CAP.Co, the adventure play specialist, has worked with Fairytale Farm in Oxfordshire, UK, to create a new play development for the inclusive visitor attraction.
Fairytale Farm first opened in 2013 and is the UK’s first visitor attraction that is open to all. Here, disabled children come first in both the design and layout, for an experience where everything is accessible and everyone is welcome.
CAP.Co’s brief was to create something that was inclusive and accessible, with both physical challenges and sensory play. The team also wanted to include some climbing to height, to introduce an element of risk, and to play with the topography where possible.
The result is Fairy Dell, a magical play area where guests feel they have been shrunk to the size of fairies. It features an accessible walkway with a humpback bridge feature and themed rope work, giant mushroom structures, and a stainless steel embankment slide with launch and landing platforms.
Fairytale Farm is the brainchild of Nicola and Nick Laister. Their daughter Olivia has cerebral palsy, and they had always wanted to take her to a place that is enjoyable for both kids with disabilities and their other kids as well. Since there was nothing out there, they made their own attraction, bringing Fairytale Farm to life. It is a fun combination of traditional fairy tales, animals, and adventure play.
For CAP.Co, accessible play is the best play. As the company says: “When families can play together, whatever their abilities, everyone has more fun.”
Its previous work includes the design and build of the Boundless Playground in Bermuda for Windreach, a charity whose mission is to enrich the quality of life for people with special needs. Here, the firm created something that introduced a whole new level of accessibility, meaning that kids and adults of all abilities could play together.