EASY-ON-THE-EYE PLAYGROUNDS

Plastic fantastic play equipment is an eyesore – especially if you’re into al fresco entertaining. The children may have gone to bed but the huge metal climbing frame with monkey bars and bright orange slide is still there!

“It’s really important for children’s development to play in a natural environment, the muckier and wilder the better,” says James Lord, a garden architect from HTA Design. “I’m keen on using logs, stick and tree stumps for balancing. I’ve also used hazel poles to build impromptu tepees.”

It is practically free to recreate natural structures and they take up a lot less space than a bought climbing frame. Plus, parent and child can design the area together.

It’s frowned upon to drag fallen trees from public woodland, according to Bloor, but he does recommend asking a tree surgeon for stumps, trunks and branches that are destined for the chipper.