If you are local you probably know it as Gillott’s Leisure Centre, but actually it’s supposed to be known as The Henley Leisure Centre. We guess it’s similar for The Butts Centre = Broad Street Mall in Reading; Or The Madstad = Select Car Leasing Stadium. But what’s in a name? It’s what’s inside that counts, and with a sports hall full of the brilliant Wacky Wheelers Jeeps it will be a hall full of fun!
We’re sure you’ll agree that living near Henley is great. Unfortunately it isn’t blessed with many venues big enough for one of our parties, so The Henley Leisure Centre is a bit of an oasis in a desert. It’s easy to get to within Henley – at the very top of Greys Road, turn left and voila! Plenty of parking too!
The Sports Hall is oodly spacious. We can easily get our Supersize track (8 Jeeps) in here, but alas not our Mega Track. You can have the birthday tea alongside in the hall, but there’s also a room upstairs that you can book separately. That’s a good shout if you don’t want the kids tucking in too early!
A review of the facilities / space at Henley Leisure Centre
The main hall is at the rear of the building, accessed via the foyer. It’s pretty big, and although our Mega track wouldn’t fit, if you wanted a 10 Jeep party we could make it work. It’s a little tired around the edges, so we’d recommend adding our bunting to your party to brighten it all up.
There’s a seating area in the foyer / reception where you can get a great coffee. That’s great if your guests want to escape the excitement of the Wacky Wheelers Kids Party, and take some time out! Or your parents may like to take the time to have a swim when their kids are at the party (now that would be a first!).
What’s not so good about the venue?
There’s nothing really for parents to be concerned about apart from the acoustics, which are poor. The floor is a tiled floor so is a little harsh (especially acoustically). In fact, For such a large hall there are surprisingly few plug sockets. As a result we have found ourselves trailing a wire from the foyer through the doorway, which is not ideal.
We have a lot of kit to move so there are some convenient rear doors to load unload through. BUT… If access through the gates is not organised beforehand with the school we can’t get our vehicle behind the building. That means we have to load through the foyer. That’s somewhat of a schlepp, adds time and means we get in the way of the sports hall users.
How to contact / book Henley Leisure Centre kids party venue
Henley Leisure Centre
Gillotts Lane
Henley on Thames
Oxfordshire RG9 1PA
Tel: 01491 577909
Email: henley@gll.org
Website : https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/south-oxfordshire/henley-leisure-centre
How far is Henley Leisure Centre from me?
Caversham – 4.8 Miles (14 Minutes)
Hurley – 6.3 Miles (16 Minutes)
Marlow – 9.5 Miles (19 Minutes)
Nettlebed – 5.7 Miles (12 Minutes)
Shiplake – 3.3 Miles (9 Minutes)
Sonning – 7.3 Miles (17 Minutes)
Sonning Common -4.7 Miles (11 Minutes)
Wargrave – 5.2 Miles (14 Minutes)
Twyford – 6.8 Miles (18 Minutes)
Alternative kids party venues near Henley
As we mentioned, there aren’t many large venues near Henley, but if for whatever reason the Henley Leisure Centre doesn’t work for you here’s some other suggestions…
The Loddon Hall in Twyford is great! We also think that Highdown School in Emmer Green has a lot going for it. Although we haven’t held a party there, it may be worth looking at the sports centre on the Rotherfield site at Henley College. Could you be the first to try it?