Sat and Sun 9am to 5pm
Good for sensory garden, quieter space, area designed by local schoolchildren, Changing Places toilet

5. Stanmer Park, Lower Lodges

A council committee report in March 2024 said Stanmer’s playground was installed in 2020 and is popular, and the council’s programme page lists a “fully accessible destination play space” with a wheelchair-accessible swing at Stanmer as in procurement. Our walks guide has the park’s buses and trails.

Council park page.

Address by the Lower Lodges entrance, off Lewes Road
Parking Upper Lodges car park closes to the public at 5pm
Toilets in One Garden Brighton, including a Changing Places facility
Cafe Circa in the Park kiosk by the Lower Lodges
Good for Changing Places toilet, kiosk café, walking trails

By the sea

6. Hove Lagoon, Kingsway

The seafront playground at Hove Lagoon was refurbished in 2016 with a pirate multi-unit, a boat unit, swings, a seating carousel and rocking springers, plus a sandpit and accessible picnic benches made from recycled plastic with extended tops for wheelchair users (council, September 2016). It was among a dozen playgrounds refurbished again from June 2024.

On the lagoon itself, Hove Lagoon watersports runs sailing, wakeboarding and windsurfing courses for children. Council playgrounds page.

Address Kingsway, Hove, BN3 4LX
Cafe Big Beach Cafe, on the lagoon
Paddling pool shut until 1 May 2027
Good for pirate multi-unit, sandpit, seating carousel, wheelchair-friendly picnic benches, watersports courses

Neighbourhood playgrounds

7. Saunders Park, Lewes Road

The council describes “a refurbished playground mainly set among trees for shelter”, with a toddler area. The paddling pool sits beside it inside a fenced section with benches.

The café, Laz’ in the Park, was rebuilt in 2020, and the council says it serves mainly locally sourced food and drink. Council park page.

Address Saunders Park, Lewes Road, BN2 4AE
Toilets in the café building, including a disabled toilet; open when the café is open
Cafe Laz' in the Park, seats inside and out
Ages toddler area
Paddling pool closed until 1 May 2027
Good for playground sheltered by trees, toddler area, fenced paddling pool, locally sourced café

8. Blakers Park, Fiveways

A small park built around a 50-foot Victorian clock tower, unveiled in 1896. The council calls its playground “recently renovated”.

Council park page.

Address Blakers Park, Cleveland Road, BN1 6FG
Parking on-street only
Toilets accessible toilet next to the playground; others south of the tennis courts, 10am to 4pm daily
Cafe Blaker's Park Cafe, wheelchair accessible
Access Preston Drove entrance is the most accessible, the council says; the Southdown Road and Cleveland Road entrances have no pavement on the park side
Good for Victorian clock tower, renovated playground, tennis courts

9. Hollingdean Park, Hollingdean

The largest single playground job in the council’s 2023 round. The rebuilt play area has a fully inclusive, wheelchair-accessible multi-play unit with a ramp wide enough for a wheelchair, amphitheatre-style seating, a seating area with room for prams and pushchairs, a multi-use games area and an outdoor gym (council, May 2023).

The council’s announcements give no toilet or café details for the park.

Toilets none listed; nearest council-listed accessible toilet at Blakers Park
Good for wheelchair-accessible multi-play unit, amphitheatre-style seating, room for prams and pushchairs, multi-use games area, outdoor gym

10. Dyke Road Park, Hove

A playground opposite the Booth Museum of Natural History, which is free to enter. The café has a raised terrace with sea views and an accessible outdoor seating area.

The park also has six tennis courts and Brighton Open Air Theatre. Council park page.

Address Dyke Road Park, BN3 6EH
Parking accessible bays on Dyke Road
Toilets attached to the café and open with it; nearest accessible toilet at the Booth Museum opposite
Cafe Dyke Road Park Cafe, Mon to Fri 9am to 6pm; Sat and Sun 10am to 6pm (council)
Good for sea-view café terrace, six tennis courts, Brighton Open Air Theatre, free museum opposite

11. Easthill Park, Portslade

Easthill Park’s playground was refurbished in the 2022 phase of the programme. Next to it is a “wild gym” with a balance beam, sit-up bench, parallel bars and chin-up bars.

The council keeps the walled garden for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities from 10am to 12pm every day, and there is a history trail of about 22 minutes. The Park Cafe trains young people in catering.

Council park page.

