Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire has opened a new £3.6 million outdoor play experience called ‘The Lost Garden’.
The Lost Garden is a series of immersive and interconnecting zones with secret chambers, clamber nets, tunnels, slides, rope bridges and huge carrots.
Also on offer are interactive water elements, meandering walkways, an observation platform, and a sensory garden path.
“The Lost Garden really is a hidden world of adventure where children can let their imaginations run wild, with hours of limitless, carefree, active play,” said Heather Carter, Blenheim Palace‘s managing director.
“We wanted to make it inclusive and accessible to all children, so the majority of the play area is wheelchair friendly, there is a special toddler zone, and we will be holding regular SEND days for children with special needs.”
Located within Blenheim Palace’s historic walled gardens, the new playground is inspired by the palace’s real features, including the lakeside boat house.
An accessible and inclusive experience, The Lost Garden is designed and created for children of all abilities.
To develop the project, Blenheim partnered with CAP.Co, the adventure play specialist. “When we say it’s a giant, we mean it,” said a CAP.Co representative in February.
“The attraction will cover a site larger than a football field and celebrate the rich heritage of the 18th century baroque palace, its surrounding parkland and the natural world.”
Accessible play
CAP.Co is also working on Oxfordshire’s Fairytale Farm, which opened in 2013 as an inclusive visitor attraction for children with and without disabilities.
The company is creating an accessible and adventurous space, as pictured above. It has designed various routes, as well as sensory elements and a central tower.
Elsewhere, the Eden Project in Cornwall is opening a new adventure play area called Nature’s Playground featuring a giant tree structure.
Lilidorei, billed as the world’s largest play park, is opening in spring 2023 at the Alnwick Garden in Northumberland.
Images: Blenheim Palace
