The Helicopters Have Landed!

Photo by Adam White

Yesterday saw a landmark achievement in the creation of the new playscape, as helicopters came to the park to help install our giant play towers.

The 9m and 12m towers (equivalent to three double decker buses on top of one another!), constructed by Timberplay are so large that they had to be constructed horizontally. With the playscape site being on such a steep slop surrounded by dry stone walls and mature trees, it would have been impossible to complete the installation by crane.

As a result, the project team embarked on a special project to install the towers by the only way possible - from the sky! Principle contractor Visible Changes, along with Timberplay, brought in fantastic pilots from British International to do the lifts.

British International bought a 24 seater Sikorsky helicopter up to Cheshire from Cornwall. Their team ensured all project staff were fully briefed for the task at hand, and the National Trust wardens worked with a team of fantastic volunteers to marshal the exclusion zone around Crow Wood and the car park tower construction area.

The lifts for the 9m towers were completed with relative ease. The weather was very poor which made life less than favourable for the marshals, but in actual fact the helicopter required windy conditions to achieve the required levels of uplift. Due to the weight of the towers, the helicopter had to be refuelled after each lift in order to keep on-board weight to a minimum.

The lifts for the two 12m towers proved slightly trickier as they were even heavier than the others. The sheer weight of the towers meant that they needed to be partially deconstructed to enable the helicopter to lift them up and carry them into place safely.

However, by 6pm all the towers were in place and the crew, contractors and marshals could have a well deserved cup of tea to warm up!

British International Helicopters Chief Pilot, Ron Walker, who lives near Penzance and carried out the mission, commented: “This was a pretty challenging task, with limited space, lots of trees, a delicate wooden playframe and the need to fly close to listed buildings and structures. But although this was mission difficult, it certainly wasn’t mission impossible.”

“Flying to the Isles of Scilly each day means I’m pretty spoilt and used to breathtaking views, but to fly in to the impressive, oversized, surroundings of Lyme Park was stunning. This was just the sort of mission our helicopters thrive in. Whether it’s ensuring the safety of giant play equipment, or the comfort of passengers to the Isles of Scilly, the Sikorskys are amazingly delicate and responsive.”

British International's Sikorsky S61, which usually operates between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly, can carry up to three tonnes or 24 passsengers plus luggage. The 18 metre long, twin-engined helicopter can travel at speed of up to 166 miles an hour - although there was no call for this for our mission!


Check back for more photographs of the event and images of the new towers in situ!!!

Guardians of Crow Wood

The National Trust is welcoming pupils from Brookside Primary School to get involved in protecting the estate’s wildlife so that users of the new Crow Wood Playscape will be able to enjoy the full benefits and experiences of playing in the wild.

Construction for the Crow Wood Playscape is now well underway, and young people from around the region will soon be able to enjoy the imaginative play experiences that the innovative and natural facility will have to offer. The Playscape’s setting in the heart of Crow Wood should ensure young visitors will have the chance to see and explore the wildlife in a living woodland.

Brookside Primary School is the ‘Guardianship School’ for Lyme Park, and pupils will be living up to this role by making bird and bat boxes that will be installed in the trees around the new Playscape to encourage nesting.

The budding wildlife enthusiasts will be planting mushroom plugs into deadwood from the woodland, and taking them back to school to study the different species that they can grow, as well as studying the flora and fauna present at Lyme Park.

Check back for photos of the day!

Progress Photographs

Construction work is continuing on site, and this photograph gives you a good sense of how the Playscape is taking shape. The photo is taken from the top of the site where the first of the play towers will sit.

Felled timber is visible in this photo - the felling was carried out as part of tree management that will ensure the continued health and growth of the woodland. The trees and tree limbs that have been removed were either diseased or in danger of causing risk to park visitors in times of high wind.

All of the felled material will be recycled and put to use as seating or climbing features within the woodland as we attempt to make the Playscape project as environmentally sensitive and sustainable as possible.

Contractors Start to Sculpt the Playscape

Visible Changes have made visible progress on site! Work has now been underway for 3 weeks, and the shape of the new playscape is really starting to come together. Earthworks have been carried out under the watchful eye of National Trust appointed archaeologists who have made sure no history is hidden beneath the soil.

As you can see from the photographs, the lower side of the site is taking great shape - you can start to make out the footprint of the soon-to-be decked pathway, the hollow for the climbing tree and the mound around the pod swing.

Keep checking back for more progress photos throughout the build period, and for instant bursts of news, follow Gwk_Cheshire on Twitter!

Bella and Harry help the Contractors start Excavations!

Harry and Bella got their spades ready to help contractors start work on the new Crow Wood Playscape. They were joined by Peter Cox, Managing Director of the project's primary funder WREN.

Construction Work to Start!

Work is set to start on Monday 29th March to construct the new Playscape at Crow Wood! Visible Changes will start setting up on site, and the new play area will be open for use in the Summer. Keep checking back for progress photos and updates!

David Morgan, General Manager at Lyme Park said:
“The new Playscape will offer opportunities to create and enjoy play imaginatively. It will differ from the ‘average’ playground by allowing children to explore and challenge their surroundings, learn to take acceptable levels of risk and let their creativity shape the play value of the natural landscape.
The Playscape is also being designed to provide an inclusive play facility for children with special needs under the countryside based ‘Access for All’ play opportunities’ scheme.

Play is something children don’t get enough of. Simple pleasures and basic enjoyment is something that the National Trust really values. We’re grateful for WREN’s funding which has enabled the Playscape project to take place”.

Katherine Stanier, Senior Project Manager at Groundwork Cheshire said:
"The Crow Wood Playscape that families will be soon be able to enjoy is something of their own making. Our participatory design approach has ensured that the themes, features and challenges of the playscape are truly reflective of the aspirations of children, parents and visitors.

We have listened to the imaginative flair of a 7 year old school child and the practical considerations of an elderly carer who still has a great sense of fun. Added to this, The Access Collaboration Ltd have conducted a fantastic consultation to ensure that the Playscape is accessible, so we are confident that Crow Wood will be a place of great adventure for everyone."

Landscape Architects Adam White and Andrée Davies said:
"Think grassy mounds, innovative planting, timber decking, trees, tunnels, boulders complemented by modern well designed play equipment and you've got Playscape: an exciting and challenging space to play with unlimited creativity and imagination.
The project sits somewhere between the traditional playground design and the play value of building snowmen or climbing in trees. Forget swings and roundabouts, this innovative design rejects preconceived notions of a playground in favour of a more natural approach to play.

Remember how a fallen tree trunk could provide hours of entertainment, a sprinkling of snow endless fun? Playscape returns to these simple pleasures encouraging engagement with natural surroundings and taking acceptable levels of risk”.

Planning Permission Granted

The project team are pleased to confirm that the project has now been given planning consent by the Peak District National Park Planning Authority. We have worked very hard to ensure that the Playscape design will sit sensitively within the landscape and offer enhanced learning and adventure opportunities for young people visiting Lyme Park.