Address Manor Road, Portslade
Parking four bays at the front, two at the back
Toilets in the pavilion, 10am to 4pm; accessible toilet at the Easthill Way end
Cafe The Park Cafe, serves food several days a week
Good for wild gym, SEND walled garden mornings, history trail

East Brighton and the coast villages

12. East Brighton Park, Wilson Avenue

A big park at the foot of Sheepcote Valley with a playground, pitches and tennis courts. The council says plainly that “at present neither the playground nor the pavilion/café are accessible”.

Council park page.

Address Wilson Avenue, BN2 5PB
Parking two pay and display car parks, charged 9am to 8pm: £1.40 for an hour, £2.10 for two, £3.20 for four, £6.30 for six
Toilets nearest accessible toilet at Whitehawk Library
Cafe winter Wed 9am to 4pm; Sat and Sun 9am to 5pm; every day in summer
Access neither the playground nor the pavilion/café is accessible, the council says
Good for pitches, tennis courts, Sheepcote Valley, car parks

Rottingdean Recreation Ground

Rottingdean’s playground was fully refurbished in summer 2023 under the council’s £3 million programme. It closed from 17 July that year and was back open in time for October half term, when the council held a celebration session there (council, October 2023). The programme put its focus on inclusive, accessible play for children with special educational needs and disabilities, but the council has not published an equipment list for this site. For a walk from the village, see Beacon Hill and the Undercliff Walk in our walks guide.

Saltdean Oval

The park around Saltdean Lido had its playground partly refurbished in 2023 using what the council describes as sustainable equipment made from recycled ocean, textile and plastic waste and items collected from the sea, the same kit it put in at Knoll Park in Hove (council, May 2023). A replacement for the park’s worn-out multi-use games area is pending procurement, part-funded by developer contributions and donations from the PARC charity and the Local Action Team (council programme page). The playground stayed partly open during the work.

For older children

13. Wild Park adventure play area, Lewes Road

The council calls this a first for the city: an adventure play area for teenagers and young adults, built by Kompan to a bespoke design and opened by the Mayor in September 2025 after a £200,000 council investment (council, September 2025). It sits beside a multi-use games court and an outdoor gym.

The play area is also a permanent memorial to Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, whose names are set into the playing surface; the design was developed with their families. Council park page.

Address Wild Park, Lewes Road, BN1 9JS
Toilets public toilets 10am to 4pm daily
Cafe Pavilion Cafe, Mon to Fri 7.30am to 2.30pm; Sat and Sun 8.30am to 2.30pm
Ages teenagers and young adults
Good for adventure play for teenagers, multi-use games court, outdoor gym

How we chose

These are the playgrounds Brighton and Hove families search for, chosen from what the council publishes, not on taste. We started with the five largest play areas the council names, added the seafront and the neighbourhood parks where it has published what it installed, and the one it built for older children. We left out playgrounds we could not check on a council page. Equipment details come from the council’s news releases and its playground refurbishment programme; toilets, cafés and parking come from its park pages, and the paddling pool dates from Freedom Leisure. Everything was checked on 27 October 2026. Café hours change with the seasons, and the council can close a playground for repairs at short notice. To report a broken piece of equipment, use the council’s playground incident form.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@brightontimes.co.uk.

For somewhere to eat after the park, see our guides to Brighton cafes, Sunday roasts and Brighton restaurants. For more ideas, see things to do in Brighton, what’s on in Brighton this month, walks near Brighton and parking in Brighton, or browse the cafés in our Brighton business directory.

Frequently asked questions

Is The Level playground in Brighton open?

No. The council fenced off The Level’s play area from the week beginning 7 September 2026 for around 10 weeks, subject to weather, while a new £300,000 inclusive adventure playground is built. It has not published a reopening date, only an official reopening celebration towards the end of the year. The skate park and café kiosk stay open, and the council points families to St Nicholas’ church playground, Tarner Park and Queens Park.

Which Brighton playgrounds have a wheelchair swing or accessible equipment?

Preston Park has the city’s first fully wheelchair-accessible swing, completed in 2024, and a Changing Places toilet. Queen’s Park has what the council calls the city’s first truly wheelchair-accessible multi-play unit, installed in summer 2023, and Hollingdean Park has a wheelchair-accessible multi-play unit with a ramp. Changing Places toilets are also at St Ann’s Well Gardens and in One Garden Brighton at Stanmer Park.

When do the Brighton paddling pools open?

Freedom Leisure, which runs them for the council, says Hove Lagoon and Saunders Park paddling pools and The Level water feature are closed for the winter and reopen on Saturday 1 May 2027, closing on Sunday 12 September 2027. The Kings Road paddling pool and playground on the seafront are closed while the arches beneath the road are strengthened.