3 April 2014

CITY SKATE PARK ADVENTURES

After seeing how engrossed F was by the skaters in Paris and his sudden interest in getting a skateboard for his fourth birthday, I thought it would be a fun free day out to take him to the local skate park with his scooter in tow. I couldn't have picked a better day, the sun was shining, magnolia trees blossomed and filled the skyline as we wandered our way down through Clifton Wood to reach the Harbour Ferry Crossing. Passing my old flat on the way brought back memories, while F ran ahead creating new ones as he explored his new surroundings. Excitedly we waited for the Ferry and exchanged our 80p to cross over the river into South Bristol and headed on foot to Dame Emily Park and the vivid graffitti covered skate park.
This post is pic heavy so click to read more.


Once we arrived I was immediately taken by how cool this place was, colour adorned every inch of cement, weeds pushing there way through the cracks, a raw urban jungle right there. Boys and girls* of various ages were tackling the half pipe and attempting tricks with their chosen wheels, and F watched how some of the teens were racing over the slopes with their BMX's, so eager to join in.At first I was a little nervous at letting him loose on the scooter due to how fast everyone seemed to be racing around the park, and how fearless he was at attempting slopes which I initially thought too difficult to navigate. However I was soon proven wrong on both accounts, as a small group of seven year olds made way for him to try out some slopes, while advising him on the best way to scoot.

With only a few tumbles, F happily bounded about the place, fearlessly trying to keep up with the big kids, only stopping for a sip of water before going back out. I had to physically intervene when it came to lunch, with him only agreeing to stop if we sat at the top of a ramp to eat sandwiches.

The skate park was a great way for him to test his physical abilities while also learning the rules of the playground so to speak, when to go and when to wait. For those thinking of heading down, it's not a super pretty laid out space, it's much more than that, it's owned by the kids and the community and it shows. If you're wanting a fun and free day out, grab some wheels and head down to Bedminster.

* Please note the kids at the skate park asked not to be photographed hence not appearing in these pictures.

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16 comments

  1. Interesting that the older kids didn't want to be photographed... should they not have been there?! Good that they helped your little one out though and were nice. Love the graffiti shots, very colourful.

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  2. What a great place to explore! It certainly looks like your little one had fun :-) x

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  3. I've never thought of taking Theo to a skatepark, but I bet he'd love it! Me on the other hand would probably be a nervous wreck!

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  4. Aaah, the fun of the urban wilds! Great that F got a taste of this so young - this kind of social interaction and risk management is so often a casualty of our overprotective society but is ESSENTIAL for kids development and confidence. Well done for getting out there!

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  5. great photos! reminds me the girls keep asking to take their scooters to the skate park!

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  6. What a day you picked for his first encounter with the skate park - it's deserted! My kids always loved watching the 'youths' doing tricks on their skateboards!

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  7. Great pictures, We have a new scooter and I am going to look for a skate park over the school holidays

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  8. Sounds like you had a real adventure. Lovely photos x

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  9. great pics that looks fun , he looks like he is having a great time x

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  10. we've never been to a skate park, but it does look fun

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  11. all i can think is that graffitti is making for rather a cool photo backdrop :)

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  12. My two love the skate park but they're more into their bikes at the moment which is a shame as I like the indoor skate park near me - lovely cafe with Wifi ;-)

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  13. Wow just the adventure to the skate park sounds like a lot of fun - love all these photos and it looks like he had a lot of fun :)

    Laura x

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  14. I've never been to this park but then it's hardly surprising as I don't spend much time in Bedminster. Would love to take Talitha down to see some skaters.

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  15. I know where this is and I've been there myself a couple of times (not on wheels I might add), but I had no clue what this park was called. It's nice in summer though x

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