The south of the sprawling site however was felt to be a little underutilised, with few visitors making the journey beyond Squatters Cottage and into the woodland. A naturally undulating setting, the area was the original site for the mining operations and, tucked away off the beaten track, gave us the inspiration and the perfect location for a new secret attraction, awaiting discovery and offering the chance for adventurous learning by playing through the ages
Uncovering the history of the site
The Blists Hill adventure playground draws inspiration from the wider history of Ironbridge Gorge and the specific history of the selected playground site. The new name for the play ‘The Madeley Wood Co. Outdoor Adventure’ came from this research.
The Ironbridge Gorge is a World Heritage Site and renowned as the ‘birthplace of the industrial revolution’. The heritage of iron production is clear to see at the Blists Hill Museum today, with the remnants of the now-listed blast furnaces and on-site ironworks. What is less clear to see is that the site also played a key role in the gathering of the raw materials used in the production process.
As well as the furnaces and tile works, the Madeley Wood Company also owned mine and lumber operations within the woodland site. To highlight this history, we drew inspiration from this arm of the company, recreating features and elements within the undulating woodland landscape. Bringing history alive by coupling it with physical play providing visitors of all ages and abilities a taste of early Victorian industrial life and work.
Masterplanning
With a large site and challenging topography, the project started with an overall masterplan for the site to ensure we utilised the best of what was there already and allow space for phasing and future expansion.
The masterplan for this new family adventure play space aimed to create a totally unique standalone attraction within the boundaries of the Blists Hill site. It was designed to be developed over a number of budgeted phases, with accessibility and access for all as a key design principle. The play area itself is enclosed by its own perimeter fence with a single entry and exit point into the new play area. A central hub, with seating and a new F&B unit becomes the access point for all elements of the play area, giving parents and carers a central location from which to allow children to play freely through the space. Families are however always encouraged to play together, with all aspects of the play area accessible to all shapes and sizes, young and old!
The youngest children have a designated ‘Toddler Play’ space, in close proximity to the central seating hub, whilst the main area of adventure play – aimed at older children and families – is set back in to the woodland boundary.
Internal fencing of varying types guides visitors through the space on predetermined routes, creating ‘out of bounds’ areas and also allow the natural woodland floor to maintain a level of wildness.
Designed to allow for phasing, the masterplan can be segmented and developed in stages, whilst still maintaining its character and wow factor. Space along the Western boundary is available for further expansion, to increase capacity as and when necessary.
Walking onto site
We don’t often show this stage of the development, but these three images show what the site was like when we first entered. It’s a genuine journey of discovery and you can see the vision required by the designers to bring something like this to life.
The site we agreed on stretches across an extensive mixed woodland with an array of topographical features. Although challenging, these existing characteristics only help to enhance the intrigue and allure of the play area.
Utilising the sloping topography, the play features themselves are spread across the site, positioned on areas of level ground where possible and utilising the steepest of sections for slides and to gain height with walkways and bridges. The large clearing at the top of the site houses the seating and toddler play areas.
These CGI’s show how the play is nestled into the environment, to sit harmoniously within the wooded hills.
