Aden Country Park has a brilliant new children’s play area catering for people of all ages and abilities. Surrounded by trees, the play area has a beautiful setting, and has been designed to complement the natural features of the park.

The play area offers the perfect balance between formal and informal play opportunities, which are safe, secure, stimulating, and challenging. The play area has also been designed to offer multiple play opportunities for children of all ages to either play together on the same item or play separately.

For our youngest visitors, the play area offers opportunities to take a ride on the farm animals seesaw, play on the three-tower toddler unit, bounce on the water lilies, swing in the big bird nest or five-way swings, rock in the swan, cross the wobble bridge, or perhaps take the jeep for a spin.

Other play facilities include an opportunity to explore the large centrally located castle, spin on the supernova, rotate on the carousel or accessible roundabout, play on the oasis and sand house, or find your balance on our parkour course, and when you’re done with all that, relax in the hammock.

For those slightly older kids, our jungle dome is a challenging climb, and not forgetting our very popular double zip slide cableway, it’s always a hit. But if ball games are more their thing, the two multigoal units offers a great opportunity for either a five-a-side game of football or an enjoyable game of basketball.

But don’t take our word for it, feedback from our many visitors includes:

“Best play park in Aberdeenshire, bar none!”
“The play area is absolutely fantastic. A lot of thought and effort gone in. There is so much more for toddlers than before. Huge thanks to all involved. Our kids love it.”
“So pleased to see accessible play equipment so everyone can have fun together”
“What an improvement, the play park is amazing”
“What a great day. I’m so impressed with the play park; it entertained the kids for hours!”

The new children’s play area has only been made possible with funding support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), Viridor Credits, FCC Communities Foundation, EB Scotland, a wide range of local businesses, and Aberdeenshire Council itself.

Following a competitive tender process, Kompan, were identified as the preferred contractor for the design and supply of the children’s play area equipment, with the Aberdeenshire Council Landscape Services team responsible for installing the new play facilities.

In January 2019, the Landscape Services team started to remove the tired old play facilities and began the groundwork and installation of the new play equipment. By June, the team had successfully completed installing around half the play equipment, and on 3rd July, a soft opening of the play facilities undertaken, allowing the public to start enjoying the new play facilities.

On the 25th of October 2019 the new children’s play area was officially opened by the Provost of Aberdeenshire, Cllr Howatson, and Chair of Infrastructure Services Cllr, Norman Smith, with speeches and a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Along with the formal ceremony, the celebratory nature of the event was enhanced with a magician, face painter, access to a range of sports equipment and bikes designed for people of all abilities, along with refreshments offered by the Friends of Aden, and fun child and family friendly activities run by the Aberdeenshire Council Ranger Service and Museum Service.

Throughout the installation process a series of photographs was taken to show the development of the new Aden play facilities, to see the develop please download the attached “Children’s Play Area Development” pdf below.