When are you open?

6 days a week during the sunnier months, 7 days a week in the wetter months.

We may close some or all days if we have party bookings or are taking part in local events (e.g. Christmas Lights Switch on) so do go to “book your visit” to see our diary for the latest opening hours and slots for visits

Where can I park to visit Puffin Cove?

Some of our visitors tie in a quick supermarket shop with a visit to Puffin Cove and therefore park at Tesco. However Tesco car park is for their customers only and has a 2 hour limit monitored by ANPR.

The Mount Car Park is a 320m walk away from Puffin Cove, along quiet streets with footpaths the whole way. Parking costs £1 for 2 hours, £1.20 for 3 hours. There are payment machines on the carpark or you can arrange parking through RingGo. There is ANPR on Mount Car Park (as of summer 2025).

What food and drink do you offer at Puffin Cove?

Drinks. We have all the “bases”: tea, coffee, chai, matcha, hot chocolate. Our Barista can turn those into almost any drink! Give them a challenge! Hot, Iced, Milkshakes, anything else!

We also have soft drinks for both adults and little ones.

Food, tasty snacks (cakes, crisps, fruit) through to mini meals be it porridge, toasties, sandwiches and an option to meal deal up for a full lunch for you and your puffling(s).

Do you offer take-away coffee/cakes at all?

Yes! All of our drinks, cakes and snacks can be served in take away cups/containers.

What allergies do you cater to at Puffin Cove?

Please do ask our staff when ordering, and make sure they are aware of any allergies you have at the point of ordering.

We have a selection of cakes and snacks suitable for vegans and those requiring a gluten free diet.

Our coffee, tea and hot chocolate is all vegan and gluten free. We have oat milk as the alternative to dairy (usually gluten free oat milk, although some suppliers do quote “may contain gluten” so please do ask if you have a severe Gluten intolerance/allergy/Coeliac disease).

If you suffer with Coeliac disease, please ensure our staff are aware when you order. We have the following items which manufacturers have certified as suitable for those with Coeliac disease.

• Gluten Free Caramel Heaven Cake (individually wrapped at the supplier)

• Pip Organic Pipstick Fruit Bars (individually wrapped at the supplier)

• Ella’s Kitchen - “the red one” and “the purple one” fruit smoothie pouches (individually wrapped at the supplier)
  

What age children can come to Puffin Cove?

We have no restrictions on ages. All are very welcome!

We have specific toys for our youngest visitors (newborn to one/walking), and an area for non-walkers to enjoy without larger children racing through. If our cafe manager doesn’t spot you and get them out for you, please do just ask.

Our main role play area is loved by crawlers/walkers through to, typically, 5 year olds.

We find that 6 year olds and older enjoy Puffin Cove if they’re playing with their younger sibling but otherwise do get a bit bored in the 90minutes! There are plenty of cosy corners to curl up and read though, if you want to bring the older siblings along so you can have a drink yourself and actually enjoy it while it’s still hot.

Do I need to book in advance?

We highly recommend booking in advance. We have a limited capacity and once the spaces are filled, cannot let anyone else enter. If we do have space on the day, we can accept walk-ins.

Walk-ins are charged at the same price as online bookings, regardless of the time through the session you arrive and you will need to leave at the end of the scheduled session.

We want to arrange a catch up for a big group of us, what are our options?

We love facilitating catch ups for those with little ones. There are two options:

• If your group is more than 20 big, or you want a longer catch up or more food options, you can book a party.

• If your group is 20 or less, and you just want the usual 90minutes with coffee, cakes and snacks we offer, you can book some or all of the available slots in a session.

Our sessions open up online between 2 and 4 weeks in advance. If you are wanting to book for a group of 6 or more, or wanting to book all the 20 slots so you have a standard session to your group alone, drop us an email and we’ll let you know what’s available.

Do you accept cash?

No. We are an entirely cashless business. This is both to reduce security risks for our property and our staff, as well as keep our costs down given the bank charges we’d need to pay if we accepted cash as well as card.

Why do you charge for Adults?

We are a small venue and every moving person takes up space. We want to create an environment that children have sufficient space to enjoy, and adults have sufficient space to be relaxed.

What type of business are you?!

We are a “stay-and-play role-play cafe”! We come under the bucket of softplay, indoor playground with a coffee shop or café.

A lot of people find us by searching “things to do with kids”, “kids activities”, “family days out”, “family activities”.

A lot of buzz words to try to explain our space, which is a cosy venue with a pretend supermarket, pretend kitchen, pretend car garage and pretend café for little ones to play in. For the adults, we have a range of seating to enable you to comfortably sit on the floor and play with your little one or to sit a little way away and relax yourself as you little one enjoys their independence.