Custom-Made Outdoor Play Areas

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pirate Ship Play Areas

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.

Shebbear Ship and Lighthouse

Incorporating a lighthouse and a ship into the design, this themed play area at Shebbear school offers interactive play for all students whilst stimulating their imagination.

Houghton Conquest Pirate Ship

Decorated in washed out, pastel colours, Houghton Conquest’s 20 foot pirate ship is both subtle and memorable. Able to accommodate 20-30 children at a time, it has helped to raise the profile of the school.

Kingstone Community Play

Simple and robust, Kingstone fort-themed community play area incorporates a vertical climb net, slide pole, climb wall, slide, cantilever swing, swing bars, and an aerial runway into its design.

Moss Lane Pepperpot

A miniature replica of Godalming’s famous landmark, the Pepperpot, Moss Lane’s iconic play area stands as a memorable centrepiece that is true to local history.

Highnam Under Fives Pirate Ship

The pirate ship play area we built for Highnam Under Fives is primarily made from natural wood, giving it that authentic, pirate ship feel, but we added a few splashes of colour for the children’s enjoyment.

St. Mary’s Pirate Ship

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.

Langton Green Pirate Ship

One of our very first school playground designs, Langton Green pirate ship uses simple, flat edges to create a robust structure. The pirate ship features a plank to boost children’s imaginative play.

 

Find our more about our wooden school playground equipment here.

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Accessible Playground Equipment

As bespoke play area manufacturers, we believe play should be available to all. Whether you need a wheelchair friendly play area, an accessible playground for children of low mobility, or something more unique, we can meet your needs and make your accessible playground equipment dream a reality. Find out more about our inclusive accessible playground equipment here.

 

Find out more about our accessible playground equipment here.

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Rooftop & Small Space Play Areas

We can design compact play areas for venues with limited room such as on rooftops. Just because you have a small space available, it doesn’t mean that you can’t pack in huge play potential – combining intelligent design and years of experience, we can make memorable rooftop play areas or play areas in any other space that you want to utilise. Please get in contact with us to let us know what space you have available and we can come up with a design that you will love. Below is a selection of our rooftop play areas.

Harley Street Clinic Rooftop Play Area

This project transformed a derelict area, overlooked by children’s rooms, into a woodland themed playground to ignite their imagination and help them feel happier on their road to recovery.

Read more about Harley Street Clinic

Gloucestershire Hospital Rooftop Play Area

This village themed playground had to be strong enough to withstand any wind on the roof and remain light so as not to go through it! Miniature sized, it offers a whole new world for children to explore.

Read more about Gloucestershire Hospital

 

Find out more about our rooftop play areas here.

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.

Fully Customisable Play Equipment Features

Although every play area is unique, there are always traditional play elements, tried and tested through the years, that we like to incorporate into our designs. The play equipment features are fully customisable and include traditional pieces of play equipment such as slides, swings, and roundabouts, through to climbing apparatus and some of our own unique creations. Below are some of the play equipment features that we regularly include in our designs, but you can take a look at our play equipment features page to see a much wider range of what we offer and get some ideas for what can be incorporated into your design. For an added dimension, we also like to incorporate wooden carvings and themed seating where appropriate.

Slides

Large and curving, short and straight, or spiral tubes, we can incorporate a location appropriate slide.

Swings

From traditional swings to basket and cantilever swings, any option is possible.

Zip Lines

A firm favourite, aerial runways (or zip lines) offer a thrill for adventure seeking youngsters.

Rope Bridges and Nets

Using synthetic hemp that is long lasting, we can make an array of rope bridges and climb nets.

Agility Obstacles

Log climbs, wobble boards, and balance beams are a small selection of our past creations.

Wooden Sculptures and Carvings

Following local themes, we like to incorporate memorable wooden sculptures and carvings into our designs.

Seating and Picnic Areas

Rustic or themed seating and picnic areas give visitors a place to rest, encouraging them to stay longer.

Unique Features

You are limited only by your imagination – this ball run is unique and wheelchair friendly.

Read more about the many different pieces of play apparatus that can be added to any of our play areas.

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Trim Trails For The ‘Big Kids’

We like to make play areas that are inclusive for every member of the family, thus we offer trim trails that are specifically designed to offer exercise facilities for adults and older children. Take a look at our trim trails page which incorporate the designs that you can see below.

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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:

Talk To Us

Tell us about your project / ideas.

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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.