A Safe Harbour For Little Adventures.
Welcome to The Little Harbour, a quiet, welcoming playspace with a small café created where children and families can slow down, feel supported, and enjoy a calmer environment.
Designed with neurodivergent children in mind, our sensory-aware space offers a gentle alternative to busy, overwhelming play centres.
To maintain our calm environment, all sessions are by booking only.
Book a session
Our Playspace.
Our play space is thoughtfully divided into three unique areas designed to support imagination, movement, and sensory exploration.
Children can enjoy imaginative and traditional play with carefully selected toys that encourage creativity and communication, including books, pretend play, Magnatiles, and more.
Our regulation and movement area features spinny chairs, swings, a trampoline, stepping stones, and a cuddle box to help children move and regulate in ways that feel good for them.
We also have a calming sensory room, a darkened space filled with projectors, a bubble tube, infinite mirror, and a huge ball pit for immersive sensory play and relaxation.
Sessions.
We offer a range of sessions specifically designed to suit your baby or child, sparking imagination, encouraging exploration and making every visit fun-filled.
Open Play Baby Sessions
1.5 hours | £9 per child
For babies aged 0–15 months, these gentle sessions are thoughtfully set up with safe, age-appropriate play areas designed especially for little ones to explore and enjoy.
Open Play
1.5 hours | £9 per child
Suitable for children aged 0–5 years, our open play sessions give children the freedom to explore, imagine and play at their own pace in our calm and welcoming environment.
Please note: We limit the number of children in each session to keep our play space calm and comfortable and we’re unable to offer sibling discounts at this time. However, siblings aged 10 weeks and under can come along free of charge and don’t need a booked space 😊
SEND Sessions
1.5 hours | £9 per child
Designed for children aged 0–11 years with special educational needs and disabilities and their siblings, these sessions offer a relaxed, supportive environment for families to enjoy playing together.
Please see below for accessibility information.
Private Hire
Enjoy exclusive use of our whole play space, whether you’re getting together with friends or looking for a quieter setting for your family.
Private hire is £45 for one hour, this price is based on 4 children playing. Additional children can be added for £9 per child. We can accommodate a maximum of 10 children.
Our café will remain open during your session if you fancy a coffee, a slice of cake or something to eat.
Please note: private hires are intended for private play sessions and aren’t party bookings. For birthday parties and other celebrations please see our birthday packages.
Sessions are subject to availability and can be booked through our website. If you have a time in mind that isn’t available to book, please email us at thelittleharbourdarlington@gmail.com, we’ll do our best to accommodate you where we can.
Cancellation Policy
If your plans change, please give us at least 24 hours’ notice and we’ll be happy to reschedule your booking or arrange a refund.
As we limit spaces to keep our sessions calm and comfortable, cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice are non-refundable, as we’re unlikely to be able to fill your space at short notice. Thank you for your understanding.
Celebrate a Birthday at The Little Harbour.
The Little Harbour is perfect for smaller, more relaxed celebrations, with exclusive hire of our quiet play space. It’s ideal for little ones who can sometimes find larger, busier party venues overwhelming, as well as families who simply want a calmer, more personal birthday experience.
We currently offer two party packages:
🎈 Package 1 – £160
- Exclusive hire
- 1 hour of play
- 30 minutes for party food boxes and jugs of juice
- Café hatch open for hot and cold drinks
🎈 Package 2 – £120
- Exclusive hire for 1.5 hours to use as you wish
- Jugs of juice supplied
- You’re welcome to bring your own party food
- Café hatch open for hot and cold drinks
✨ Maximum of 10 children
✨ Sweet cone party favours available for £1.50 each
Please note birthday cake is not included. £50 deposit required on booking.
All party enquiries should be registered with us via email thelittleharbourdarlington@gmail.com.
Food & Drinks.
Fancy a little something while the little ones play?
We serve a small selection of freshly made food, drinks, snacks and homemade cakes, including toasties, children’s lunch options and, most importantly, a good coffee!
We’ve tried to keep our menu simple, family-friendly and affordable, with options for both grown-ups and little ones.
If you or your child has any allergies or dietary requirements, please speak to a member of our team and we’ll always do our best to help.
Our cakes and snacks change regularly, so make sure you have a peek at the counter and our specials board when you visit!
View our menu
Accessibility Notice.
Our entrance and play space are accessible, and we are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all families.
Please note that our toilet facilities are spacious and the current door opening accommodates up to 760mm width. While this may meet some accessibility needs, we understand it may not yet meet all needs. Expanding this access is something very important to us, and it is our intention to replace the door with a larger, more accessible option as soon as we are able to.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work towards making these improvements. If you have any questions before visiting, please feel free to contact us if you’d like to discuss anything regarding how we can accommodate your child while they visit.
Our Mission.
At The Little Harbour, we created the kind of space we always wished existed for our own family, somewhere calm, welcoming and understanding, where children can play freely and parents can truly relax.
Our name comes from the feeling of finding shelter after rough seas: a safe harbour where everyone is accepted exactly as they are. As a family, we understand that every child is different and every parent carries their own journey, which is why we've built a space built with warmth, patience and kindness.
Whether you visit for play, connection or simply a moment of calm, we want every family who walks through our doors to feel supported, included and completely at home.