There’s something about giant slides that brings out the inner child in everyone. So when we decided to visit Slick City Nottingham, we were looking forward to finding out what all the excitement was about.

This time we weren’t going alone. We were joined by one of my work colleagues and his children, making it a proper family day out with a whole gang of kids to keep entertained. Our plan was simple: explore the slides and activities, then grab some lunch afterwards.

We had a really good day overall, although neither Slick City nor our first visit to Five Guys was quite perfect.

First impressions – that’s a lot of slides!

Walking into Slick City, the first thing that strikes you is the size of everything. A huge red spiral slide twists through the centre of the building, while the towering green slides look ridiculously steep from certain angles. Add the neon lights and the general buzz of activity, and it all feels a bit like an indoor adventure park.

It certainly isn’t your typical soft play centre, and the kids were eager to get started.

More than just slides

One of the activities the boys enjoyed was an interactive floor made up of illuminated tiles. The squares light up in different colours and everyone races around trying to react in time. Watching the kids dash about was entertaining in itself!

There were also netted play areas and other activities to explore, so it wasn’t all about throwing yourself down a giant slide. And, of course, we managed to get a photo with an enormous cuddly monkey in front of the red slide. Not quite what I expected to be photographing that day!

The things that let it down

As much as we enjoyed ourselves, I couldn’t help noticing a couple of things that weren’t quite right.

Firstly, the place didn’t seem particularly clean during our visit. I appreciate that an indoor activity park gets busy, especially with children running around everywhere, but you’d still hope for a reasonable standard of cleanliness.

The other surprise was the apparent lack of checks around the play areas. We saw people walking through without any obvious ticket checks, and noticed people wearing their outdoor shoes in areas where children were playing. There may have been procedures taking place elsewhere that we didn’t see, but from where we were standing, it all seemed rather relaxed.

It didn’t ruin our time there, but hygiene and access arrangements are things I’d really like to see tightened up, particularly in a venue aimed at families.

So, was Slick City worth it?

Despite those grumbles, the kids had a great time – and that was the main reason we went. The enormous slides are impressive, the interactive games are fun, and there’s plenty to keep children occupied.

It’s also all indoors, which is always handy when the British weather decides to do what it does best.

I’d happily say we enjoyed Slick City, even if I’d like to see some improvements in how the place is looked after.

Five Guys for lunch – our first visit

Once our time at Slick City was over, we all headed to Five Guys for lunch. It was our first time trying it, so after hearing the name for years, we were interested to see what the fuss was about.

We ended up with a table covered in burgers, chips, drinks and enough brown paper bags to make it look like we’d done a week’s shopping.

Unfortunately, we weren’t particularly impressed. We found the food far too oily. Maybe that’s just personal preference, but the greasiness really stood out and took the shine off what we’d been hoping would be a great burger.

The kids, meanwhile, found another way to keep themselves busy: making paper aeroplanes at the table. It’s funny how, after spending time at a big indoor attraction, a few sheets of paper can still provide plenty of entertainment.

A great day out, even with a few complaints

Looking back, it was a really enjoyable day. The kids had lots of fun, and it was nice spending time together with my colleague and all the children outside work.

Would we go back to Slick City? Quite possibly. The activities are worth experiencing, and it’s definitely an option for a family day out in Nottingham. Would we rush back to Five Guys? Probably not based on this first visit!

Neither place was perfect, but we came home with memories, photos and a few things to laugh about. And that’s really what these little family adventures are all about.

Have you visited Slick City Nottingham or tried Five Guys? I’d love to hear whether your experience was similar to ours. Let me know in the comments!