Over the Easter holidays, I was invited to go to a new soft play centre in Aintree, Liverpool by my friend, Hayley. We met Hayley there and was greeted on the door by a young lady, called Lilly, who was very welcoming and opened the door to let us in.
Getting into the soft play centre was quite easy, there was just a little threshold bump to get over but nothing major. Once inside, it was really good and open, I was able to manoeuvre around easily and get under the tables. Right in-front of me, as I entered the door, there was plenty of tables and chairs with a café to the back of the building that sold refreshments, then to the right of the tables was the large ball pit, filled with pink, blue and white balls.
Behind that was the big soft play climbing area, this looked lovely, beautiful bright colours and plenty to do. To the right of the soft play was an enclosed trampoline with three steps up to it, in front of that there was a large Lego table that I was able to get under so I could build my own Lego creation.
Next to the café was a doorway that led to a corridor, off this corridor was two separate rooms, a sensory room and a games room. The sensory room was filled with lots of different things to create a calming atmosphere, this included bubble tubes, beanbags, wobble boards, soft cushions and a dark den. I really enjoyed spending time in here and relaxing. We then moved into the Gaming Room, this had four TV screens with PlayStation 5s connected, there was also multiple large gaming chairs so people could sit comfortably to play. I was able to have a go on Astro’s Playroom and had lots of fun with Hayley and Linda.
While I was there, I spoke to Hayley and Linda about how they could make the whole place more accessible for wheelchair users, I suggested portable hoists for the trampoline, bathroom facilities, sensory and gaming rooms. I also suggested a portable H-track hoist for over the ball pit. These hoisting facilities will make the soft play centre more inclusive, so individuals can be hoisted onto the equipment to be able to join in with all the other young people.
I really enjoyed my time at Lumiere and I cannot wait to see how the co-owners, Linda and Melissa, move forward with making it even more accessible.
