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6 best climbing frames for kids to enjoy in the garden

Whether it’s an indoor climbing frame or a large garden set – our little testers tried out the top-rated options

Sarah Dawson
Tuesday 13 June 2023 15:39 BST
<p>Our gang of testers looked for fun while we tested for safety and easy assembly</p>

Our gang of testers looked for fun while we tested for safety and easy assembly

Our Top Picks

Now the sun has arrived, you’ll hardly need to tempt the kids outside but if you’re trying to get them to burn off some of that never-ending energy, you can’t go wrong with a quality climbing frame.

Just the thing for encouraging children to explore and boost gross motor skills, balance, strength and coordination, climbing frames are also perfect for helping kids to develop problem solving skills and navigate risk. Even the simplest of set-ups can provide the base for hours of imaginative and creative play.

They’re typically a one-off buy though, so you want to buy well and choose a model that will last through the childhood years and can withstand whatever a pack of little climbers can throw at it. As a result, you can expect to spend anything from £200 to £1,000 for a decent playset.

One of the most important considerations when choosing a climbing frame is how much space you have. There’s a vast choice of sizes, from compact designs to “we’re going to need a bigger garden” models, and we’ve tried to cover a decent range to suit most families.

Another thing to keep in mind is assembly. Pretty much all climbing frames require a certain level of DIY, but while some in our round-up could be easily put together in an afternoon, others were a labour of love that stretched over a few days. If in doubt, you can always call in the professionals to help.

How we tested

We roped in the help of a gang of testers ranging from two-and-a-half to nine-years-old, to help us put together our round-up of the best climbing frames. We looked at everything from assembly to safety, while our young testers were more concerned with how much fun and how easy to use the climbing frames were, over a month of play.

The best climbing frames for 2023 are:

  • Best climbing frames overall – Plum climbing pyramid: £649.99, Plumplay.co.uk
  • Best for imaginative play – Jungle Gym jungle viking: £709, Junglegym.co.uk
  • Best climbing frames for smaller gardens – TP explorer metal climbing frame: £229.99, Tptoys.com
  • Best for versatility – Quadro climbing pyramid: £175, Quadroplay.co.uk
  • Best climbing frames for older children – Rebo wooden garden swing set with monkey bars: £335.96, Outdoortoys.co.uk
  • Best climbing frames for younger kids – Smoby house on stilts: £375, Amazon.co.uk

Plum climbing pyramid

Plum climbing pyramid indybest.jpg
  • Best: Climbing frame overall
  • Material: Wood
  • Dimensions: H 210cm x W 390cm x L 150cm

We absolutely love the design of this climbing frame, which manages to squeeze loads of fantastic features into a nifty wooden pyramid construction. Made from FSC certified pine (pre-treated to protect against rot and infestation), it’s a strong and sturdy build that looks and feels as though it can handle years of play and unpredictable weather.

We were pleasantly surprised at how straightforward assembly was, taking two of us just over three hours to put it all together. Suitable for children from three to twelve, there’s plenty to keep them occupied and it’s big enough for multiple kids to play on (or in) at once. It offers three climbing options, we found our younger testers managed the cargo net and metal bars no problem, while our older, more intrepid explorers, enjoyed scaling the climbing wall. There’s also camouflage fabric side attachments, which create a huge den underneath the pyramid, which we’ve found near impossible to tempt the children out of. Apparently, from now on all lunches must be served inside the den!

As well as all of this, there’s an 8ft wave slide, which our testers loved whizzing down, and it comes with a hose pipe attachment to transform it into a water slide on sunny days. If you have the space, there’s the option of a double swing add-on, for an extra £100.

From construction to play, we’re hard pushed to find fault with this Plum climbing pyramid. It’s a most welcome addition to our garden and is sure to be loved and played with whatever the weather.

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Jungle Gym jungle viking

Jungle Gym jungle viking indybest.jpg
  • Best: Imaginative play
  • Material: Timber
  • Dimensions: H 264cm x W 265cm x L 261cm

What’s better than a climbing frame? A pirate-themed climbing frame, obviously. Complete with a wooden stem, boat helm and telescope, the opportunity for some serious nautical-inspired imaginative play is huge with this epic offering from Jungle Gym.

With a choice to personalise your climbing frame with different slide colour options, or various configurations including swings and cargo nets, there’s the chance to really make this your own – which, when you’re spending this much, is a welcome touch. We love the standard set-up, which was jam-packed with play opportunities without completely taking over the garden. As you can imagine, with so many features, construction was time consuming and while the instructions were clear, it did take two of us a bit longer than the six hours suggested by the manufacturer.

Designed for children from ages three to 10, we found our youngest testers were more than happy to while away the hours playing in the built-in sandpit, while our older testers like scrambling up the rope ladder to the telescope to spot sharks and rival pirates. It’s fair to say this was an enormous hit – our testers love it and we wish we were small enough to play on it too.

