Soft Play and Rainy-Day Places Near York

The places most people look for are Oxygen York and Flip Out York, both on the north side of the city with toddler sessions from £3; the Web Adventure Park off the ring road for an all-day indoor and outdoor ticket; and the leisure centres at Monks Cross and Acomb for cheap, short sessions. Every entry was checked against the venue’s own site on 27 October 2026.

We have not visited any of these for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry gives what the venue says it offers, the prices, ages and times it publishes, and the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating for its cafe. Every cafe listed holds a rating of 5. Prices change often, and several venues charge more at weekends and in school holidays, so check the booking page before you set off.

Soft play in York compared

Clifton Moor and the north of the city

Oxygen York, Clifton Moor

Oxygen is a trampoline and active play park in the Clifton Moor Centre. For the youngest it has a soft play area that it describes as having “a colourful ball pit, mini obstacles & tunnels”, and a 60-minute soft play ticket for ages 1 to 5 costs £3 a toddler, with parents free to supervise. Toddler Play sessions with structured games run on term-time weekday mornings at £12.45 for a parent and toddler. Older children get open play from £14.95 for two hours, and SEN Peaceful Play runs on Wednesdays and Sundays from 5pm to 7pm at £8.95, carer included. Online prices carry a £1.50 booking fee and walk-in prices are a little higher. Term-time hours are 9.30am to 1.30pm and 3.30pm to 7pm on weekdays, 9am to 7pm at weekends. Free parking for four hours. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 14 May 2026). Hurricane Way, YO30 4XU. oxygenactiveplay.co.uk

Web Adventure Park, Wigginton Road

The Web calls itself “Yorkshire’s top family attraction” and mixes indoor soft play, a ninja course and the Bugginton Role Play Village with outdoor play, a water zone and an animal park with alpacas, ponies and goats. Fairground rides and laser tag run at weekends and in school holidays. Term-time weekday tickets are £9.25 a child and £4 an adult, with no rides; weekend tickets with rides are £17.95 a child and £12.95 an adult, and booking online saves £1 a ticket. Open 9.30am to 6.30pm on term-time weekdays and 9.30am to 6pm at weekends and in holidays; closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Its own site says the online booking system is “down intermittently” and that you can pay at reception instead. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 6 February 2026). Wigginton Road, YO32 2RH, just off the A1237. webadventurepark.co.uk

Tenpin York, Clifton Moor

The bowling centre has a soft play area alongside the lanes, split by age and height: babies under 12 months go free, toddlers aged 1 and 2 (no taller than 84cm) pay from £3.50, and juniors aged 3 to 12 (no taller than 140cm) from £4.50. Tenpin says sessions are two hours, “so make sure you arrive in good time”. Off-peak sessions run Monday to Thursday from 10am with last booking at 5pm, and Friday to 6pm; Saturday, Sunday and every day of the school holidays count as peak. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 2 April 2026). Stirling Road, Clifton Moor Centre, YO30 4WZ. tenpin.co.uk

Poppleton and the west

Flip Out York, Rose Avenue

Flip Out bills itself as “York’s biggest and best adventure park” and lists trampolines, toddler soft play, a ninja obstacle course, a foam pit and inflatables. Toddler Time, for little ones with a parent on term-time weekdays, starts at £3. A one-hour session for older children is from £9.95 and two hours from £14.95; children aged 4 and under must be with a paying adult. Open 10am to 7pm most days, to 8pm on Fridays, and only 10am to 2pm on term-time Tuesdays. Phone 01904 360500. Hygiene rating 5 for the Flip Out Cafe (FSA, 26 August 2026). 3-7 Rose Avenue, YO26 6RU. flipout.co.uk

Agility York, Poppleton

Agility is mainly a ninja and fitness park, but its preschool side has a baby play area for under-twos, an obstacle soft play with climbing wall, slide, rings and roundabout for children up to 3, a themed Activity Den and a ninja course. Preschool play for ages 2 and up runs at 10am every Saturday and Sunday and every day in the holidays: 90 minutes for £13.95, adults £9.95. A mini membership is £14.95 a month for an under-5. The Shack cafe does toddler meals for £3 when booked online. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 23 June 2026). London Ebor Business Park, Millfield Lane, YO26 6QY. Phone 01904 530826. agilityparks.co.uk

