Islington · for families
A hand-picked guide to real days out with the kids — free and budget-friendly first, sorted by weather, age and what's nearby.
Performing arts · Islington
Almeida Young Company offers world-class theatre workshops and performing arts groups for young people in Islington. Led by professional directors, it provides opportunities to create and perform original theatre productions, develop acting skills, and explore the theatrical industry.
Sports & active · Highbury
Arsenal in the Community runs the Premier League Kicks program, offering free weekly football sessions, multi-sports activities, and personal development workshops for young people. It provides a positive space to develop football skills and teamwork.
Parks & playgrounds · Barnsbury
A big Barnsbury park with open green, ball courts and a sandy play area — and home to the Barnard Park adventure playground.
Parks & playgrounds · Barnsbury
Barnard Park Adventure Playground is a staffed outdoor play space offering children zip lines, climbing towers, water play features, and campfires. It encourages active, self-directed play and runs supervised arts and cooking workshops.
Nature & outdoors · Barnsbury
London's smallest local nature reserve — a hidden pocket of woodland, open to visitors on selected days.
Story time & libraries · Islington libraries
Bright Start Toy Libraries in Islington provide playgroups and a toy loaning service for families with children under 5. It offers a safe, interactive space for children to play, socialize, and explore high-quality toys that parents can borrow to continue learning at home.
Parks & playgrounds · Caledonian Road
A spacious park on the old Caledonian cattle-market site, with a landmark Victorian clock tower, a playground and plenty of room to play.
Parks & playgrounds · Crouch Hill
Cape Adventure Playground is a staffed outdoor play space featuring tall wooden climbing structures, slides, swings, and sports areas. Children can build their own forts, slide down huge ramps, and join in arts, crafts, and team games.
Story time & libraries · Holloway
Cat and Mouse Library Under-5s offers weekly storytelling and rhyme sessions for toddlers and preschool children. These free library events are designed to foster an early love for books, featuring puppet play, group singing, and quiet reading time.
Story time & libraries · Highbury
Central Library Baby Bounce is a free weekly session for babies, toddlers, and their parents or carers. It features interactive singing of classic nursery rhymes, action songs, and simple storytelling to support early speech and communication in a welcoming library space.
Parks & playgrounds · Archway
Cornwallis Adventure Playground offers children a spacious outdoor area with wooden climbing structures, zip lines, swings, and sandpits. Staff supervise creative free-play, fire pit cookouts, and indoor arts, crafts, and games.
Parks & playgrounds · Caledonian Road
Crumbles Castle Adventure Playground is a unique community play space dominated by a large, castle-like concrete structure. It offers children rope swings, climbing frames, fort-building areas, campfires, and indoor art workshops.
Nature & outdoors · Angel
A much-loved community garden near Angel with plots, a pond and a lawn — a calm green space open to all.
Parks & playgrounds · Archway
A green Archway park with a playground, ball-games area and wheels/skate space — a handy local spot to burn off energy.
Animals & farms · Holloway
Freightliners City Farm is a working community farm in the heart of Islington. Children can meet cows, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, and rabbits, learn about food production, and participate in gardening and animal care workshops.
Nature & outdoors · Highbury
Islington's largest nature reserve — woodland, meadows and ponds, with an Ecology Centre running family nature activities.
Parks & playgrounds · Highbury
Islington's largest open space — big lawns for running about, a popular playground, tennis courts and a café, right by Highbury & Islington station.
Sports & active · Highbury
Highbury Fields Junior parkrun is a free, weekly, timed 2km run for children aged 4 to 14. Organized by local volunteers, the event encourages outdoor exercise, community spirit, and healthy lifestyles, letting kids run, jog, or walk at their own pace.
Parks & playgrounds · Islington
KIDS Hayward Adventure Playground is a specialized, staffed play space designed for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). It features wheelchair-accessible climbing structures, sensory spaces, and supportive staff.
Parks & playgrounds · Mildmay
King Henry's Walk Adventure Playground is a staffed outdoor playground offering wooden climbing towers, swings, zip lines, and garden spaces. It emphasizes outdoor exploration, fort-building, nature crafts, and campfires.
Parks & playgrounds · St Luke's
A revamped community park with a playground and seating, tucked between the estates of St Luke's.
Parks & playgrounds · Islington
Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground is a staffed community play space featuring a massive slide, climbing bridges, tyre swings, and a vegetable garden. Children can engage in fort-building, campfires, and supervised indoor crafts.
Parks & playgrounds · Holloway
Martin Luther King Adventure Playground is a staffed outdoor playground with high climbing frames, slides, zip lines, and sports pitches. It offers kids materials to build their own structures, and hosts regular art and cooking sessions.
Nature & outdoors · Canonbury
A pretty waterside path following the old New River through Canonbury — ducks, planting and a gentle stroll.
Parks & playgrounds · Holloway
A bright Holloway park with a well-loved playground and an under-5s area, right next to Freightliners City Farm.
Parks & playgrounds · Islington
A relaxed neighbourhood park with a playground and open lawns — good for a gentle afternoon out with little ones.
Parks & playgrounds · Clerkenwell
A lively Clerkenwell park with a playground and a big open lawn — a popular green break in the heart of the city.
Parks & playgrounds · Clerkenwell
Three Corners Adventure Playground is a staffed play space featuring wooden climbing towers, cargo nets, slides, and indoor youth facilities. It offers kids a safe, active environment for outdoor sports, campfires, and arts.
Parks & playgrounds · Archway
Timbuktu Adventure Playground is a staffed community playground featuring giant wooden structures, bridges, swings, and climbing ropes. It encourages outdoor free-play, gardening, fire pit cooking, and indoor craft workshops.
