Adventure Playground & Soft Play Palace

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

Concealed within the hundred acres of pleasure gardens surrounding the house, is one of the most exciting and now famous Adventure Playgrounds in the south west of England. Designed by the present Marquis, it was first opened in 1976 and is constructed using Bowood timber.

Children of twelve and under can spend the whole day at Bowood developing their imagination whilst challenging themselves on a series of aerial walkways; a full size pirate galleon called the ‘Centaur’, designed by Cornish boat builder, Alastair Guy, complete with rigging and a crows nest; trampoline and a flying fox. There are several very steep slides and flume tubes, a huge scramble net and perhaps the most famous and popular of all, the space dive, (known locally as the death slide). This wide vertical slide is a modern version of a Victorian design, which starts with a shocking 19 foot vertical drop.

For those not quite so daring, the Adventure Playground also contains swing boats, spinning discs, a Wendy House, ball pool, see-saws, swings and sand pit.  New to the adventure playground in 2010 was the 'Partridge Play Pen' a special new play area for under 7s including log bridges, swinging log steps, stepping stones and balancing beams. Here youngsters can test their mettle before graduating to the more challenging Adventure Playground.  The Partridge Play Pen was named after the Head Groundsman, Geoff Partridge, whose team designed and built it.

IMPORTANT  INFORMATION

The Adventure Playground is only suitable for children aged 12 and under only.  Use by persons over 12 years is not allowed except for parents/guardians accompanying small children.

Parents/Guardians are responsible for the supervision of their children whilst in the Adventure Playground and in all other areas of the Bowood Estate.  During school holidays and weekends, staff will be on duty in the Playground to offer assistance when required, however responsibility for supervision remains the responsibility of the parents/guardians.

The House, Gardens and Soft Play Palace are unaffected by inclement weather.  The Flying Fox (zip wire) and large outdoor slides in the Adventure Playground are closed during heavy rain for Health & Safety reasons.

During weekends and school holidays the Adventure Playground has a kiosk selling hot and cold drinks, sweets, crisps and, of course, ice-cream.

SOFT PLAY PALACE

The Soft Play Palace provides a safe, dry and fun environment for younger children (up to 132cm in height).

Located next to the Bothy Bonanza Party Rooms it can be found a short distance from the Adventure Playground. Equipped with a ball pool, slide, spinning discs and rope walks, the 1,500 square foot area is on two levels where children can enjoy themselves for hours. Adults can just sit and relax with a coffee while the children burn off their seemingly endless energy!