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TP Explorer metal climbing frame

TP Explorer metal climbing frame indybest.jpg
  • Best: Climbing frames for smaller gardens
  • Material: Metal
  • Dimensions: H 201cm x W 182cm x L 208cm

We think this fun offering from TP Toys is great value for money. Relatively simple to build, we managed it singlehandedly, although an extra pair of hands is recommended and would have definitely brought the build time in at under two hours. The end result? A very cool, steel frame design complete with an excellent den, in which we promptly lost our testers for the rest of the afternoon.

The den can be accessed from three sides, either up one of the metal bar steps or the cargo net. Once inside, it’s big enough for three, and our testers loved rolling down the door panels and spying through the peephole windows. In fact, they happily stayed in the den even when it was raining.

It’s a modular design, which you can add to with swings, a slide or even a basketball hoop, but we loved the simplicity and size of this set up. Thoughtful touches, like the road map design on the floor of the den – perfect for some toy car play – were a hit with our younger testers. Underneath the den is a shaded play area, which can be used as a ball pool or sand pit. Alternatively, do as we did and chuck in some outdoor cushions and take the opportunity to relax while the kids have fun. Yes, it may be noisy but it’s pretty comfy in there…

  1. £229 from Tptoys.com
Prices may vary
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Quadro climbing pyramid

Quadro climbing pyramidi indybest.jpg
  • Best: Climbing frame for versatility
  • Material: Plastic
  • Dimensions: Varies depending on set-up

Quadro is unlike any other kids’ climbing apparatus we’ve come across. It feels a bit like a giant Meccano set, with various tubes and connectors you can fix together to create all kinds of different designs. Included in the box is a set of coloured plastic screws, along with the tool you need to tighten them into place, to make sure your construction is safe and secure. We found it incredibly easy to assemble various frames single-handedly, and it was even quicker to take them apart – perfect if you have impatient children lining up to have a climb.

Suitable for ages one year and up, our toddler’s eyes lit up as soon as they spotted it – the bright colours were an instant hit, as was the fun climbing pyramid design which they launched themselves towards at speed. The pyramid uses a grid measuring 40cm x 40cm, which is the perfect size for younger children to tackle, and we were so impressed with how our littlest tester’s confidence and climbing skills grew when playing on it.

There’s plenty of scope for play here, with the option of buying various extension kits to transform your climbing frame with slides, panels and even a mini swimming pool.

Despite feeling lightweight, the high-density plastic tubes can withstand a hefty 100kg, so older kids can easily get involved – in fact, our five-year-old loved it as much as our two-and-a-half-year-old tester. The grown-ups were also big fans and we enjoyed letting our inner Meccano-geek out when trying out the various model designs.

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Rebo wooden garden swing set with monkey bars

Rebo wooden garden swing set with monkey bars indybest.jpg
  • Best: Older children
  • Material: Timber
  • Dimensions: H 214cm x W 200cm x L 268cm

What is it about kids and monkey bars? Our older testers were delighted with this climbing frame and were queuing up after one another to swing along the bars, over and over again.

Made from pressure treated, weather resistant timber, with the addition of power coated steel brackets, we found this a simple enough build that felt reassuringly robust when finished. With a colourful climbing wall on one side of the monkey bars and a wooden ladder on the other, there was enough variation to keep the kids entertained, while the swing was the cherry on top. Because of the height of the monkey bars and swing, our pre-schooler couldn’t really get involved with the play, but for primary school kids we think this is a fantastic set.

We really like how you can pick and choose your own add-on adventure packs, featuring everything from cargo nets and climbing ropes to basketball nets and nest swings. And, if you do opt for a trickier build, you can choose the home installation service to save you the job of assembling it all yourself. Excellent!

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Smoby house on stilts

Smoby house on stilts indybest.jpg
  • Best: Climbing frames for younger kids
  • Material: Plastic
  • Dimensions: H 197cm x W 260cm x L 160cm

There were actual squeals of delight from our toddler testers when we finished putting together this colourful play house, slide and ladder. In fact, it could not be more perfect for little kids. There’s an easy-to-climb ladder, just right for developing their coordination, the slide height is not too terrifying for them to tackle on their own, plus doors and windows that they can open and shut independently.

Although the instructions suggested it could be finished in one and a half hours, it took two of us just over two hours to complete – although this was with constant interruptions from the toddlers to see if they could go down the slide yet, and in the rain, so not a bad effort, really.

We found the whole playset a great size for younger children to play independently – we’d suggest from two years to around six or seven – and the house was perfect for encouraging imaginative play. Yes, it’s colourful, but not at all in-your-face, and we liked that it’s all anti-UV treated, so won’t fade in the sun. The fact it’s on stilts means we can still easily mow the lawn underneath it and, come summer the hose pipe attachment on the slide is going to be a brilliant sunny day addition.

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The verdict: Climbing frames

We can’t fault the Plum climbing pyramid. It offers so much play potential with the multiple climbing options, slide and den, and it’s incredible quality. It’s absolutely worth the money and is the kind of climbing frame that has something to offer children of all ages. We also think the TP explorer metal climbing frame is a well-crafted choice for budding climbers, so comes highly recommended too.

Kids will also love hanging out on our best swing sets – find the right set for your garden in our roundup

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