Gouden Woud: Liempde

Gouden Woud: Liempde is a cool place for indoor and outdoor fun. We spent a great afternoon there last week. At first glance it’s not all that exciting, honestly. There are bigger play places around. I knew my kids would have fun, but they always do. They are pretty easy like that. We got in and off they ran while I found a table.  I was really surprised by how much fun Guoden Woud actually is.

The indoor play space is much bigger that it looks from the tables. The space is all sand with shallow water and play structures. The water isn’t deep at all but it is probably a good idea to bring a swim suit for the kids because they will end up completely wet. My kids were in their skivvies within about 15 minutes of walking in the door. What makes this place really cool is digging for gold. Scattered throughout the sand are these little bits of fake gold. The idea is that you gather them and when you have enough you can trade them in for an ice cream or candy. It’s a really nice combination of busy work and play time. Look for the carved wooden bear and just to the side you will find a table with a scale on it. Under it there is shelf with bowls. They are your basic IKEA plastic numbers but they have little holes drilled into the bottom so the kids can wash the sand out. Clever, right? When you think you have enough (10 ounces, if I remember correctly) you weigh it on the little scale and if you have enough a staff member gives you a coin and you can exchange that for a bag of sweets. I just realized I have typing “you” instead of “your child”. I was about to correct it but decided that the original is probably more accurate. You know you are going to be “helping” and by that I mean, be prepared to get a little sandy. The fact that I have to help would normally bug me but I didn’t mind here. It was oddly therapeutic so play in the sand. Plus I was there with a friend so we were still able to chat, that always helps.

 

The Food: The menu is small but really well done. The kids had a tosti on real bread that didn’t look like it began it’s day frozen. I had the salmon salad and it was DELICIOUS. I couldn’t even finish it and that’s saying something. My friend had the burger and told me that is was very good. They even have a fruit and veg platter on the menu! The dips contain milk, unfortunately but even without the dips  out kids devoured it.

There is a large playground outside as well as a patio with tables. It’s a nice playground. we went on a nice warm day and the kids spent nearly half the time outside.

I really recommend checking out Gouden Woud and plan to go back really soon. It’s a little gem!

Some Helpful Info:

• This is their website: Gouden Woud
• This is their address: Hamsestraat 18, 5298 NA Liempde gemeente Boxtel
• They are open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. If you are unsure if they are open or not please check the website before you go.
• The cost to get in is 5 Euros for kids from the age of 1 till the age of 13. Before and after those ages are free.
• I’m really not sure how much English is spoken by the staff, honestly. I was relying on my basic Dutch abilities but you should be able to manage fine. There is plenty of parking on site

Enjoy!

Looking for other places to take the kids? Check out some of my other top picks!

Sterren Strand: Eersel

Vossenberg Speelboerderij: Tilburg

Aardbeienhof: Gemert

Maritime Museum: Rotterdam