On Saturday May 3 the exciting new play park at Dinton Pastures will be opened by the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year, 16-‐year-‐old shooter, Amber Hill. In September 2013 RHS Gold Medal and BBC People’s Choice award-‐winning play space designers Davies White Landscape Architects started work on the £500,000 play park, funded by developer’s contributions, ready for children this spring.
The park features giant nest towers – the tallest being just under four metres, swinging hanging logs, zip wires, funnel net trap, play bridge and troll holes, giant climbing logs, willow maze, storytelling area and a woodland obstacle course. At the northern part of the play space there is also a woodland picnic area and den-‐building structures.
Dinton Pastures Nature Play Space sits somewhere between traditional playground design and the play value of climbing in trees. Forget metal equipment and multi coloured rubber surfaces, our innovative designed wild design rejects preconceived notions of a playground in favour of a more natural approach to play. Remember how a fallen tree trunk could provide hours of entertainment, a sprinkling of snow endless fun? Working with Wokingham Borough Council we have returned to these simple pleasures of encouraging engagement with natural surroundings and taking acceptable levels of risk.
This flagship project aims to emphasise that the whole environment can have play value, not just a corner of a park or garden. Think grassy mounds, tunnels, playful planting, timber decking, sand, bridges and boulders complemented by bespoke hand crafted play equipment and you've got Dinton Pastures Nature Play Space: an inclusive, exciting and challenging space to play with unlimited creativity and imagination for all the family.
Chris Buggy, countryside coordinator, said: “I’m so pleased that the wait is almost over for everyone across the Wokingham Borough, young and old, to come to Dinton Pastures and enjoy the new play park as well as the other features on offer at the country park.”
