Children's Activities and Clubs
Barnes offers a wide range of activities for children and young people, from outdoor play on the common to structured clubs in dance, drama, sport, and Scouting. Its combination of green spaces, community venues, and active families makes it an unusually child-friendly corner of London.
Outdoor Play and Green Spaces
Barnes is exceptionally well provided with open space for children. Barnes Common is a 120-acre expanse of grassland and woodland where children can roam, cycle, and explore nature trails. Barnes Green and Barnes Pond provide a gentler setting for younger children, with ducks to feed and open grass for running around.
Barn Elms Playing Fields (Queen Elizabeth Walk, SW13 9SA) is one of the borough’s principal outdoor sports venues, managed by the Barn Elms Sports Trust. Facilities include pitches for rugby, football, hockey, cricket, baseball, and athletics, as well as a children’s play area for those aged up to thirteen. There is also a small woodland area with a glade used for camping by Scouts and Guides.
WWT London Wetland Centre
The WWT London Wetland Centre on Queen Elizabeth Walk is one of Barnes’s greatest assets for families. The 105-acre nature reserve offers adventure play areas including the Explore zone, with zip wires, a climbing wall, and giant water vole tunnels. The Pond Zone runs supervised pond-dipping sessions where children can discover aquatic life using provided equipment.
Inside, the Discovery Centre features interactive exhibits where children learn about wetland habitats through water games, model-building challenges, and virtual journeys from coral reefs to peat bogs. The centre runs family-oriented events and activities during school holidays. Entry is free for children under three and for WWT members, with discounted tickets available online.
Scouting and Guiding
St Mary Barnes Scout Group is based at the Barn Elms Scout HQ on Queen Elizabeth Walk. The group runs Beaver, Cub, and Scout sections: Beavers (ages 6-8) meet on Tuesdays, Cubs (8-10) on Wednesdays, and Scouts (10-14) on Tuesdays.
Barnes also has a thriving Girlguiding district, with two Brownie units, one Guide unit, and a Senior Section unit. Three of the four units meet at the Guide Hall on Washington Road (9 Washington Road, SW13 9BQ). The district organises joint events including Brownie pack holidays, Christmas discos, fundraising activities, and participation in community events such as Barnes Fair.
Sports Clubs
Barnes Rugby Football Club Minis trains every Saturday morning (9:30-11:00) at Barn Elms Sports Trust. The Minis section welcomes boys and girls from Under-5s to Under-11s. The club offers reduced subscription rates for younger age groups and for girls.
Saturday morning football, cricket coaching, and athletics are also available at Barn Elms Playing Fields through various local clubs and the sports trust. The nearby Beverley Brook and Barn Elms pathway offer safe cycling routes for older children.
Dance and Performing Arts
Clifford Studios (173-175 Church Road) offers tap, modern, ballet, and performance classes for children aged three to eighteen. Founded in Barnes in 2012, the studio now runs over twenty-eight classes per week and follows the ISTD syllabus with optional graded examinations. Small class sizes ensure individual attention.
The Barnes Musical Theatre Club meets on Monday evenings at Kitson Hall (Kitson Road, SW13 9HJ) in two age groups: 4–7 and 8–12. Classes explore drama techniques, voice and singing training, dance movement, and theatre games through well-known musicals. The club performs at local events and venues throughout the year.
Perform runs drama, dance, and singing classes in Barnes for children aged 4-12, with a focus on building confidence through performance skills.
Petite Performers offers performing arts sessions for younger children in Barnes, combining music, movement, and storytelling.
Youth Theatre and Arts
The OSO Arts Centre (49 Station Road, SW13 0LF), the community theatre overlooking Barnes Pond, runs an OSO Youth Theatre programme for children aged 6-11. Weekly term-time sessions cover theatre games, voice work, movement, storytelling, ensemble devising, and improvisation, culminating in an annual summer performance. The centre also hosts a range of children’s art and drama workshops throughout the year.
Barnes Children’s Literature Festival
The Barnes Children’s Literature Festival (BCLF) is the UK’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival, held annually over a weekend in June on Barnes Green. Founded by local families, the festival has grown over more than a decade to offer over 100 events including author talks, creative writing workshops, illustration masterclasses, puppetry, live music, LEGO building, and circus acts.
A hallmark of the festival is its commitment to accessibility: there is an extensive programme of completely free activities around Barnes Pond all weekend, ensuring that every family can attend without cost. The BCLF also runs the largest free literature festival schools programme in the UK, providing over 20,000 places at author and illustrator events for state primary schools across London.
Holiday Clubs and Camps
Activ Camps operates holiday camps at St Paul’s School in Barnes during school breaks, offering multi-activity programmes for children.
Junior Adventures Group runs out-of-school-hours activity clubs at Barnes Primary School, providing a structured programme of games, arts, and sports before and after the school day.
Free and Affordable Options
Not all activities require a subscription. Barnes is well served by free and low-cost options for families:
- Walking, cycling, and nature exploration on Barnes Common and along the Thames towpath
- Feeding ducks and playing on the grass at Barnes Green
- Free weekend activities at the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival in June
- The children’s play area at Barn Elms Playing Fields
- Free community events at Barnes Fair in July
For families with WWT membership, the Wetland Centre effectively becomes a free year-round resource for outdoor play and learning.
Sources
- WWT London Wetland Centre – official website
- Barnes Children’s Literature Festival – official website (barneskidslitfest.org)
- OSO Arts Centre – classes page
- Clifford Studios – dance classes
- St Mary Barnes Scout Group – Scouts UK listing
- Barnes Girlguiding – Barnes Village listing
- Barnes Rugby Football Club Minis – official website
- The Barnes Musical Theatre Club – official website
- Barn Elms Sports Trust – official website (bestfields.co.uk)
- Activ Camps at St Paul’s School – official website