Oxford Island Play Park

Built for this place and nowhere else

Almost every playground in the country was chosen from a catalogue. This one wasn't. The council brought in Proludic to design something specific to Oxford Island, and what went in is a bespoke timber play park where every piece points at something that actually lives on the reserve — the birds, the animals, the flowers, the trees, the fish. The ground is finished to read like a forest floor, and a local artist hand-painted the features using the exact colours of the wildlife here. The council called it a world exclusive and said it was being shown to other councils as an example; strip the press-release language away and what's left is still a playground unlike any other in Northern Ireland.

The climbing is genuine. Tall timber forts stand behind a palisade fence, joined by bridges and walkways, with a long tunnel slide coming off the high tower and more slides cut straight into the earth banks so children can run at them again and again without queueing on steps. Around those are clamber stacks, rope climbing, sliding poles, stepping stones, tunnels, trampolines set flush into the ground, swings and a roundabout. The interactive panels give the smaller ones something to do at ground level while the big ones are up top.

The piece worth travelling for is the ramp. It rises into the main structure so that a child using a wheelchair goes up into the middle of the play rather than sitting at the bottom of it looking on. The council describes it as the first of its kind in Northern Ireland. If you've spent years at playgrounds where the accessible item is a single ground-level roundabout off to one side, this one is a different experience entirely.

And then there's the reserve. Four miles of footpaths, five birdwatching hides, wildflower meadows, reedbeds and ponds run out from the same car park, with the Discovery Centre and its loughside café sitting between the two. Great crested grebes, swans and kingfishers are all on the cards. Play first, walk after, and the whole thing costs nothing.

Free Free parking Wheelchair ramp into the structure Tunnel & embankment slides In-ground trampolines Toddler-level panels Loughside café Five bird hides

Two sets of opening hours here:

The reserve itself runs 9am to 9pm in summer and 9am to 6pm in winter, but the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre keeps its own shorter hours — around 9am to 5pm on weekdays and 10am to 5pm at weekends, later on Sundays from April to September. The café and the accessible toilets are inside the centre, so time your visit around those if you need either.

What to bring

🔭BinocularsFive hides, and grebes, swans and kingfishers on the water. Worth the space in the bag.

🥪A picnicThere's a café at the centre, and picnic spots out on the reserve if you'd rather eat outside.

🧥LayersIt's open ground beside a very big lough — bring the coat and you'll get the walk in too.

👟Shoes for the trailsThe play park is on made surfacing, but the reserve paths are a different matter.

Everything before you go

Cost

Free.

Opening

The reserve is open 9am to 9pm in summer and 9am to 6pm in winter. The Lough Neagh Discovery Centre keeps shorter hours — around 9am–5pm Monday to Friday and 10am–5pm at weekends, open later on Sundays from April to September.

Best for ages

Toddlers up to about 12.

What's there

Timber forts and lookout tower, long tunnel slide, embankment slides, clamber stacks, rope climbing, bridges, sliding poles, in-ground trampolines, stepping stones, tunnels, swings, roundabout, hand-painted interactive panels, and a wheelchair ramp into the main structure.

Also on site

Four miles of footpaths, five birdwatching hides, wildflower meadows, reedbeds and ponds, plus the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre.

Toilets

Accessible toilets inside the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre — open the centre's hours, not the reserve's.

Food

Loughside café at the Discovery Centre doing breakfast and lunch with views over the water. Picnic areas out on the reserve.

Parking

Free car park at the Discovery Centre, a short walk from the play park.

Accessibility

A ramp brings wheelchair users up into the play structure — the council describes it as the first of its kind in Northern Ireland. Accessible toilets at the Discovery Centre.

Dogs

The council doesn't publish a specific dog rule for the play park. It's a National Nature Reserve with ground-nesting and overwintering birds, so keep dogs on a lead and out of the fenced play area.

How long to allow

One to two hours at the play park, half a day with the reserve trails and the hides.

Address

Oxford Island National Nature Reserve, Craigavon BT66 6NJ.

Opened

The play park opened in March 2022, designed and built by Proludic for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.

Questions

Before you go

Is it free?

Yes — free to play, and the car park is free too.

Are there toilets?

Yes, accessible toilets inside the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre. Note that the centre closes earlier than the reserve does.

Is there a café?

Yes, a loughside café at the Discovery Centre doing breakfast and lunch, with views out over the water.

Is it good for a child who uses a wheelchair?

It's the best we've seen in Northern Ireland for this. A ramp takes a wheelchair up into the main climbing structure rather than stopping at the edge, which the council says is the first of its kind here. There are accessible toilets at the Discovery Centre.

What ages does it suit?

Toddlers up to about 12. There's ground-level play and hand-painted panels for the small ones, and serious climbing and slides for the older ones.

What time does it close?

The reserve closes at 9pm in summer and 6pm in winter. The Discovery Centre, with the café and toilets, closes around 5pm.

What else can we do while we're there?

Four miles of footpaths, five bird hides, wildflower meadows and reedbeds all start from the same car park. Great crested grebes, swans and kingfishers are regulars.

Can we bring the dog?

It's a National Nature Reserve, so keep dogs on a lead and out of the fenced play area.

Getting there

Oxford Island National Nature Reserve is at Craigavon BT66 6NJ, on the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Park free at the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre — the play park is a short walk from there. Tap below for turn-by-turn directions.

Directions on Google Maps See it on our map Official website

Nearby

Make more of the day

Oxford Island Nature ReserveThe full guide to the reserve The best play parks in NISee the full list More days out in CraigavonEverything else close by Open the mapFind what's near you

The story

About the play park

Oxford Island sits on the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the largest lake by surface area in the British Isles, and it is a National Nature Reserve — reedbeds, wildflower meadows, ponds and woodland, with five birdwatching hides set along four miles of footpath. The Lough Neagh Discovery Centre stands at the middle of it on timber stilts above a pond, which is where the café and the toilets are, and where most families start.

The play park opened in March 2022 and was officially opened by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Paul Greenfield. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council commissioned Proludic to design it, and the brief was unusual: not a standard catalogue playground dropped onto a nature reserve, but a play park that belonged to this particular place. Every piece of equipment references something that lives here — the birds, the animals, the flowers, the trees, the fish — the ground is finished to read like a forest floor, and a local artist hand-painted the details using the actual colourings of the reserve's wildlife.

The council called it a world exclusive and said it was being used as an example for playground companies elsewhere. That is the sort of claim councils make, and you can take it or leave it. The part that isn't marketing is the ramp: a route that brings a child in a wheelchair up into the heart of the structure, described by the council as the first of its kind in Northern Ireland. For a family who has spent years at playgrounds where accessible means one item at ground level, that single piece of design changes what a day out is.