Children’s Play Area Design & Construction
Whether you are looking for commercial playground equipment, an adventure playground for a school or community, a rustic, woodland play area for your garden, or any other type of outdoor play area, we are experts in designing safe, durable, and engaging play areas for children and families of all ages. We can take care of everything from start to finish – planning, design, landscaping, and construction – so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to discuss your project.
Past Creations
Company Standards
Bespoke Design Service
Natural, Rustic Play Areas
Themed Play Areas
School Playground Equipment
Rooftop Play Areas
Indoor Play Areas
Return On Investment
Customisable Play Accessories
Trim Trails
Accessible Play Equipment
Pub & Restaurant Play Areas
Funding & Grants
How To Contact Us
Our Past Creations
Our portfolio includes projects for large organisations and visitor attractions as well as local councils, schools, and private individuals. With our diverse portfolio we have incorporated decorative, carved animals, wooden forts and castles, pirate ships, trim trails, play trains, playhouses, tree houses, and seating into our play areas, in addition to traditional play apparatus such as climbing frames and swings. Below you will find a few of our past creations and if you scroll further down the page, you will find out more information about Flights of Fantasy and what we stand for as a company.
Holloway Hill Rustic Play Area
Farnham Park Adventure Play Area
Hatfield House Adventure Play Area
Wallington Hall Station and Locomotive
Abberton Reservoir Rustic Play Area
Samlesbury Hall Themed Play Area
Fountains Abbey Woodland Play Area
Shebbear School Play Ship & Lighthouse
Sandringham Adventure Play Area
Winchester Tower and Pirate Ship
Gloucester Services Maze & Playground
Duke Of Cambridge Rustic Playground
Robert Burns Birthplace Museum
Chestnut Wood Adventure Play Area
Rushden Lakes Natural Play Areas
Company Standards
We pride ourselves on making high quality, safe, bespoke play equipment that will be around for many years to come. Each of our creations forms a long term relationship with our clients where we offer maintenance and repair plans to ensure that our play areas remain in peak condition.
Built to be accessible, engaging, and welcoming, all of our designs are bespoke, thus unique.
Read about our design process.
Our play areas are built to last, capable of withstanding rough weather and boisterous play.
Read about durability.
As a RoSPA member, all of our work is rigorously inspected to ensure maximum safety.
Read about our safety standards.
With decades of play area design and construction experience, we can make anything.
Video: You Dream It, We Build It.
Natural, Rustic Play Areas
For a wooden play area that blends into natural surroundings, Flights of Fantasy are specialists in creating natural, rustic play areas. Using local materials wherever possible and retaining the organic, warped features of logs and branches, our natural play areas are cost effective, environmentally friendly and sympathetic to their surroundings. Below our some examples of natural features that we incorporate into these designs.
Natural Timber Apparatus
Rustic Seating
Subtle Centrepieces
Read more about different pieces of play apparatus that can be incorporated into your design.
Our Rustic, Wooden Play Area Portfolio
Below is a collection of some of the rustic, natural, adventure and woodland play areas that we have built in the past. Clicking any image will take you to the individual play area page where you can find out more information about the play area in question, as well as see more photos.
Themed Play Areas and Miniature Replicas
Almost all of our play areas follow a well thought out theme, however some of them follow very particular themes as they are recreations of famous landmarks – miniature, replica landmarks in play area format, if you will. Below are a few examples of the play area we created along with the original structure. We pay great attention to detail in order to capture the most defining features of each play area whilst still ensuring that we make an engaging and exciting play area. Please take a look at our miniature, replica landmarks page to see more play areas like this.
Read more about our miniature replica play areas here.
School and Community Playground Equipment
Whether it’s for a school or for the local community, we can design, construct, and install accessible, safe, wooden playground equipment. Themed to the area, carrying the school’s logo, or simply a varied multi play apparatus, we can accommodate any need and work to any budget. One of the key issues when creating school and community playgrounds is making durable play equipment that can stand up to continued and boisterous use. The number of years our play areas have been standing in such situations is testament to the quality of our work and the longevity of our play apparatus. Find our more about our wooden school playground equipment here.
