A Club For All Ages

The construction of the Club’s dedicated family facilities is nearly complete and they will be ready for members to enjoy from March 2021. Pell-Mell & Woodcote’s Editor visited Woodcote Park with Board Member Pippa Cronk to find out what members can expect.

Board Member Pippa Cronk with son Nicholas

Clockwise, from below: The new building; main pool; play equipment in paddling pool; main pool WHEN WE ARE shown around the site of the new family facilities on a sunny September day, Pippa Cronk’s smile says it all. She is imagining, she explains, her energetic son Nicholas racing around, climbing and jumping and splashing and swimming: “I can see us spending hours and hours here, and how happy we would all be. I’m sure many members are familiar with that feeling, especially after nursery or school and at the weekends, when you have an expanse of time stretching ahead of you but no plans. You need to get out of the house and go somewhere that the children will enjoy – and feeding them is always on your mind as well.” As mothers of young children, we both agree that if you have children in your lives, this new facility is the answer, and it’s going to make your time with them extra special.

Kier Construction has now almost completed its part of the project and the Club is starting the fit out. We can see the evidence of all the progress made so far when we visit and the undulating, expansive 12,000 square metre site is a hive of activity.

We make our way through the main entrance to the new building, past where reception will be located, and Pippa is excited to discover the large space that will become a soft play area – sorely missed by

Walled Garden Manager Chris Futtit

parents during lockdown, and invaluable for keeping small children active and safe at the same time. On the same floor, the Junior Lounge with its adjacent outdoor space, will be perfect for pre-teens and teens who love air hockey, chilling on bean bags, TV, boulder-climbing, table tennis or all of the above. Feeding these hungry children is essential, so there’s the new Garden Café on this floor too, which has an outdoor terrace as well as tables inside.

“The indoor swimming pool, indoor paddling pool and outdoor splash pad are all fully built and now we need to finish installing all the different play elements – the sprays and fountains and so on – which will make them so much fun,” explains the Walled Garden Manager, Chris Futtit. “The whole of the wall at the back of the swimming pool will be covered with some wonderful

“It is so important that children learn to swim in a pool which is suitable for their age and ability; now the Club will have just that.”

graphics, which we will be announcing in the new year.” Also on the lower level of the building we find the finishing touches being put to the changing rooms, perfectly designed for family use. Not surprisingly for a former member of Pall Mall’s Swimming Committee, Pippa is passionate about the benefits of the new pool. “It is so important that children learn to swim in a pool which is suitable for their age and ability, and now the Club will have just that.”

As we leave the building – brand new and built to the highest specifications – Chris tells us about the history of the Walled Garden, which is about 200 years old and once used for growing plants and vegetables before it fell into disuse. “It is a very secure space, so perfect for families to relax in.” He explains that as well as the walled perimeter there will also be a card-swipe system at the gate to ensure that children won’t be able to enter or leave unattended. He also shows us the Gardener’s Cottage, which has been restored to provide a crèche downstairs and event space upstairs, and still retains its charming brick-fronted facade.

The work outside is extensive, and impressive. Tight planning conditions,

The two Multi-Use Games Areas and Garden Café are finished, and work on the paths, grass and planted areas is in the final stages.

This page, clockwise from above left: Wildflower meadow; Garden Café; MUGA; Gardener’s Cottage Opposite: Playground areas for older and younger children

deep earth excavations, on-site soil conditions and one of the wettest winters on record have all provided challenges – and then the pandemic forced many of the sub-contractors to leave the site and suppliers to cease production. However, progress is clearly back on track. We admire the almost-complete outdoor play areas, one for little ones – near the café terrace so parents can watch close by, Pippa notes approvingly – and another for older children keen to climb, swing, bounce and slide. The two sizeable MUGAs – MultiUse Games Areas – are finished too and work on the paths, grass and planted areas is in the final stages.

There are so many other thoughtful elements to the project: Pippa is particularly taken by the expanses around the edge of the site which will bloom with wildflowers; the pool graphic featuring 12 trees found around Woodcote Park; the elegant and modern gabion seating; and the dedicated parent and child parking spaces just 150m away. “I can easily imagine sitting out here, perhaps with a picnic, while Nicholas is busy playing,” she says.

“We are planning lots of classes and other activities,” Chris confirms at the end of our visit, “including some which will already be familiar to Woodcote Juniors – such as swimming lessons, EzeeSport and football – and new ones which will be announced nearer opening”. The Walled Garden will

also be the venue for the popular Woodcote Junior holiday camps and special birthday party packages will be available.

With the COVID-19 restrictions continuing and time needed to complete the fit out, the Walled Garden will be opening in March 2021, in time for the school Easter holidays. In the meantime, keep a close eye on the Club’s website and social media as well as future editions of this magazine for progress reports and further news on the classes and activities which will be available.

If you are wondering what to buy any of your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews for Christmas, Pippa has a suggestion. “Woodcote Junior membership could be the best present they’ll receive – and one you will enjoy as well as you settle down for a coffee in the Garden Café while they burn off all their energy!”