A picture of two wooden trees houses. The one on the right has a metal slide trailing down it, while the treehouse on the left has a metal climbing tube that extends out of the treehouse and wraps around a tree.

3 min read

Adventure Play and sustainability

Sarah Scott, Team Coordinator, Property.

Published by

Windsor Great Park

Aug 10 2023

We are delighted that on Wednesday 12 July 2023 we opened Adventure Play to the public, after two years of construction.

An essential element for Adventure Play was the importance in family’s playing and creating memories together as they discover the world of walkways, slides, sculptures, and treehouses.

Nature at the heart of Adventure Play

Based within the woodland next to The Savill Garden, nature was also a crucial aspect and this fed the shape and theme of Adventure Play, with wooden carvings of acorns, conkers and seeds around the site, as well as statues and carvings of the fauna native to the Windsor Estate such as deer, foxes, rabbits, mice, interactive floral-inspired ‘talk tubes’ and projector images of flowers and leaves which respond to movement.

Colourful flowers are projected on to a wooden floor inside a treehouse. Two tree trunks can also be seen growing through holes in the floor.

Nature projections inside a treehouse

Sustainability

It was also important for us that the construction and maintenance of Adventure Play was also as sustainable as possible. The structures have been made with steel frames that are expected to last approximately 50 years, and timber frames with an expected lifespan of 25 years. The established trees in the area became part of the core design for Adventure Play. No trees were felled in the area and instead the structures and rope bridges were custom-built to incorporate the trees of the area. An estimated 80% of the oak used for Adventure Play was sourced locally from Windsor Great Park.

These efforts have gone a long way in achievement a carbon neutral development, meaning that there was no net release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

A rope bridge extends from the bottom of the picture to a wooden treehouse. To the left is a large tree trunk growing beside the bridge. In the distance is another treehouse with a metal slide.

Trees grow in and amongst the treehouses and slides of Adventure Play

Wildlife

There are several ‘bug hotels’ that have been integrated into the structures along the main walkway using locally sourced woodland materials such as cones, bark and small pieces of wood. Insect hotels can provide a habitat with many small spaces for sheltering hibernating insects such as ladybirds, certain species of butterfly and solitary bees, as well as other bugs like woodlice, centipedes, and spiders.

A close up of a logs and branches placed inside the cavity of a wooden beam. Underneath is a sign that reads 'Bug Snug'.

A bug hotel inside Adventure Play

Inclusion

Inclusive design elements include a slide that allows the family to slide side-by-side, a wheelchair accessible route and a wheelchair user friendly slide, plus a sensory play area. Certain dates and times are also marked as ‘quiet slots’ with a reduced capacity for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Written by Windsor Great Park

Back to Friends of The Savill Garden