The ‘Gateway Play Trail’ was officially opened on Thursday 17^th June by Andrew Lingard, Forest Sites Manager, Forest of Marston Vale and Carrie-Anne Rowley, Bedford Borough Council when year 4 pupils from Wootton and Shelton lower schools got their first chance to play on the equipment.

 It was thanks to these pupils that the Play Trail took the shape it did. Through  activities and design workshops held at the Forest Centre in Marston Moretaine, the Wootton and Shelton lower school pupils helped the Forest team discover  more about which  play activities children liked, and what play ‘equipment’ might be suitable for a woodland setting.

 The Forest team then set to work with the help of a local contractor, RDT Woodland, to turn the children’s ideas, sketches and models into reality. The play features, created entirely from oak logs extracted from woodland management projects in the Marston Vale, are robust and durable, and fit naturally into the woodland environment.

The project was supported by Bedford Borough Council and BRCC and is one of a number of projects around the borough of Bedford.

Tony Talbot, Chief Executive of the Marston Vale Trust  said: “Thanks to Bedford Borough Council for its vital support with this rewarding project. We are delighted with the Gateway Play Trail – already pupils have been ‘road testing’ the equipment and have given it an all round ‘thumbs up’.”                                                                                                                          

He added: “The beauty of the trail is its subtlety in the landscape and the fact that it sparks children’s imaginations – they can be as creative and adventurous as they choose.  The fact that the timber comes from good woodland management of the area’s semi ancient woodlands is an added bonus.”

To find out more about the Gateway Play Trail or the Forest of Marston Vale contact Andy Lingard, Forest Sites Manager Tel: 01234-762617 or email