Walkers Nurseries: Adding play to the garden centre mix
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We love bringing local history to life through play, and our project at Castle Espie Wetland Centre in Northern Ireland was no exception. Inspired by the iconic Scrabo Tower, one of the region’s best-known landmarks, we were tasked with creating a play structure that captured the spirit of this historical site while inviting children and adults to explore and have fun. The challenge was to reflect the original structure’s striking features while adding a playful twist.
We took a playful approach to echo the tower’s strong presence while ensuring the structure was fun for all ages. The lower section has a potions den where kids can pretend to mix magical brews. Above, the more confident children can scramble up a net, slide down from the first level or even tackle the giant Douglas fir trunk climbing route with an oak peg climber, which draws inspiration from the real tower’s staircase section.
One of the standout features of the Castle Espie Play Tower is its charming turrets, carved from solid chestnut. With intricate stone and tile detailing, they give the structure a fairytale feel. We also included stag wood face windows, which add a quirky touch—children peeking out from these windows can imagine growing wild beards and hair.
The parapet, inspired by the original tower’s design opens brilliant views over the wetland centre from the top level. To mirror Scrabo Tower’s stone cladding, we used larch wood, which offers a similar aesthetic while weathering beautifully over time. The large Douglas fir stem we used for the side of the tower adds a sense of strength and resilience to the structure.
On the play side, the stainless-steel slide is built to last, offering real fun, while the potions den on the ground floor is perfect for younger children to engage in imaginative play. The tower’s conical roof, made using bespoke rubber roofing, not only looks natural but is also watertight for the structure to stay dry and safe for play in all weather.
The team at Castle Espie Wetland Centre requested this as a deliver-only project, meaning our team designed and built the tower in sections, ready for their installers to put together on-site. We made it easy for the client’s team to reassemble on-site with galvanised steel brackets on the base of the tower to install it on a concrete foundation, rounding off the design with practicality and durability.
We’re thrilled with the result and proud to have brought a piece of Northern Irish history into the world of play!