While parents might love to visit the pub and enjoy a meal, drink and a chat, kids just don’t want to sit down for too long.
Which means your time out isn’t always as relaxing as you'd hoped.
So you’ll be seeking out a child-friendly pub which ideally has a garden for them to run around in - and all the better if the garden has a play area, maybe with a climbing frames, slide and swings.
Perhaps there might be a play area indoors, which would be great if it's raining .
You might be able to watch them from a safe distance or take it in turns to be near them and help out.
And it means you can chat, eat, drink and relax while the kids have fun working up an appetite or burning off that ice cream pudding.
In no particular order of preference, we list 10 child-friendly pubs in or not far from Ealing, Uxbridge and Hounslow.
1. The Bear on the Barge, Denham
This quirky 100-year-old pub and restaurant believes it has one of the largest and most spectacular beer gardens in the whole of the UK.
Within the garden it has a wooden climbing frame with two swings and a baby swing, two slides, a mini climbing wall and a firemans’ pole, which only opened in the summer of 2018.
There is loads of space for children to run around while you sit at one of the garden tables. The pub is on the banks of the Grand Union Canal in the Colne Valley Recreational Park between Denham and Harefield. It is also dog friendly.
Where is it? Moorhall Road, Denham, UB9 6PE
What’s the phone number? 01895 832680
What’s the website address?www.thebearonthebarge.co.uk
2. Fairway, Ruislip
The Wacky Corner is a small soft play area inside this Greene King pub and restaurant with a ground floor from which children can climb up to the top of a slide – this is bound to be a hit while children are waiting for their food to arrive or have finished their meal before you have finished yours. The family friendly pub has a sunny beer garden too.
Where is it? Next to Ruislip Golf Centre, Ickenham Road, Ruislip , HA4 7DQ
What’s the phone number? 01895 638081
What’s the website address?www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/middlesex/fairway/
3. Ballot Box – Wacky Warehouse, Greenford
Wacky Warehouse soft play centres sit alongside Greene King pubs and you will find one at this Hungry Horse branch.
Children must be under 12 and under 1.45 metres tall to play on the frame. Adults can sit back with a coffee while the kids work up an appetite for dinner at the pub or burn off their pudding.
Wacky Warehouse is open Monday to Thursday 9.30am-7pm, Friday 9.30am-8pm, Saturday 11am-8pm, Sunday 11am-7pm, last admission Sunday to Thursday at 6pm, last admission Friday and Saturday at 7pm.
Where is it? Ballot Box, Horsenden Lane North, Greenford , UB6 7QL
What’s the phone number? 0208 902 2825
What’s the website address?www.hungryhorse.co.uk/pubs/middlesex/ballot-box/
4. The Duke of Kent, Pitshanger
Outside in what the pub boasts as Ealing’s best beer garden, is a wooden children’s play structure with monkey bars, a slide and rickety bridge.
There are also two table tennis tables, a bar, barbecue and a private glasshouse in the garden. The pub also hosts the Hullabaloo puppet music theatre group on Mondays, which is at 10am for children aged 18 months to four years and at 11am for children under 18 months.
You can find out more about the session, including prices, at www.hullabaloopuppetmusictheatre.co.uk .
Where is it? Scotch Common, Ealing , W13 8DL
What’s the phone number? 020 8991 7820
What’s the website address?www.dukeofkent.co.uk
5. The Drayton Court Hotel, Ealing
Now a pub, The Drayton Court Hotel has one of the biggest gardens in London apparently and within it there is a small play park with two swings and a climbing frame.
The child-friendly pub also has also table tennis tables and giant garden games as well as a children’s menu. It is also dog friendly. The Drayton Court Hotel was one pub until the 1940s when it became one of one of the area’s largest pubs.
Where is it? 2 The Avenue, Ealing, W13 8PH
What’s the phone number? 020 8997 1019
What’s the website address?www.draytoncourtlondon.co.uk
6. The Plough Inn, Northfields
This award-winning family-friendly pub with country charm has a medium-sized garden with a play area which includes a slide.
There are board games inside for everyone to play, too. The pub also hosts the Hullabaloo puppet music theatre group for children and babies up to age four on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which is at 9.30am for children aged 18 months to four years and at 10.30am for children under 18 months.
You can find out more about the sessions, including prices, at www.hullabaloopuppetmusictheatre.co.uk .
Where is it? 297 Northfield Avenue, Ealing, London, W5 4XB
What’s the phone number? 020 8567 1416
What’s the website address?www.ploughnorthfields.co.uk
7. Rose and Crown, Heston
The beautiful large garden has a lovely children’s wooden play area with a slide and climbing frame. The family-run pub in the village of Heston , not far from Heathrow , dates back to before 1800 and serves up a home-cooked lunch and cask ales too. It has a large car park.
Where is it? 220 Heston Road, Heston, TW5 0RH
What’s the phone number? 0208 570 4706
What’s the website address?www.roseandcrownheston.co.uk
8. The Hare & Hounds, Osterley
The huge beer garden is said to be the biggest in the area so there is plenty of room for children to run around.
It has a fenced-off children’s play area with two climbing frames, one of which has a slide.
The pub also has a room from which it would like to host sessions for parents and young children in the mornings. The pub is dog-friendly as well.
Where is it? The Hare & Hounds, Wyke Green, Osterley , TW7 5PR
What’s the phone number? 020 8560 5438
What’s the website address?www.hareandhoundsosterley.co.uk
Things for Londonders to do with the family
9. Green Man, Hatton
In the big grassy back garden is a wooden and colourful play structure with a little bridge, slide and netting for them to climb and clamour over while you watch, maybe from one of the picnic tables. There is plenty of room in the garden for them to run around too.
Where is it? Green Man Lane, Hatton, near Feltham , TW14 0PZ
What’s the phone number? 020 8890 2681
What’s the website address?www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/middlesex/green-man
10. The Lord Nelson, Brentford
There are two swings, a slide and a climbing frame as part of this wooden play area in the medium, good sized garden of The Lord Nelson. When the pub hosts an event it includes entertainment for the children too.
There are baby changing facilities and it’s dog-friendly as well. This is a relaxed and casual pub tucked away on the back streets.
Where is it? 9-11 Enfield Rd, Brentford , TW8 9NY
What’s the phone number? 020 8568 1877
What’s the website address?www.thelordnelsonbrentford.co.uk