Below is a small selection of our school and community play areas. Whilst any theme is possible, we have found that pirate ship play areas are particularly popular for schools, and the theme lends itself very well to imaginative and engaging play. It is also possible to make pirate ships that accommodate wheelchairs, making them accessible for all. Click any image to find out more.
Loved by children around the world, pirate ships have turned out to be a very popular theme for school playgrounds and we have already installed them in multiple schools around the UK.
A wheelchair accessible, panel pirate ship, St. Mary’s school centrepiece is a simple design, yet instantly recognisable. We also built a miniature playhouse for the school.
Indoor Play Areas
We can utilise any indoor or outdoor space to make an appealing and engaging play area. Below is a small selection of indoor play areas that we have made in the past. You can see more of our indoor play areas here.
Find out more about our indoor play areas here.
Pub & Restaurant Play Areas
Having an engaging and exciting play area is what makes the difference between a successful family restaurant and an exhausting experience for parents. We have created several indoor and outdoor pub and restaurant play areas that have resulted in popular family venues, leading to long term increased revenues. See our bar and restaurant play areas here, as well as feedback from visitors. Below are a few examples of bar and restaurant play areas that we have made in the past.
Find out more about our pub & restaurant play areas here.
Getting In Touch With Us
You can get in touch with us us by email or phone and we will happily walk you through the design process. Typically it works something like this:
Site visit
We’ll visit you and discuss your play area in detail. This is an opportunity for us to find out exactly what it is that you are looking for so that we can make something you will love.
Proposal & Quote
We’ll prepare a no obligation design proposal and quote for you to decide on. If necessary, we can then make adjustments to fine tune the designs to what you want.
Return On Investment
We understand that a play area, as part of a commercial venue, carries with it an uncertainty. Using our experience we can discuss any plans you might have in advance so that you can be sure if a commissioned play area will provide a satisfactory return on investment. In addition to financial considerations, the staff resources of attached venues should also be considered as we have often had reports of dramatic increases in restaurant and gift shop takings following a play area launch. As experts in play area design and construction, contact us for a no-obligation discussion about your ideas.
Below is a small assortment of feedback that we have had from our clients concerning return on investment.
Essex Wildlife Trust, Abberton Reservoir:
“Since we had our wild play area created at Abberton Reservoir we certainly have noticed an increase in families coming to the visitor centre. Visitor numbers have increased by over Seven Thousand.”
Essex Wildlife Trust, Thameside Nature Park:
“The new play area has increased our summer holiday revenue by 80% and we’re now over-achieving on our yearly targets.”
Essex Wildlife Trust, Abberton Reservoir:
“We have had an increase in families visiting the reserve, and families that I believe wouldn’t have come to the reserve had we not had the play area, which means we are reaching a wider audience.”
Funding & Grants
If your intended play area is dependent on a successful funding application then let us know so that we can help it succeed. When quoting for a project we provide a written proposal, design sketches, example photographs, and accurate costings before any decision is made. By involving us early in the process we can more accurately tailor the design to the project so that it answers the brief of your funding, improving the likelihood of funding being awarded. To discuss how we can support your funding application, contact us for a no-obligation discussion.
Interested in finding public funds and grants? we suggest that you try one of the following options:
- Funding Central: Funding search tool.
- WREN: Community grants for areas close to landfill sites.
- Neighbourhood Statistics: For census data and statistics.
- You could also contact your local authority, third sector support organisation or a local community development initiative for advice.
Bespoke Design Services
There are very few – if any – play equipment companies in the UK that do quite what we do. We don’t have stock products and we don’t mass produce anything: Every single item of play equipment that we produce is hand made and one off. Whilst we do replicate many smaller pieces of play apparatus time and time again (such s log climbs, pull up bars, balance beams, etc), our use of natural timbers ensures that your play area will retain its unique charm. Our dedication to quality and several decades of experience making one off, fantastical creations ensures that your bespoke design will be everything that you want it to be.
Please get in touch with us and we will walk you through the design process to make your perfect play area.
