Rickman Delawney Reserve, Balcatta, City Of Stirling

Rickman Delawney Reserve, Balcatta

The playground at Rickman Delawney Reserve in the leafy suburb of Balcatta has recently undergone an upgrade. Gone is the dated old playground, and in it’s place stands a new climbing structure with a huge slide, toddler equipment and lots more! The whole family will enjoy this new play area.

On arrival, Miss 8 was wowed by the new slide. The old play area had one of the standard twisty slides that everyone knows. The newly refreshed playground features a new, tall tube slide, designed by playground specialists Imagination Play. To access this, children must climb a web of ropes up to a covered platform. This then connects to a rope bridge, leading to the tubular slide. Miss 8 is normally a little skittish with tube slides, because they are dark inside and closed in. However, this one features two clear sections, making it less dim inside.

Behind the slide structure, there is now a new play structure suited to toddlers and kindy kids. This features steps to climb, a steering wheel for imaginative play, a tunnel, a small slide, and a rock climbing wall. Adjacent to this in the sand is a sand funnel with a wheel. Even as a middle primary school age child, Miss 8 enjoyed playing in this area.

With all the soft sand, bringing a bucket and spade or some trucks from home to play with would be great fun. This would be a great space for little ones to build sand castles or make roads.

In this same area, set in rubbery softfall, there are three swings. A birds nest style swing, and two regular swings. There is also a kind of xylophone for sensory play, a spring rocker and an all-abilities spinner here. The platform has enough space to roll in a small wheelchair or even a stroller.

In addition to this all-abilities spinner, in another section of the playground there is a duel swing. This is designed so that an adult can swing with a small child. This area also includes colourful balance balls.

Adding to the appeal of this park, Rickman Delawney Reserve facilities include some cute fairy trees. These trees feature carved and painted doors and nature details. These add a lovely touch of whimsy to this leafy park. As a parent, I love that there are shade sails and large shady trees. These will be wonderful and make the playground more welcoming when summer comes.

Rickman Delawney Reserve additionally features a netball court and a tennis court. There is also a huge oval with goal posts. So if you’ve got sporty kids or just bigger kids who aren’t into playgrounds so much anymore, there is something here for them to enjoy while younger siblings play.

The park is cross crossed with flat pathways for walking and bikes. If you have a little one building confidence in riding a bike, a scooter or skates, then this would be a great place to practice.

If you’re planning a family get together or a birthday party, Rickman Delawney Reserve in Balcatta delivers on space for events. We spotted two covered picnic tables close to a barbecue with two hot plates. In addition to this, there is another covered table area adjacent to the netball courts. The picnic shelters closest to the barbecues are decorated with a beautiful butterfly design, which ties in well with the fairy doors. Toilets are located between the courts and the barbecue areas. A water fountain is available here, also.

In summary, the Buggybuddys children who have visited this park have all loved it. We spent at least an hour exploring on our first visit since the playground reopened. Miss 8 didn’t want to leave and wanted to go back the next day. The children from Perth Mum Adventures also spent a long time playing and exploring. We can see this being a popular spot for school holiday catch ups and after school play dates.