Something really simple but a huge amount of fun

When was the last time you saw a council do something frivolous like providing flattened cardboard cartons for grass sliding? Never? Wrong. The Marlborough District Council does.

Go up to Harling Park at the south end of Howick Rd in Blenheim, walk along the track a little way and you will find plenty of cardboard to use sliding down a relatively steep bank.

Someone mentioned this the other day so we took a walk with the dog and a couple of the kids to check it out.

Sure enough, plenty of cardboard lying around to slide on.

Look further, and there is a wooden crate full of it – right beside a council sign saying grab it, use it carefully and put it back.

Not only that, the bank seems to have been specially mown for the sliding.

So this isn’t something that just happens on council reserve, but a fully sanctioned council activity.

Good on them. They are using the resources available (the steep hill) and creating fun for the whole family at virtually no cost.

We must have spent nearly an hour there enjoying the hill. I was the sensible, mature one who watched the dog and took pictures of the spills and crashes (nothing serious) while the others trudged up the hill and launched themselves from the top, often parted from their piece of cardboard halfway down.

A family could spend a whole afternoon at this. Just make sure all skin is well covered and no-one suffers greatly from hay fever.

Even when folks don’t tidy up after themselves and leave their piece of used cardboard lying on the slope, it’s not too much of a problem. After a couple of rain showers the stuff becomes mulch.

Playgrounds are usually expensive things full of well engineered equipment with all sorts of special safety landings and the like. This is plain and simple and just as much fun. Or even more fun. For all the family.

Full marks to whoever made this happen.

Apart from the Japanese garden area, Harling Park has a huge playing area in the middle. Great place for a picnic while you watch the kids (and the less mature adults) slide down that hill. Perfect holiday fun.