Where to run wild: UK playgrounds and skateparks to visit

From the first play street to a ‘junk playground’, there are many spaces old and new that offer kids the chance to let off steam

Just south of Romford and born out of the skating explosion of the late 1970s, Rom is a hidden haven of flowing bowls and moguls tucked behind a suburban A-road. Opened as a commercial venture in 1978, long before council-funded skateparks were widespread, the venue was designed by Adrian Rolt of G-Force, the country’s leading skatepark designers at the time.

A “shotcrete” skatepark (pressurised concrete sprayed over steel mesh), Rom was built for the freestyle form of skating popularised by leading lights like Rodney Mullen. Drawing heavily from skateboarding’s birthplace: the Essex park’s “pool” was finished with a blue mosaic lip, a nod to the back yards in southern California. Rom has been a draw for many legendary American skaters including Mullen, Tony Hawk and Lance Mountain.