Play pioneer Marjorie Allen, Lady Allen of Hurtwood, a landscape architect by training envisioned how an outdoor play environment could be created following her visit to Copenhagen in 1945 and how children were able to create stimulating play spaces in war-torn areas following WWII.

It was through her child- centred vision, and her endeavours and influence that the Adventure Playground movement came into fruition, providing play places in which children could freely choose and create their play, unstructured, using loose parts, taking challenges and risks and using their creativity and imagination to the fullest.

Adventure Playgrounds were developed in various areas of the UK and despite economic and urban challenges they continue to this very day providing essential high quality play provision for our nations children.

Now too on heritage estates, we are seeing playgrounds offering play spaces to children and young people and their families. Leaders in the field are the Chatsworth Estate, whose custodians are the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and the Windsors on the Sandringham estate. King Charles III has also developed a playground too at Dumfries House in Ayrshire.

Unlike the inner-city Adventure Playgrounds, this new breed of playground are proven pay themselves back within a three year period.

These newer playgrounds are spread out on acres of land and have increased the footfall on the heritage estates. They offer families bringing children and school parties access to beautifully positioned play structures and play opportunities.

Chatsworth House is a great example of a heritage estate reaching out to the communities and in particular community members who are underserved.

William Cavendish, Earl of Burlington and the heir apparent to the Duke of Devonshire has worked concertedly with those of us supporting communities at the coal face to increase inclusion and access in overt and sensitively discreet ways on the Chatsworth estate, including all areas of the estate. This has been transformative for underserved and marginalised communities. Heritage estates like Chatsworth are to be celebrated and commended for their efforts to promote and support play and along with it, community inclusion and cohesion.