Setting the scene at Tumblestone Hollow

One of our jobs during the close season was to create a new themed entrance to Tumblestone Hollow at Stonor Park in Oxfordshire.

The entrance to any attraction is the pre-show for the adventure that lies within. It sets the scene for the rest of the day and sets out the stall of what visitors can expect, as they begin to explore the rest of the attraction. When the entrance begins to tell the story, the visitors are 'warmed up' and in effect, warned that there's more to expect from their visit than a standard play area offers. Here's the original concept for how we planned it to look.

The stories of Tumblestone Hollow were created by well-known children's author Amy Sparks and are centred around the history of stones at Stonor Park, especially the stone circle which has been a feature within its grounds long before the house was built 850 years ago.

They tell the story of the people who live within the grounds.

It's based on the fact that these characters have been hiding in plain sight, right under our noses for many millennia. Throughout this time, the people who live there have been quietly going about their business, keeping the standing stone circle safe, around their magical home.

Finally, after more than 552 and a half years of careful negotiation between the Stonor family and the people of Tumblestone Hollow, they agreed to open their doors to welcome us into their wonderful world.

So these new gates, aren't just standard entrance gates, they are an entrance into another world. A world of laughter and light, shadow and sunshine, peace and tranquility and most of all, a place to play with friends, with family young and old, and most importantly a beautiful, magical place to play together