Location:
Award Winning Design
Dover
Kent
Date of installation: 2010
Winner of a 2010 LGN Street Design Award
Connaught Park is an important open space in Dover. It is situated near Dover Castle and overlooks the town. Established in the 1880s, it features many mature trees, grassed terraces, formal flowerbeds, an aviary and a pond.
Wicksteed created a design that complemented existing natural surroundings and referenced local history. A large Woodland Tree House with tube slide represents Dover Castle, whilst a surrounding palisade of vertical logs replicates its fortifications. In the 1930s Connought Park was known for its teddy bear picnics. This is celebrated by a sandpit shaped like a teddy bear head, with rubber toadstool seating representing the eyes and nose, and tufts of grass for hair.
Landscaping has transformed the previously flat play area by creating differing levels, mounds and embankments. Self-bound gravel pathways link most features, offering all-weather use and wheelchair use.
Play opportunities are provided for both toddlers and older children, with a timber Cableway, Rockscape and Pendulum Swing offering excitement for the 8-14s and a Mystical World multi-play system, interactive play panels and, of course, the sandpit for younger children. A range of inclusive features includes a Revolver wheelchair accessible roundabout.
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Connaught Park, Dover - with Dover Castle and the famous Teddy Bear's Picnics as inspiration
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