Project: Blenheim Palace – Adventure Playground
Appointed by Blenheim Palace as Lead Designer, ASA Landscape architects lead the coordination of playground design specialists Creating Adventurous Places Ltd (CAP.Co), water specialists Fairwater Ltd with Kelley Peers Design Partnership, as well as Architects and Engineer’s Ridge and Partners. ASA also led the design of the hard and soft landscape elements, to produce a design commensurate with its location.
Blenheim Palace is home to the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705, Blenheim Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Steeped in history, the magnificent Palace is surrounded with over 2,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown parkland and beautiful Formal Gardens. Blenheim Palace is also the birthplace of one of Britain’s most famous leaders, Sir Winston Churchill, and it was his father who described the vista on entering the Estate from the village of Woodstock as the ‘finest view in England’.
Within this highly sensitive setting, the bespoke play features designed by Norfolk based CAP.Co had to sit within a landscape that stimulated the senses and provided wonder and enjoyment throughout the seasons; ensuring visitors had something new to discover month after month.
Appointed by Blenheim Palace as Lead Designer, ASA Landscape architects lead the coordination of playground design specialists Creating Adventurous Places Ltd (CAP.Co), water specialists Fairwater Ltd with Kelley Peers Design Partnership, as well as Architects and Engineer’s Ridge and Partners. ASA also led the design of the hard and soft landscape elements, to produce a design commensurate with its location.
Blenheim Palace is home to the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705, Blenheim Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Steeped in history, the magnificent Palace is surrounded with over 2,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown parkland and beautiful Formal Gardens. Blenheim Palace is also the birthplace of one of Britain’s most famous leaders, Sir Winston Churchill, and it was his father who described the vista on entering the Estate from the village of Woodstock as the ‘finest view in England’.
Within this highly sensitive setting, the bespoke play features designed by Norfolk based CAP.Co had to sit within a landscape that stimulated the senses and provided wonder and enjoyment throughout the seasons; ensuring visitors had something new to discover month after month.
To support these aims, 7 zones each with their own planting palette were developed, which included;
ASA Landscape Architects are delighted with the progress on site, and look forward to its opening by the Blenheim Palace team in April 2023.
Project Details
Project Manager: Ridge and Partners LLP
Engineers: Ridge and Partners LLP
Architects: Ridge and Partners LLP
Play Equipment Designers: Creating Adventurous Places Ltd (CAP.Co)
Water Feature Designers and Contractors: Fairwater Ltd and Kelley Peers Design Partnership
Main Contractor: Kingerlee Ltd & Radcote
Landscape Contractor: Charlton Abbotts Forestry
CGI imagery copyright of Blenheim Palace
Project Team
Project Gallery
Video courtesy of Blenheim Palace
What the client said
ASA took some very difficult concepts and combined them into the most incredible scheme for the Lost Garden at Blenheim. Without your dedication and knowledge, we could not have achieved such an ambitious project. Thank you very much.