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 (week of 22nd June onwards) Book a session (week of 15th June)
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
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
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.
SEND Sessions
Designed for children aged 0-11 years with SEND needs and their siblings, these quieter sessions provide a more relaxed atmosphere with reduced noise and a supportive environment for families.
Please see below for accessibility information.
Private Hire
Enjoy exclusive use of our whole play space with private hire sessions. Our standard private hire is designed for up to 4 children to enjoy free roam access throughout the play space. Please note that our café is not open during private hire sessions. Additional children can be added to your booking if needed.
For parties, school visits, business or hire for charities, please email us directly at thelittleharbourdarlington@gmail.com.
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; however, 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 possible.
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 and we will always do our best to help.
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.