The new £150,000 play area is to open mid-July, designed by same team behind play areas at Windsor Great Park, Sandringham and Balmoral.
A project that’s been over a year in the making will finally complete just in time for the peak summer season at Applewood Countryside Park in Banham, Norfolk.
Guests arriving for camping and glamping stays from 23 July will have full access to explore giant wooden sculptures including a tractor, apple trailer and play trail in addition to existing attractions.
The significant investment is, says Applewood’s director Kiera Goymour, a key element of the company’s development. “We already offer a wide selection of quality accommodation and amenities, as well as various events throughout the season, so it seemed like a logical step to increase the fixed on-site attractions.”
The design concept for the area has direct links to its location, explained Ms Goymour. “We want to ensure that guests of all ages remember their stay at Applewood for years to come. The name comes from the site’s previous incarnation as an apple orchard, so we opted to really lean into that in creating the new play area too. The new Apple Harvest Adventure Play offers a place for toddlers as well as older children to play, within a natural setting, and is a one-of-a-kind, just like Applewood Countryside Park.”
The bespoke play area has been designed and constructed by Norfolk-based CAP.CO, recently awarded a Royal Warrant for their work at Sandringham and Windsor Great Park.
The play scheme includes five super-sized wooden structures, within an opening among established trees. The sculptures cleverly incorporate various elements that will be familiar to children from more typical play areas, such as the monkey bars, crawl tunnel, play control panel, giant wheel cubby and slide within the giant tractor. Its trailer includes a giant clamber net, rope climbing ramp, clamber wheels and balance beam.
A crate tower, with slide and cubby hole hideaway is ideal for toddlers while the play trail and apple-picking ladder climbing frames allow children of all ages to test their balance and agility.
Elements were fabricated off-site at CAP.CO’s base in Scottow, Norfolk and transported to the site by road in early July. The sculptures are set within resin-bound rubber mulch safety surfacing.
This space is due to be developed further with the installation of seating, accessible sensory boards and more soft landscaping around the periphery of the play park.
Project manager Laura Barrett said that the design team were especially keen to include multiple references to the apple orchard and harvesting process that has taken place for centuries on the same site as the camping and glamping park.
“Nothing we do is off-the-shelf,” said Playful Planner Laura. “The central concept of the apple harvest really inspired our design team, and it isn’t something we’ve worked on before, so we have all really enjoyed the process, especially now that it has come to life with the on-site installation. Designs have been through several iterations before arriving at the final sculptures, to offer maximum opportunity for children of all ages to actively play together.”
Applewood Countryside Park offers 110 tent and touring caravan pitches, 6 glamping pods and 5 shepherds cabins and won Camping, Glamping & Holiday Park of the Year at the East of England Tourism Awards 2024.
The site has areas that can be booked for exclusive hire by larger groups and rallies and is open all year round. It is located in south Norfolk next to Banham Zoo (which offers discounted tickets to campers and glampers).
