Inside £3.6m adventure playground at famous UK palace with secret chambers

26 August 2023 , 12:12

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The Lost Garden at Blenheim Palace has a huge amount for kids to see and do

The Lost Garden adventure playground in Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire is a paradise for kids, with climbing walls, towers and turrets, a zip wire, wobbly walkways and secret chambers to explore.

The amazing adventure play area is tucked away within the walled garden at Blenheim Palace in, the luxurious stately home that was the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The Lost Garden adventure playground opened in April and the massive 1.38 acre site is larger than a football pitch and cost £3.6 million to build. The site is overlooked by a big viewing platform that is perfect for adults to relax in while keeping an eye while their little ones explore.

Turrets, towers and linked walkways provide lots for kids to see and do and a big water play feature which will prove a hit on warm days. Aerial walkways, rope bridges, tunnels and triple racing zip lines also feature in the amazing play area. An interactive sensory garden walk as well as an oversized kitchen garden-inspired secret play area - including giant carrots, sunflowers and plant pots - are ideal for curious children.

Blenheim Palace is just 20 minutes from the centre of Oxford (Blenheim Palace)

Managing director Heather Carter said: “The Lost Garden is the biggest project Blenheim Palace has undertaken for many years. Designed to provide a dramatically enhanced family visitor experience, this is a huge, game changing investment for us – both in terms of cost and business potential. Stepping inside the Lost Garden children will feel like they are entering a different world.

"The carefully designed landscape will create different moments within the garden with a diverse collection of playful experiences for the children to discover. The Blenheim Palace visitor experience is primarily an adult-orientated one and we have been looking at ways to expand our appeal to families with younger children for some time now.”

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Designed for kids aged two to 12 the playground has something for all ages, as well as on-site cafe and toilets. Entrance to the adventure playground costs £7, which is on top of entry to Blenheim Palace which is 35 for adult entry to the palace/grounds and gardens, £20 per child aged three to 16.

The rest of the grounds are also fascinating, there's a massive hedge maze, a butterfly house and a pizza restaurant, plus plenty of places to picnic as well as the opulent house itself. Gilded state rooms and a priceless art collection and antique furniture await inside. Tours take visitors round the Marlborough family’s private apartments and secret corridors as well as the staff quarters downstairs.

Joe Smith