Parks & playgrounds · St Luke's
Toffee Park Adventure Playground is a staffed green oasis offering climbing frames, zip lines, slides, and a wildlife garden. Children can plant vegetables, build forts, cook around campfires, and participate in arts and crafts.
Parks & playgrounds · Islington
Waterside Adventure Playground is a staffed outdoor play space located near the canal. It features tall wooden climbing frames, tyre swings, slides, and fort-building materials, alongside indoor spaces for creative crafts and cooking.
Parks & playgrounds · Upper Holloway
A friendly Upper Holloway park with a playground, ball courts, a community centre and open green for kicking a ball about.
Parks & playgrounds · Finsbury Park
An open green near Finsbury Park with sports pitches and room to run, kick a ball or fly a kite.
Performing arts · Islington
Angelina Jandolo Dance School specializes in creative and classical dance classes for children. They teach ballet, tap, contemporary, and musical theatre, providing children with a structured, inspiring space to develop dance techniques and perform on stage.
Performing arts · Upper Street
Ballet North offers high-quality classical ballet and dance classes for children of all ages. From creative movement classes for toddlers to advanced training for teenagers, they focus on building core strength, elegant posture, musicality, and a love for dance.
Arts & crafts · Highbury
Clay Time Pottery Place is a creative pottery studio where kids and families can learn clay modeling and pottery wheel throwing. They host children's workshops and paint-your-own-pottery sessions, helping children explore their artistic side with clay and glazes.
Performing arts · Barnsbury
Dani Grant School of Dance offers a wide range of dance classes for children, including ballet, tap, jazz, and street dance. They host fun weekly classes and show performances, focusing on fitness, coordination, and building self-confidence in a warm environment.
Swimming & water play · Archway
GLL Better Swim School provides structured swimming lessons for children of all ages and abilities at leisure pools across Islington. Led by certified coaches, classes range from baby water confidence to advanced stroke techniques and water safety.
Sports & active · Upper Street
GymLab is a gymnastics and fitness training program designed specifically for children. They provide specialized classes focusing on coordination, gymnastics strength, agility, and motor skills, using custom-designed soft play and safety gym equipment.
Swimming & water play · Tufnell Park
Hackney Anaconda Swim School offers expert swimming lessons for babies, children, and competitive youth swimmers. They focus on water safety, building swimming confidence, and refining technique in small, supportive group classes.
Performing arts · Islington
Hartbeeps Islington offers highly interactive music, baby, and toddler classes. Using sensory play, lighting effects, puppet characters, and original songs, these sessions take infants on magical sound journeys designed to support confidence and early development.
Sports & active · City Road Basin
Islington Boat Club is a community water sports club based at City Road Basin. They offer kayaking, canoeing, powerboating, and narrowboat trips for young people and families, providing qualified instruction and building water safety confidence.
Nature & outdoors · City Road Basin
Islington Boat Club Family Cruises offers relaxed canal boat trips for families along the Regent's Canal. Children can experience traveling through historic locks, spot canal wildlife, and learn about the history of London's waterways.
Performing arts · Islington
Little Angel Theatre is a famous puppet theatre offering magical puppet shows and creative puppet-making workshops for children and families. They run weekly clubs, holiday activities, and community workshops that inspire children to design, build, and perform with their own puppets.
Sports & active · Upper Street
Little Kickers North & East London provides fun football-themed play classes for children aged 18 months to 8 years. The sessions focus on teaching basic football skills like kicking and dribbling, alongside developmental skills like color recognition and teamwork.
Museums & culture · King's Cross
London Canal Museum tells the fascinating history of London's canals and the ice industry. Families can climb inside a historic narrowboat cabin, peer down into a huge Victorian ice well, and join interactive family workshop days.
Performing arts · Upper Street
Monkey Music Islington & Highbury runs award-winning music classes for babies and toddlers. Using bubble machines, colorful percussion instruments, and puppets, the age-specific curriculum helps develop language, coordination, and social skills through fun interactive singing.
Sports & active · Holloway
Namixx Gymnastics offers fun and energetic gymnastics classes for toddlers and older children. Sessions focus on learning core gymnastics skills—including vault, beam, floor work, and bars—which help children develop agility, balance, and physical fitness.
Sports & active · Highbury
North London Gymnastics (NLG) offers top-tier gymnastics coaching for children, from beginners to competitive squad training. They utilize professional apparatus to teach floor gymnastics, trampoline, vault, and beam in a structured and highly motivating environment.
Sports & active · Holloway
Sobell Leisure Centre offers structured junior gymnastics classes and squash coaching for kids. The center features specialized gymnastics halls with soft mats and trampolines, alongside squash courts with youth-friendly coaching programs.
Performing arts · De Beauvoir
Stage Academy N1 is a performing arts school teaching singing, acting, and dancing to children aged 4 to 18. Through weekly workshops and regular stage productions, they help students build confidence and public speaking skills while learning from industry professionals.
Sports & active · Highbury
Tennis on Highbury Fields offers youth tennis coaching programs, holiday camps, and court bookings for families. Certified coaches teach tennis fundamentals, hand-eye coordination, and match play to children of all ages in a scenic park setting.
Performing arts · Barnsbury
Young Actors Theatre Islington (YATI) is a renowned community drama school offering acting, singing, and dance classes for children and young people. They run creative workshops and produce showcase plays, helping students develop confidence, public speaking, and theatrical skills.
Arts & crafts · Angel
art-K Angel is an art studio offering structured art classes for children aged 6 to 16. Using a wide variety of mediums—including clay, acrylics, watercolors, and pastels—students learn drawing, painting, and sculpting techniques in a supportive and creative club environment.
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