Overview

Caledonia Play designed, manufactured and installed a large range of playground equipment and furniture, including seating and sensory areas, for North West Community Campus, an educational facility and community hub in Lochside, Dumfries.

The brief was to incorporate various elements which would facilitate different forms of play and activities and be suitable for a broad age range with a mix of challenges.

Project detail

Playground furniture and fixtures

Outdoor classroom
Machine-rounded 14cm Ø timber curved structure bolted and concreted into the ground. Bitumen sleeves fitted. Internal seating mounted onto the timber structure. All manufactured using pressure-treated softwood.

Embankment slide
Constructed from quality stainless steel. 1.45 x 0.5m. Mounted on concrete.

Timber barriers
Various sizes and diameters with bitumen sleeves fitted at ground level.

Perspex viewing dome
600mm Ø perspex viewing window.

Storage box
1.3m-high incorporating raised decking with side and back walls.

Double and single pergolas
Constructed with dressed and treated C24 timber. Fitted with galvanised steel metal extension legs for durability.

Rustic seating stumps
Solid, machine-rounded 250mm Ø timbers with chamfered tops and bitumen sleeves fitted at ground level to prevent rot. Fixed in a circular formation at varying heights.

Easy access wooden cold frame and potting table
Constructed with square sawn and dressed pressure-treated timber. 0.7m high. Kitted with a central cold frame unit.

Perching boxes
32mm softwood decking and internal frame of dressed C24 material and diagonal bracers. All timbers pressure-treated and stained. Various sizes. Finished and assembled with quality galvanised steel screws and fixings. Perching boxes are more frequently seen in contemporary outdoor spaces and offer unique hang-out areas that can be used in a variety of ways at any time of the day.

Raised beds
Various sizes for primary and secondary horticulture. Planted in a large variety of ways, from growing vegetables to planting seasonal bulbs and summer flowers, raised beds offer an activity for all ages as well as creating wildlife areas for local birds and insects. Large willow plants can add an additional option of creating a willow tunnel that straddles more than one planter and in doing so, creating a magical tunnel to walk through.

Timber poles with sails
3 x 3 x 3m triangular shades - colour-fast, UV-proof and frost-resistant. Supported by machine-rounded 14cm quarter sawn pole with bitumen sleeve fitted at ground level and secured in concrete. A splash of colour for the outdoor area.

Compost bins
330-litre capacity.

Water butts
200-litre with tape and stand.

Agility and play items

Triangular decks and play platforms
Pair of raised platforms of differing heights with access ladders connected by climbing rope.

Swings
Swings with flat and inclusive seats.

Wall mounted traversing walls
Fixed onto an existing wall with C24 battens and marine ply.

Wheelchair seesaw
Wheelchair seesaw with steel tread plate on the main wear surface.

Wheelchair trampoline
Frame constructed with strengthened galvanised steel formed sheets. Reinforced jump mat - doubled steel / PCV cables and plastic lamellas. Bespoke ramps on both sizes for easy wheelchair access with additional rubber tiles and two side hand rails.

Arched bridge
1.2 x 1.8m with side rails, suitable for small wheeled ride-on toys.

Timber shelter and scrambling net
A-frame timber shelter with scrambling net below.

Sensory and imaginative play

Outdoor chalkboards

2400 x 1200 x 12mm.

Bucket and pulley system
Constructed using preserved timber, nylon rope, galvanised fixings, chains and pulleys.

Eco bongos
Trio of 3 pairs of PVC pipes with plastic stop ends of differing lengths, set in pairs on steel pipes fixed to concrete base.

Imaginative den
Triangular timber structure with no specific function to encourage creative and imaginative play.

Hardwood xylophone
Keys constructed from 50 x 25mm Iroko strung together with 4mm marine grade rope. Includes two beaters fixed by chain.

Outdoor mirror
1.8 x 0.75m mounted on marine ply timber.

Mud kitchen
With a selection of mock sink and cooker units including storage and drainage elements.

Tyre climbing and platform
Timber top filled in with Type 1 surfacing material and covered with coloured bonded rubber.

Paddle pipes
UV-stable plastic tuned pipes of varying lengths fixed to timber uprights.

Water pump
Constructed from durable stainless steel.

Outcome

The outside area of the new campus will be heavily used by children of all ages. Caledonia Play ensured that all play equipment and outdoor fixtures and fittings were installed to a high standard and to meet the safety standard required for outdoor play equipment for schools and community organisations.