Energise Leisure Centre, Acomb

Better, which runs the centre, says its “brand-new 2-story soft play area is now open”, with a twin-lane slide into a ball splash, a mini trampoline and a sensory room with lights and textures. It describes the soft play as “specially designed for children aged 5 and under”. The listing gives 0 to 4 years, 60-minute sessions and £4.50 a child, with one adult included and a second adult £1. Free parking, a cafe, baby change and a buggy park. Book through the Better app or website. The Little Yorkshire Coffee Company inside the centre holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 10 January 2025). Cornlands Road, YO24 3DX. better.org.uk

Monks Cross

York Leisure Centre: Toddlers World and Jungle Run

The leisure centre at the York Stadium complex runs drop-in soft play combining the Toddlers World bouncer, which it says “includes rockers, bouncers and balls”, and the inflatable Jungle Run obstacle course. Better gives the ages as 6 months to 10 years in one place and 6 months to 8 years in another, so check when booking. Sessions run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, with extra ones in the school holidays, and socks must be worn. Pop Up Play, for babies who are not yet walking, runs on Fridays from 12.30pm to 2pm. Better’s pages do not publish a soft play price, so it shows only when you book. The Little Yorkshire Coffee Company at the stadium holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 12 November 2025). Kathryn Avenue, Monks Cross, YO32 9AF. better.org.uk

Clip ‘n Climb, York Leisure Centre

For children who have outgrown soft play, the same centre has Clip ‘n Climb, coloured climbing walls with auto-belays for ages 4 and up. Sessions start with an induction. Better’s price list gives £10.40 for children aged 4 to 8, £13 for 8 to 16 and £15.50 for adults. It is open every day in the school holidays; book through the Better app. Kathryn Avenue, Monks Cross, YO32 9AF. better.org.uk

Rainy-day places in the city centre

Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery, National Railway Museum

The museum is free to enter (you book a free admission ticket) and open 10am to 5pm every day except 24 to 26 December, with last admission at 4.30pm. Inside, Wonderlab is a paid hands-on gallery that the museum calls “an unmissable interactive experience for families”, where children try out the science behind the railways. Day tickets start at £9.90 and an annual pass is £17 a person; Wonderlab is open until 4.30pm. At weekends and in school holidays the Play Revolution sessions split by age (3 to 6, and 7 and over), and Relaxed Wonderlab is a quieter, sensory-friendly session. The museum says its Great Hall reopens on 28 October. The museum’s cafe operator holds a hygiene rating of 5 (FSA, 14 July 2025). Leeman Road, YO26 4XJ. railwaymuseum.org.uk

DIG, St Saviourgate

Run by York Archaeology, the charity behind Jorvik, DIG sits in the former St Saviour’s Church and calls itself “a hands-on archaeological adventure where young explorers (recommended for ages 5–12) can become archaeologists for the day”. Children dig in four pits based on real excavations in the city, with staff on hand. Its site gives opening as 10am to 4pm, and it is running a Cressida Cowell How to Train Your Dragon School exhibition. Ticket prices are on its booking page; the site also sells a ticket covering its sister attractions. Phone 01904 615505. St Saviour’s Church, St Saviourgate, YO1 8NN. digyork.com

How we chose

We started with the indoor play places York parents search for and the ones local family listings return, then kept only those whose own website was live and showed current sessions on 27 October 2026. Prices, ages, hours and quotes come from each venue’s own pages; hygiene ratings come from the Food Standards Agency register for York. We have not been to them for this guide. For outdoor play, see our York playgrounds guide and walks near York; for somewhere to sit down afterwards, York cafes. There is more in things to do in York, what’s on in York this month and the York business directory.

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

Frequently asked questions

Where is the cheapest soft play in York?

Oxygen York at Clifton Moor charges £3 a toddler for a 60-minute soft play ticket for ages 1 to 5, with parents free, and Flip Out York on Rose Avenue lists Toddler Time from £3 on term-time weekdays. Tenpin York’s soft play starts at £3.50 for toddlers and £4.50 for children aged 3 to 12, and Energise Leisure Centre in Acomb lists £4.50 a child with one adult included.

Which York soft play is good for children with additional needs?

Oxygen York runs SEN Peaceful Play sessions on Wednesdays and Sundays from 5pm to 7pm, at £8.95 with a carer included. Wonderlab at the National Railway Museum runs Relaxed Wonderlab, a sensory-friendly session for families who want a quieter gallery, and Energise Leisure Centre has a sensory room alongside its soft play.

What can children do indoors in York for free?

The National Railway Museum on Leeman Road is free to enter, open 10am to 5pm every day except 24 to 26 December, though you book a free admission ticket. Its Wonderlab children’s gallery is paid, with day tickets from £9.90.