Markfield Adventure Playground: Carving a space for kids to be kids

“Adventure playgrounds began in the 1930s in Denmark when C.T. Sorenson noticed that children preferred playing everywhere but on the traditional playgrounds he built.” I love this quote from Rooted in Play as it always reassures me that children are gonna keep on doing what they need no matter how the world spins. Markfield was designed to be an inclusive space for both disabled and non-disabled children to play - it’s design means that even small children can experience the joy of slowly climbing it’s ascending ramp and their family days now see a huge range of visitors. Some of those visitors have returned week after week for many years and the community spirit amongst children there is both tight-knit and yet equally welcoming and open arms to any newcomers. This, I cannot help but feel, is the true reward for feeling ownership of space. Regulars here have grown up in this space, they’ve watched new structures arrive and old ones be torn down, they’ve decorated the walls with their art, had disagreements, made new friends, played countless games and much much more. All of this cements a confidence and pride simply not attainable in many purpose built playgrounds and so newcomers are often seen as exciting additions as opposed to any kinds of territorial threat. Truly it is remarkable what children can achieve if we just let them. https://markfield.org.uk/