ONE London spot well-known for its historic dinosaur sculptures is set to get a new playpark entirely themed on the prehistoric beasts.
Crystal Palace is well known for many things including its football team and giant transmitting tower, but its much-loved park is set to get a new children’s play area.
The new playground will be inspired by the Crystal Palace Park’s famous dinosaur sculptures.
When the park first opened in 1856, they were the world’s first attempt to depict the prehistoric creatures based on fossils found by Victorian palaeontologists.
In the park, children will be able to find elements of dinosaurs everywhere to spark their imagination – think claw marks carved into the slides and a skeleton-like structure to venture through and climb on.
There will also be a play trail formed from a curving dinosaur’s tail and a sandpit in the giant footprint of a dinosaur.
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Other elements of the playpark include jumping discs, a log scramble and swings for younger children.
For spectating parents, there is a picnic area too.
A lot of the park will be accessible as well, with a wheelchair accessible roundabout, accessible swing and slide, tactile games and there will be accessible access to the sand pit as well.
Many of the features of the park have been shaped by ideas from children that live close to the park.
This included the Megalosaurus, Hylaeosaurus, and Iguanodon being found the most popular dinosaurs and as a result, there will be reference to them across the park.
And it will replace the old playground, which will remain open until the new one is finished.
It will be located near the main park toilets, the new visitor centre, the cafe and en route to the dinosaur sculptures.
A number of people have already expressed their excitement for the attraction, with one person commenting on Facebook: “Cannot wait to take my grandsons when it is ready.”
Another added: “The best news. Thanks to everyone who is involved in making this happen. Happy days!”
The new playpark forms part of the regeneration project of the park.
There are around 30 statues of dinosaurs at the park – but they are a little different to how we know dinosaurs to look today as the Victorians created them from the scientific information they had at the time.
It is completely free to see the sculptures, which are littered on islands in the park’s lakes.
The statues are all Grade I listed and currently undergoing restoration.
Another part of the project is the creation of a new visitor centre.
Inside, visitors will be able to discover the 170-year-old history of the park.
The new single-storey building will replace the existing information centre and provide space for an activity room, with displays, historic objects and information panels.
The Grand Centre Walk is being restored as well, with more space for events.
The path will become wider and there will be a new entrance at Penge Gate too.
And the park’s Italian terraces are being repaired, after being placed on Historic England‘s At Risk Register.
The parks entire makeover is costing around £52million.
If you are looking for something to do with kids now, then you could head to a huge indoor playground that only opened in the UK last year – it has oak tree slides and castle play fort.
Plus, one of England’s most popular children’s playgrounds is about to get much better.