If you have young children and live in or near Horfield, you might be interested to find out more about Ardagh Toddlers, a playgroup which is held every Monday 10 – 11.30am at the Ardagh Pavilion on Horfield Common.

I used to take my children there regularly and recently visited it again and I must say it was good to be back again!

Both the playgroup volunteers and visitors there were just as friendly as ever and there was a relaxed atmosphere. There are lots of volunteers at Ardagh Toddlers who are always on hand to help visitors and children.

Ardagh toddlers differs from a lot of other local playgroups for several reasons. Firstly there is no age limit; unlike some toddler groups Ardagh Toddlers which has an age of 3 years old, it is open to children from 0 – 4 years of age.

There is also no waiting list and, as Sue, one of Ardagh Toddler volunteers explained to me, the volunteers “don’t turn anyone away”.

Unlike many other playgroups, there is no singing or other structured activities at Ardagh Toddlers apart from the teas, coffees and biscuits which are served at the same time every session.

Thus children can play freely and this gives this playgroup an especially relaxed feel.

The playgroup is also open in half-term which is so useful when you have young children; so many other activities stop at half-term! Plus, there is outside space at Ardagh Toddlers unlike a lot of other playgroups.

There are currently lots of babies at Ardagh Toddlers and when I visited the Baby Corner was being made full use out of! It was good to see lots of dads there, too.

I spoke to a dad called Glen who has two children and he explained that he had been visiting Ardagh Toddlers for more than 2.5 years. He told me that he especially liked the range of activities for different ages and stages and that he had found the toddler group very friendly:

“Ardagh Toddlers has been a really welcoming community. I like it because it attracts a good age range of children and it has been really good to meet new people. It has activities to occupy a 3-year-old as well as a 6 month old.”

Activities for toddlers and pre-schoolers at Ardagh Toddlers includes jigsaws, Duplo, painting and crafts, dressing-up, ride-on cars and much more. And, of course, on dry days the children and parents make full use of the outdoor space.

If you fancy visiting Ardagh Toddlers with your little one, you can be sure of a warm welcome!

To see full details of Ardagh Toddlers and other weekly activities for young children in Bishopston, Horfield, St Andrew’s and Ashley Down, please see the Bishopston Mum Baby & Toddler Timetable.