Helmingham Estate reveals plans for new woodland adventure playground

A popular Suffolk attraction has announced it will be opening a new adventure playground this summer.

Woven within a stunning four-acre wood in the grounds of Helmingham Estate in Stowmarket, Guildenacre will be an immersive new play experience featuring four themed areas, designed and created by world-class playground designers CAP.CO (Creating Adventurous Places).

Children of all ages can embark on a magical adventure into nature as they step into a world where a glimmer of gold hints at tales untold and join four special guardians who protect the forest with the help of the magical Whispering Oak Tree.

Each of the playground areas is themed around one of the guardian animals and their habitat – whether that’s burrowing into the ground or soaring high up into the trees. Alongside adventurous play, there’s also an educational aspect with different themed activities, including stamp stations, to complete an accompanying trail sheet.

Edward Tollemache, custodian of Helmingham and co-founder of Guildenacre with his wife Sophie said: “This meticulously considered new addition to the Helmingham Estate will be an exciting mix of challenge, discovery and intrigue for all its visitors, both young and the young at heart. Inspired by the estate’s beautiful surroundings and the animals you would expect to find in the neighbouring habitats, you will see references to our family’s coat of arms in the form of a magical flying Pegasus which we hope our visitors from near and far will enjoy discovering too.”

With unmistakable badger stripes covering the top of the turrets, the first play area to discover will be Flint’s Hollow, home to Flint the Badger – full of tunnels, burrows and two-storey lookout spots. Children can weave up to the highest point and soar back down through a covered, twisty slide.

Woven high up into the trees is Eira the Owl’s Canopy Keep, where you can journey up the wooden walkway or climb the rope ladder to the stargazing deck to scour the skies or send secret messages to your fellow explorers with the Keep’s talking tubes.

The largest of the structures is the Elderglade, looked after by Atlas the Stag, where children can enjoy climbing walls, tunnels, ladders, multi-level walkways, bridges and several impressive slides to race down.

Featuring an adrenaline-fuelled zip line and another designed for younger explorers, as well as a racing slide, ground-level play trails and balance beams, Vex the Vixen’s, the Ember Den, is the fourth area within Guildenacre which encourages explorative play and is ideal for older children.

All four play areas will be linked with bark pathways suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs as well as a den building zone for children to build their own dens and hideouts. There will also be refreshments and toilets within the wood itself.

Celia Deeley, estates director for Helmingham said: “Construction of the playground is being carefully managed to cause minimal disruption to the estate’s woodland, to preserve habitats and to ensure that ancient trees are undamaged during the build.

“We’ll be using estate materials as much as possible and have chosen a wood-themed design to complement and blend into the surroundings, so that our visitors feel even more immersed in nature.”

Alongside the adventure playground, Helmingham will be creating modest refreshment and retail facilities at the Grade II listed Wades Barn which will be the entry point for visitors as they get ready to embark on their magical experience at Guildenacre.

Edward added: “With the introduction of our new playground, visitors will have even more to experience during a day out at Helmingham. Guildenacre will be a wonderful accompaniment to our Grade I listed gardens, 400-acre deer park, shops and seasonal events.”

The new adventure playground’s build schedule, which also includes a separate car park, will continue throughout the start of 2026 ahead of the planned opening this summer.