Skynets: The Big Bounce - Ups and Downs at Sandham Gardens Bouncy Nets

The bouncy nets cost £14 for children and £7 for adults when we visited

We've had a few visits to Sandham Gardens in the last few years. 

About a decade ago, it looked very different with a more basic minigolf course, an Olympic themed outdoor gym and a derelict bandstand.

In the last few years it has seen a lot of investment, which I see as a positive thing and certainly counteracts the parts of Sandown seafront that are looking, ahem, less attractive at the moment.

The big Bounce

We had previously played our way round the dinosaur themed minigolf course (great fun and relatively easy) and raced on the go karts, as well as dining out at The Bandstand. However, we hadn't been on the bouncy nets, which are formally known as Skynets: The Big Bounce.

From what I can recall, the plan for the site was originally a high ropes course but it was changed to bouncy nets. 

The bouncy nets at Sandham Gardens are relatively expensive, but they are good fun as a one-off holiday activity. When we visited it was £14 for a child and £7 for an accompanying adult for a two hour session. On the plus side, there were a few offers, including 20% off for Isle of Wight residents and a deal for half price minigolf if you did both in one day. 

My children are getting close to the age where they don't really need an accompanying adult but I insisted that I needed to join in and we were given a safety talk by a man called Colin. 

He explained that there is a big central bouncy bit called the 'chillout zone', as well as several other areas where you can play ball games. There are then a series of slides to exit the bouncy nets.

Ups and downs

Unfortunately, the lady on the ticket booth wasn't called Annette

At first, I queried whether we would actually use our full two hour session. It was good fun but we had done something similar at Robin Hill (RIP) in about 20-30 minutes.

However, the addition of yoga balls added much to the entertainment. The round nets are also bigger than those at Robin Hill, so there was enough space for games of dodgeball and piggy-in-the-middle with the other children.

My personal suggestion (which no-one is asking for) would be to add a few things for lone-bouncers, such as giant basketball hoops to throw balls through.

The slides are a curious design, as they are made from netting. On my first attempt, I went down the shortest slide and found myself shuffling ungracefully down the final two thirds, desperately hoping that no-one jumped behind me. I emerged out of breath and with an almighty wedgy, which afforded me a look of bemusement from the other parents who were sipping on their lattes and enjoying the sea air

Shortly after, Mrs Guru sent me a message to say that I must definitely not attempt the longest slide. She had heard from another parent that it was tricky and she was convinced I would get stuck.

Of course, this spurred me on to try the longest slide five minutes later.

As I approached, I saw another child trying a different technique where he actually jumped legs first into the slide rather than sitting down and sliding. This seemed to work pretty well. I briefly considered launching myself in this way. Thankfully, I remembered how old I am and the stresses that the NHS is currently facing. I gingerly sat down and took a deep breath.

To a certain extent, Mrs Guru was right. I probably shouldn't have gone in the long slide. However, all that happened was that I very slowly shuffled out of the slide and found the bottom of my jeans up round my knees. Yes, the queue behind me was "embarrassingly large" but as I pointed out at the time, learning to be patient is an important part of growing up.

Big yoga balls filled a lot of time playing dodgeball

The exit slides provided me with an uncomfortable experience

Back to the go-karts

After the bouncy nets, our next stop was the go-karts. These cost you £5 per car. They are pretty tame and good for primary school aged children, rather than stag dos (see Wight Karting for the latter).

Accompanying grown-ups don't pay, so I insisted that child two needed some help (Ed: there's a pattern here). On our race, child one beat us by an absolute mile. This was probably for the best, but I would like to point out it was the equivalent of Red Bull versus Haas, with our car spluttering its way round the corners.

It was getting late, so we headed home - although you could happily spend a whole day in the Sandham Gardens area with a combination of attractions and messing around on the beach. The playground is one of the best and largest on the Island (see our playground guide). It lacks the sea view you get at Gurnard, Ventnor or Appley but it's well equipped.

Anyway, we shall return to Sandham Gardens again and next time I will make sure we get the faster go-kart.