The Adventure Play at Dalkeith Country Park has opened.
Saturday 9th February saw the first day of children and adults alike exploring the new walkways, treehouses, ramps, rope bridges and huge slides, set up to six metres above the ground within the Fort Douglas Adventure Park.
The new addition to Fort Douglas was inspired by the original adventure playground on the site. It has been designed to evoke the nostalgia of the original play area, whilst adding new adventures. There’s challenging scramble nets alongside a new swinging Jungle Bridge with its ‘invisible’ floor. If you’re brave enough to complete the high bridge, you’re rewarded with the opportunity to ride one of two five-metre ‘high slides’ to return to ground level.
Whilst designed to be challenging and imply some degree of risk, the whole area has been built to allow children of five years or over to play independently, without adult supervision. Where it’s at its best however is where adults and children challenge themselves together. For many parents and even grand parents, it allows them to relive their own childhood adventures at Dalkeith.
Remko Plooij, Dalkeith Country Park’s Commercial Director, said:
“We want the new adventure play to evoke a sense of nostalgia in those who fondly remember the original Dalkeith Country Park playground, as well as ensuring everyone enjoys plenty of fun and adventure high up in the trees.
“And we’re not just welcoming kids to have all the fun when it opens on 9th February – it will be suitable for adults and one section of it is accessible for assisted wheelchairs, pushchairs and buggies. So anyone who remembers the playground of days gone by can come along and enjoy the fun with the children in their own families.”
The Build of the new Adventure Play
This latest development is part of a phased investment of over 500,000 in the Fort Douglas adventure park by Dalkeith Country Park’s owner, Buccleuch. Our recently completed Orangerie Zip Wire Centre opened back in March 2018 and the new area links into this. The entire build took the CAP.CO team around three months to complete on site.
Fort Douglas was originally created as part of Buccleuch’s 8.9m investment in Dalkeith Country Park, which also included the redevelopment of the 18th-century stables and courtyard into a unique retail, food and wellbeing destination, Restoration Yard.
