Well there we go. I guess it’s bye bye sunshine for at least as far at the weather forecast can accurately predict (and by accurately I mean not at all accurately). We had a chilled day in the house on Saturday after a bit of work in the morning. We built all the things out of Lego, played trains, built a den, baked cakes, played hide & seek… I even cracked out the play doh and that’s usually saved for emergencies only.

But now I’m thinking about what to do for the rest of the summer holidays and based on the forecast I’m sadly back to looking for rainy day fun in Glasgow again. And I figured lots of you would be thinking the same over the next few rainy days.

Sooooh here’s a few of our fave indoor spots to hang out & play. Something that’s a bit different to soft play… And thus in no particular order we have:

The Climbing Academy

The Climbing Academy in Kinning Park is our fave nearby place to have a play. We really love it here. Kids can climb the bouldering walls in the “fenced off” low walled section as much as they want. There’s a wee slide in here too.

The wee man has been coming here with big sis since before he could walk (obviously not climbing at that point). He couldn’t do much at first, though he gave it a good go, until he was about 18 months. He’s been climbing the smaller bits ever since. Nice wee cafe in here too.

Max 2 kids per adult. Costs £5 per child plus £2.50 shoe hire. (The toddler doesn’t use shoes – he just goes in his baresies.)

Craigend Nursery Indoor Beach

We enjoyed so many playdates here at this lovely garden centre in Condorrat before the kids went to school. It’s an indoor beach with plenty of toys to play with and piles of sand to dig about in.

Craigend Nursery is a lovely wee garden centre and it has a nice cafe too. You can eat in the cafe (we often do this while we’re waiting for a space in the sandpit) or get “takeaway” to eat down on the benches in the beach area.

Costs £3 per child. Must be booked in advance while covid measures exist.

Riverside Museum

I mean, you all know about this one. The Riverside Museum has lots of vehicles & wheels to have a wander round, some interactive exhibits including the fire engine which is a big fave with my wee-est. The Tall Ship is out the back too, where you can explore the different levels of a sailing ship.

Don’t forget to pick up your family quiz in the Riverside Museum and kids will get a wee prize at the end. The little lady LOVED doing this quiz, and it’s changed a few times a year so after you’ve memorised the answers you get a fresh new challenge.

All free.

The Science Centre

I’ve written about the Science Centre a few times in the past. To sum up though: there’s three whole floors of interactive exhibits, a brilliant space (with water & construction play) dedicated to under 7’s, science shows, planetarium, plus tons more.

You could spend a whole day here and not see everything. One of the most fun places in Glasgow.

Adults cost £11.50, child £9.50, under 3’s free. Well worth the annual passport if you use it a few times a year.

Movement Park

There are so many different sessions on in Movement Park from ninja & judo for tots, to parkour, skateboarding & Lego for P1 up. Their tots sessions will resume when schools start back after the summer holidays. This really is a great wee place. Check out their timetable here for more info.

Sessions cost £6 or £5 for tots sessions. They also have a monthly membership option for kids P1 and up, with unlimited sessions.

Flip Out

Flip Out has all the jumping you could ever do. There are trampolines, inflatables, sensory room, soft play, baby/toddler chill out room, and a cafe. It’s sweaty AF, but in a really fun way. Their “Mini Flipper” option is great for the pre 5’s as well.

A 1 hour session costs £11, or £11 for an under 4 & accompanying adult.

Kelvingrove Museum

There can’t be many people with kids who haven’t been to Kelvingrove Museum at least once. You can see the animals, the beehive, the floating heads, the rainforest, the dino eggs, wrap up a mummy (the Egyptian kind), have a play, hear the organ… This place is always great to occupy for a couple of hours.

Kelvingrove Museum is free. (The car park is not though.)

I hope these few suggestions help with some of our incoming rainy days. Feels like we’ve had way more than we deserve already this year!