Andy Frost – Visitor Centre – 1987
Andy making the climbing frame, photo from Natural Order book
Material: Wood
Trail: Millwood Trail
Theme: Nature
Form: Figurative – Animals
Maps Featured on: 1989 – 1997
Status: Removed, no remains
This bespoke adventure playground was built in the walled garden in the visitor centre. It was previously a nursery but due to the increase in visitors, (or maybe to increase visitors) the playground was built. It was at the far end of the garden as can be seen from the aerial image below.
The playground was incredibly imaginative. Made completely (pretty much) out of wood, it featured a host of different animals which contained the usual playground equipment. I believe parts were added to the playground over time and taken away. Here’s a list of all the features I know of:
- Large Pheasant slide – climb up through the belly and slide down the back.
Early photograph of Playground taken by Bill Grant (see Tree Sculpture in background)
2. Hedgehog climber – poles representing spikes can be climbed on.
3. High Hide den – steps lead up to the hide room where a you could then slide down a fireman’s pole. Conifers form the four corners and an angry owl sits on top. Clearly inspired by the high hide used to view wildlife in the forest in the 1960s & 1970s.
Photograph taken 1992 by Allan Harris. Original photo location here.
(I didn’t like heights as a kid so never went in the hide, I wonder if it had any Andy Frost critters inside)…
4. Spiders web climbing frame – originally wooden web suspended between two trees. A fly sat on the frame and a spider on the floor behind waiting for its prey (see bottom right of photo below). Later changed to be made out of rope (see bottom of page).
Photograph taken 1992 by Allan Harris. Original photo location here.
5. Dragonfly wind vane – large upright blue dragonfly. In the video clip below it shows the top rotated around. It seems to have moved after the video was filmed, as more was added to the playground. This isn’t in most photos, not sure how long it lasted.
Photograph taken by Bill Grant
Video clip from Sense of Place film 1989
6. Saw seesaw – A seesaw balanced over a log, with the main trunk resembling a two man saw.
Close up taken from photo above
7. Fox and Hare Roundabout – Small roundabout with two seats a fox on one, hare on the other as if chasing and being chased.
8. Grasshopper swings – Large grasshopper with swings suspended either side. You could crawl through the centre part as well.
Photograph Taken by Robzet approximately 1996
9. Deer cutout photo board – a deer with a hole for a face that you could put your head through to take a photograph.
Photograph Taken 1995
10. Mushroom seats – Dotted around the edge for parents to sit on. A large mushroom table and small mushroom seats.
Photo taken by Bill Grant
11. Snake balance beam – A long green snake to walk along.
Stills from home video 1992
These home video stills show the smaller details of the caterpillars around the edge, you can also see the snakes head.
12. Frog – this was relatively small and low to the ground, I can’t remember exactly what it did, it may have been decorative. You could climb on it I can’t recall if it did anything else.
13. Further decorations – Caterpillars, Leaves (including Ivy all over the wall), Insects all around the edge of the playground.
“The slide, incorporated in an inscrutable game bird who looks across to a roundabout where the fox eternally fails to catch his hare… marking the playground boundary, a ladybird is creeping up on an unsuspecting greenfly, a delicate blue damsel fly is heading for the shelter of the riverside plants.” – Preview of Lakeland 1990
The playground had so many features it was impossible to get it all in in one shot. I’ve tried to show it from different angles on this page. This back view shows the climbing frame, pheasant and further back the roundabout and frog. The playground was removed in 2003 and a new one made next to where this was sited, by Andy in 2004.
Sculpture in other artworks
Grizedale 10 – 1992 – Panayiotis Kalorkoti
Kalorkoti a resident painter in Grizedale during the late eighties and nineties often used Adventure Playground in his paintings. Above is an etching sketch featuring all different animals from the playground amongst stick men.
Below we see the caterpillar on the middle, left hand side. The top right leaf is possibly also from the playground.
Grizedale 2 – 1989 – Panayiotis Kalorkoti
Grizedale 5 – 1991 – Panayiotis Kalorkoti
There are also a couple of elements from the playground in this image. The leaf and ladybird, angry owl. Further examples of other sculptures used in Kalorkoti’s work can be seen in the Gallery in the Forest Page.
Artist’s other work in Grizedale –
Shootin’ Moose – 1985
Chieftain on a Hot Spot – 1985
Last Stand at Bogle Crag – 1985
Vulture Culture – Gallery – 1988
Stag Herd Roof – 1993
Adventure Playground 2 – 2004
Artist’s Website: afrostdesign.co.uk
Page last updated Jan 2021
Grizedale Forest Sculpture An Unofficial Archive 