New King’s Cliffe Ninja Warriors-inspired park is first of its kind in UK

A UK-first play area inspired by the Ninja Warrior TV show has officially opened for youngsters.

Families attended the grand opening of King’s Cliffe Active’s new Rockmaster play area on Wednesday last week (June 11), which featured a range of exciting free activities including a parkour demonstration by Spiral Freerun CIC.

As a charity, Kings Cliffe Active provides leisure and sports opportunities for people of all ages from its village site.

“We chose to open the new play area to the public on the International Day of Play because we believe play isn’t just fun - it’s essential for every child’s development,” said Kings Cliffe Active’s chairperson of trustees Guy Varty.

“We wanted to celebrate the power of play and raise awareness about how central it is to every young person’s wellbeing.”

The new play equipment has been specially designed to meet the needs of children and teenagers who are over 10 years old.

“After speaking to our local communities, we recognised there was a need for older children to have somewhere to socialise and engage in active play in our area,” Guy added.

“We wanted to extend our play equipment provision to really make it more inclusive for older kids too.”

The challenging new Rockmaster equipment opens up play to teenagers who generally have more limited leisure opportunities. Inspired by the Ninja Warrior UK TV show, the obstacle course combines elements of free-running and parkour to build skills, confidence, resilience, and inspire creativity.

Young people can practice mastering steep ramps, sloping jumping blocks, hanging slabs or nets, and wind their way between ropes.

The course is designed with varying degrees of difficulty so young athletes can progress through the training levels.

Robyn Brookes, playground consultant at Eibe play Ltd - the company behind the equipment installation, explained: “Play is how children learn to navigate the world.

“It helps them to build narratives, knowledge and social skills and contributes to their overall development, including physical health, cognitive development and emotional wellbeing.

“Play can reduce stress levels, help children process difficult emotions and help them build important life skills - from problem solving to expressing ideas.

“Just 15 minutes of play can spark millions of brain connections.”

Installation of the new Rockmaster equipment was made possible thanks to an injection of £90,400 in funding from the Augean Community Fund, FCC Communities Fund, National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All and Kings Cliffe Parish Council.

Guy added: “This really exciting new range of play equipment is the first installation of its kind in the UK.

“We’re delighted to open it this June for the benefit of families across the region.”