Archived Page
This page is no longer maintained.
For up-to-date information please see the
new website
Thames Valley Adventure Playground
How often have you driven past the Thames Valley Adventure Playground? Tucked away at the back of the lay-by by the railway arch at Taplow, most people know where it is, but have you ever wondered exactly what goes on there? If you have never visited, it is hard to imagine just what a vibrant and special place is hidden behind the secure fencing and locked gates. Since 1982 the Adventure Playground has offered an exceptional range of adventurous, therapeutic and educational play activities, providing fun and freedom in a safe, caring and stimulating environment for children and adults with all types of disability, however mild or profound.
Indoor facilities boast a large interactive 'soft play' area with ball pool and intelligent lighting. Multi-sensory and music rooms offer the latest technology for both stimulation and relaxation. Inside the main playroom you can enjoy arts and crafts, touch-screen computers, a games room, a quiet area and lots of toys and games. Our changing areas and toilets have wheelchair and hoist access.
Outside, in the secure play areas, you will find two acres of exciting, robust equipment just waiting to be explored. The area around the building is home to our wheelchair roundabout and swings. Follow the pathways past the sand pit and splash pool, under the 'wobbly bridge' and through the gardening areas, down to the castle. Here you will find the aerial runway (with harness bucket seat), mega-slide and the climbing structure. Beyond are the aerial runway, picnic areas and the entrance to the wilderness garden. Use the elevated walkway to view the lake before you return to the sand pit or venture on to the safety-surfaced games areas with adapted bikes and electric cars. Visit Jock's Cabin with its parents' resource area, or make use of the fully-equipped woodwork room and activity spaces. Enjoy a game of crazy golf or visit the toddlers' area.
The Playground experience is totally unique and offers something for everyone. With no formal catchment area, users travel from a wide area across the Thames Valley and beyond, as there is nowhere quite like it closer to home. They visit with their families and as individuals for respite care, and with schools, play-schemes, day centres and residential units.
An OFSTED-registered day-care facility, the Playground is run by a voluntary board of trustees, with on-site care provided by six full-time staff and ten sessional staff, supported by a loyal band of volunteers. It is open Tuesday to Saturday all year round, with Fridays reserved for adults with special needs.
2007 saw the Playground celebrate its Silver Jubilee. Over 10,500 visits are now made each year and we are constantly adapting to meet the changing needs of our users. Not only have we experienced an enormous increase in the number of visits by children with autistic spectrum disorders, who often find it difficult to cope with a crowded environment, but visits by users with physical disabilities have also risen (23% over the past ten years), with an upsurge in the number of children now using electric wheelchairs at an earlier age than ever before. Whilst we have been creative in accommodating this increase in usage through flexible use of our existing facilities, the need to provide more indoor space in which to manoeuvre, more transit points and better access in general has become a matter of urgency.
Thanks to a generous legacy, the dream of refurbishing and reorganising the Playground's original cabin (much needed after 25 energetic years in action!) is set to become a reality, whilst also addressing its limitations on space with the construction of an annex, which will extend out over the lake. We are pleased to report that planning permission has now been secured and we hope to get the building process underway without delay.
As you can imagine, we are delighted to have this opportunity to move the Playground forward. However, the excitement of the project must not blind us to the need to to meet our day-to-day running costs, currently in excess of £250,000 per annum. Project money will not be available to cover any operational expenditure and, with less than 8% of our income coming from local authority funding, the support of the local community will continue to play an absolutely vital part in helping the Playground maintain its exceptional service - one that is of such huge benefit to so many people with special needs and to their families.
It is always our great pleasure to welcome visitors to the Playground. If anyone from Taplow would like to look around, we would be delighted to give them the 'Grand Tour'. Please call the Playground on 01628 628599 to arrange a visit.
Nicky Hutchinson, Donations Manager
