School children inspired by Helmingham Estate’s new playground design

To inspire the next generation of budding designers and engineers, Helmingham Estate has launched a competition encouraging local school pupils to design their own adventure  playground.

The chosen winners will be the first children to enjoy Guildenacre, a brand-new play experience opening this summer in the estate’s woodland, before it opens to the public.

The competition asks pupils to design a playground that’s inspired by their favourite animal and its natural habitat, whether it features water ways made of wood like a beaver’s lodge, involves  secret log piles to mimic a hedgehog’s home, or is a replica of a tiger’s jungle environment.

Ahead of creating their entries, award-winning playground design company Creating Adventurous Places (CAP.CO), which is building the new attraction in the estate’s grounds near Otley and is set to open this summer, has visited local primary schools to inspire pupils and ignite imaginations.

The creative ideas, which should be submitted by Monday, March 23, will be assessed by a panel of judges which includes Edward and Sophie Tollemache, custodians of Helmingham Hall  and co-founders of Guildenacre.

Pete Dean, who is “Poringland Pete” at CAP.CO and works with schools to create their dream play spaces, said: “I was blown away by the amazing questions the children asked, their creative thinking and eagerness to get started on their own designs.

“The children who use and enjoy our playgrounds are our biggest critics – having their minds and input at the heart of what we do is very important to us and it was wonderful to see their fantastic creations start to form in the school sessions.

“It was a privilege to talk to them more about the job of designing playgrounds, as we strongly believe that our role at CAP.CO is to not just build playgrounds, but inspire children  with imaginative play and build their interest for the future.”

Ben Hemmings, headteacher at Stonham Aspal Primary School, said: “Pete did a great job inspiring the children and they had a great time exploring their ideas for play areas.

“It’s a chance for them to be creative and see how their work in school links to the real world. We are all excited to see the new Guildenacre project on its completion.”

Woven within a four-acre wood in the grounds of Helmingham Estate, children of all ages can embark on a magical adventure into nature at Guildenacre.

Each of the four playground areas is themed around one of the guardian animals and their habitat – whether that’s burrowing into the ground or soaring high up into the trees.

Featuring  tunnels, climbing walls, ladders, multi-level walkways, bridges and several impressive slides to race down, as well as an adrenaline-fuelled zip line, ground-level play trails and balance beams, Guildenacre is an exciting mix of challenge, discovery and intrigue for visitors.

The play areas will be linked via bark pathways suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs, as well as a den building zone for children to build their own dens and hideouts. There will also be refreshments and toilets within the wood itself.

Guildenacre is due to open this summer, with the project also including a separate new car park as well as modest refreshment and retail facilities at the Grade II listed Wades Barn.