New Children’s Play Park Opens at Leonardslee

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens has opened an extensive new play park designed to mix recreational play with the natural attractions of the Grade I Listed woodland gardens. The 2,500 square metre park offers immersive installations for children of all ages.

A 5m multi-level champion tree tower with two slides is a major feature, along with a St Leonard's Dragon play structure with climbing nets and a 32.5m zipline ride. There is also a mini rock garden, a teepee den, balancing beams, a range of swings including baskets and cradles, and a crawling tunnel. The park is designed to provide a safe and engaging environment for children to play and explore.

The play park also caters for activities for younger visitors within its Little Explorers junior area. Here, toddlers and preschoolers will discover child-friendly attractions like the mini Leonardslee House play set, complete with a miniature indoor kitchen and outdoor double slide. Other highlights include a creative drawing station, talking tubes connecting playhouses, multiple basket swings, and wallaby spring riders. There is accessible level flooring with wheelchair-width doorways.

In promoting inclusive play, the park includes designated play zones for children of all abilities to participate together. Double-width slides and special “tango” seats make intergenerational play convenient for kids and parents. The playscape seamlessly integrates with Leonardslee’s surrounding woodlands through the use of sustainably sourced, FSC-certified materials like Robinia, Larch, Chestnut and Oak woods.

The Hut café nearby offers freshly baked hot doughnuts and local Sussex ice cream plus other refreshments for a great family day out, including for school holidays, weekend breaks and other outings. As one of the estate’s new attractions, it joins favourites like the wallaby enclosure, and a ‘magical world in miniature’ at the Dolls House Museum and the historic gardens themselves to provide a range of play activities.

Day tickets give access to the playground and gardens, while Leonardslee membership offers free parking, unlimited play park entry and exclusive discounts and entry to many special events throughout the year.

Estate General Manager Adam Streeter says, “We are thrilled to offer the play park in addition to all the other family attractions, such as the gift shop and restaurants, for a great Sussex day out - and of course, well-behaved dogs are always welcome.” 

Exploring the Wildlife

Beyond the play park, Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens offers families nature play and discovery activities across its sprawling 240-acre woodlands estate.

Children can delight in wildlife encounters such as at the estate’s wallaby enclosure, which brings visitors face-to-face with the resident mob of wallabies, including rare albino specimens. Deer, waterfowl and other animals also roam the grounds, with visitors able to see ducks and fish at the property’s serene lakes. Wildlife walks spotlight native birds, insects, frogs and flora for junior outdoor enthusiasts.

Special events further showcase Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens as a premier family destination.

Annual highlights include the Labyrinth Challenge, with its 1,000-foot inflatable obstacle course, illuminated night-time walks, outdoor cinema and comedy nights. Creative activity days allow children’s participation in areas like gardening, arts and crafts and circus skills – sparking their curiosity through hands-on learning.

Opportunities to explore abound across Leonardslee’s landscapes. Young visitors drawn to discovery can traverse woodland gardens and the rock garden in the estate’s Grade I listed grounds.

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is dog-friendly and open daily except Christmas Day, with accessibility features. Opening times 29 October to 30 March are 9am to 4pm, and 31 March to 28 October 9am to 5pm. 

Contact us for details of schools & groups membership, with unlimited weekday term time access to the estate, and group discounts for family-friendly events.

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Editors notes

Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens is a family-owned vineyard estate, near Horsham in West Sussex, which features ‘the finest woodland gardens in England’, Grade I Listed, as well as a Michelin Star restaurant and luxury vineyard accommodation.

The 240-acre estate was established by Sir Edmund Loder, the great Victorian plant collector, and now includes a Sussex Wine vineyard, with the first release of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier sparkling wine in 2024.

The estate features outstanding displays all year round. In the spring this includes rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, magnolias and bluebells. The collection is exceptional in its diversity and maturity, with several rare ‘champion’ trees, threatened in their natural habitat.

The gardens offer a protected ecosystem for rare wildlife such as Emperor Dragonflies and Damselflies, White Admiral and Purple Hairstreak butterflies and migratory and native birds - Kites, Great Tits, Tree Creepers, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and Nightingales.

The estate reopened in April 2019, following acquisition and two years’ intensive work by entrepreneur Penny Streeter OBE to restore the woodland gardens after eight years of closure and neglect under previous ownership. It was the largest garden restoration project in the United Kingdom since Heligan 30 years before.

Since further restoration work in 2021, visitors can also stay in the luxury vineyard hotel after dining at Restaurant Interlude in Leonardslee House, the Grade II Listed Italianate mansion house, to experience the Michelin Star multi-course tasting menu created by chef Jean Delport.

The estate offers a great family day out and is one of the top places to visit in West Sussex. Visitors can view a magical world in miniature at the Beyond the Doll's House exhibition, which depicts the Edwardian estate and neighbouring villages at 1:12 scale. There is also an exciting new 2,500 sq m play park designed to mix recreational play with the natural attractions of the Grade I Listed woodland gardens, and a spectacular winter festival annually when the gardens are illuminated, attracting many thousands of visitors.

For great days out, there is an extensive programme of entertainment that includes winter garden illuminations and light trails, wine and beer festivals, photo and art exhibitions, live music events, cooking and gardening demonstrations, arts and crafts fairs, modelling and toy shows, and children’s events and adventure trails.

Leonardslee Family Vineyards in numbers

· Acquired 2017 · Total Estate 750 acres · 38 Acres of vineyard, 73,000 vines

· 2017 First vines planted · 170 Tonnes of grapes, 2023 harvest · 100,000 bottles annually produced · Sparkling wine cultivars 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier · 2024 First release of wine