Customer: Cannon Hall Farm
Location: South Yorkshire
Cannon Hall Farm, located in South Yorkshire, is an award-winning family-run attraction sitting in the beautiful Pennine foothills. Recognising the need for a dedicated play area for children under the age of five, Farmer Rob contacted Playdale and invited us to work with Cannon Hall Farm on creating a unique adventure farmyard village playground. This case study highlights some of the challenges faced during the project, the innovative solutions Playdale implemented, and the successful installation that transformed the old playground into a vibrant and engaging farm-themed play experience.
Cannon Hall Farm had a clear objective of attracting more visitors during weekdays. They wanted to attract more grandparents and parents with young children. Farmer Rob, being a grandparent himself, recognised the importance of creating a dedicated space that would specifically cater to children under the age of five. The vision was to develop an adventure farmyard village-themed play area that would offer a safe and enjoyable experience for toddlers and young children.
Alongside their focus on creating an area for children under the age of five, Cannon Hall Farm also desired to revitalise the existing junior area. They felt that the equipment no longer appealed to the children they sought to attract and wanted a customised playground unit that would perfectly fit the available space and age specifications while maintaining the overarching theme.
Additionally, maximising the available space was a crucial aspect of the project to ensure that the playground could accommodate high footfall days effectively.
Our creative Playground Design Team rose to the challenge and designed their most extensive farm-themed play area to date. With a themed design of this size, our talented team not only produced a detailed quotation, scaled plan, 2D illustrations and 3D imagery, but we also created a 3D ‘walk through’ video so that our adventure playground proposal could really come to life for the Cannon Hall Farm team!
An open farm environment presents unique challenges in terms of ensuring the safety and welfare of visitors and animals on the farm.
Due to the reconfiguration of the play area, involving tiered structures, structural engineers were required to ensure the safety and stability of the playground. These external experts were crucial in designing and implementing the necessary structural reinforcements to meet safety standards and provide a secure environment for the play area to be installed.
The project faced tight deadlines, requiring Playdale to efficiently design and install the playground within a specific timeframe to coincide with peak visitor seasons. Implementing a phased approach to construction was vital to avoid closing off the entire play area to the public. Playdale carefully planned and executed the project in stages, ensuring that portions of the playground remained accessible to visitors throughout the installation process. This minimised disruption and allowed visitors to continue enjoying the farm experience while the new playground took shape.
The project team remained constantly mindful of being sympathetic to noise disruption since the installation took place on a working farm. They ensured that the installation of the new playground was carried out with minimal disturbance to the farm’s operations and animals.
The unpredictable weather conditions, including frequent rain and occasional snow, posed significant challenges during the installation process. Playdale had to adapt their schedules to account for weather disruptions, ensuring that the project progressed smoothly despite these external factors.
Our installation team, led by Chris Hatton, Contracts Manager and Tracey Derbyshire, project Coordinator did the most fantastic job from beginning to end. The team smoothly installed the equipment and surfacing, ensuring that everything was ready on time for the Easter holidays.
Cannon Hall is now home to a fantastic range of themed equipment! The improved aesthetics of the playground, with its customised farm-themed playground equipment and engaging design elements, created a visually appealing and immersive experience for children and their families. The vibrant and interactive farmyard village feel enhanced the overall atmosphere of the farm, creating a memorable and exclusive experience for visitors that aligns seamlessly with Cannon Hall Farm’s unique farm theme.
Our playground designers cleverly reconfigured the play area, maximising the space available by incorporating multiple entry and exit points. This allowed for busy days with lots of visitors and created a charming farmyard village feel. The pieces of play equipment selected for the playground gives so much variety for children and each product has its own play values and benefits. The products included on this site are:
A customised Little Hamlets Plus Tower with thirteen (yes thirteen) towers and four slides, Play Panels, an Aerial Runway, Animal Springers, a Timber Seesaw, Loudspeakers, Inclusive Gravity Bowl and Musical Play Cow Bells & Washboard Chimes, two Snake Swings, a Two Bay Team Swing with Cradle Seats, Parent and Child Seats an Inclusive Team Seat and plenty of seating for a picnic and play!
Many of the pieces of playground equipment were customised to really give the farmyard theme including bespoke Entrance Archway, Farm House Playhouse with S75 postcode detail, Play Tractors with personalised Cannon Hall number plates and tactile elements to encourage exploration for those seeking sensory stimulation.
The Cannon Hall Look-Through Panel is photo fun that all the family can enjoy.
Treasure hunters and those seeking educational fun can discover Hidden Meerkats and Ferrets throughout the playground.
The new junior area is now home to a themed Upbeat Plus tower that includes a 3m Spiral Tube Slide and elements of theming.
The upgraded surfacing materials used in the play area not only enhanced the visual appeal but also resulted in reduced maintenance costs. The improved surfacing from bark to Bonded Rubber Mulch reduced the need for frequent maintenance and the ongoing expenses associated with topping up the surface and allows for more inclusive use for all visitors. This allowed Cannon Hall Farm to allocate resources more efficiently and invest in other aspects of its operations.
The collaboration between Cannon Hall Farm and Playdale brought a range of wonderful benefits, including a maximised use of space and the creation of enchanting farm-themed playground equipment. Families can now enjoy a truly delightful and memorable day out, packed with fun and excitement for everyone to enjoy.
If you are feeling inspired and would like to discuss any aspect of your play project with your local Playdale Area Manager, click here. We look forward to hearing from you.
At Playdale Playgrounds, we’re proud to share that we are the UK’s best-rated playground equipment company, based on customer reviews collected through a transparent review platform. With an impressive Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 70—a benchmark of world-class service—and an average rating of 4.61 out of 5 from 168 reviews, we are delighted to be […]
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