Cotswold Wildlife Park adventure playground ‘Skymaze’ reopens after full rebuild

Over the past three months the much-loved attraction has been fully modernised, and its reopening coincides with the park’s 56th anniversary.
Set within the grounds of Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, the enhanced adventure playground now offers an immersive experience across three levels of interconnected treehouses. Younger visitors can explore a network of wooden walkways, rope bridges, crawl tunnels and slides, alongside new features including climbing walls and a Wonky Walkway.
Designed and delivered by leading playground specialists CAP.CO (Creating Adventurous Places), in collaboration with the park’s Grounds team, the project represents the biggest ever investment in the Park’s playground.
Paul Edwards, Head of Grounds at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, said: “As you may know, the original ‘Skymaze’ was built 12 years ago. After a decade of immense popularity and heavy use, the structure had begun to deteriorate. 
"The decision was made to completely rebuild it from the ground up, designing a future-proof version of the much-loved adventure playground. 
"Over the next few months, with invaluable consultation with RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), we collaborated closely with CAP.CO – the company that constructed our original ‘Skymaze’ – and plans started to emerge. 
"The new structure would be built using materials that weren’t around 12 years ago, including a new wood called Robinia – a denser, harder wood without sap – which significantly slows the decay of the upright posts, prolonging the life of the new equipment further."
Paul added: “With the designs finalised, we scheduled the demolition of the old 'Skymaze' and reconstruction of the new one to take place during Winter, ensuring the project would be completed in time for the Easter holidays – a huge undertaking. 
"Disposing of the old ‘Skymaze’ was a mammoth task on its own. Our Grounds team, alongside CAP.CO, worked tirelessly to complete the work in time. 
"In total, more than 600 individual pieces of timber make up the new adventure playground, along with 120 Robinia structural poles, each anchored securely one metre deep in concrete. 
"After months of intense building, the new ‘Skymaze’ is now complete. It’s great to know that it was replaced due to its enormous popularity over the past 12 years. 
"We are sure the updated version will be enjoyed for many years to come! We hope you enjoy the new upgrade.”
The playground has existed on the same spot since the Park opened in 1970, and the first piece of equipment was a slide purchased from Burford Primary School that year.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, a handmade Trojan Horse was the highlight of the playground.
The Park’s swings remain in their original location, on the same frame from 1970. Though the chains and seats have been replaced, they’ve seen millions of joyful swings over the years.
The highest section of the new ‘Skymaze’ is a viewing platform which gives a bird’s eye view of the park and stands at over 20 feet high.  
Younger children can explore the park’s wooden-themed ‘Mini-Manor’ which is designed for children aged seven and under and features interconnecting treehouses, slides and a mini zip wire.
Cotswold Wildlife Park is currently open from 10am every day, with last admission at 4pm.
Details of the park and all it has to offer can be found at www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk
 

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