Blenheim Palace invites families to celebrate National Playday with all-new activities in Adventure Play and the Walled Garden
Blenheim Palace is celebrating National Playday on Wednesday 6th August with a fun-filled day in the Walled Garden and its award-winning Adventure Play area – an immersive outdoor space designed to spark imagination, movement, and joy in children of all ages.
During National Playday, families can enjoy storytelling sessions, Pip and Posy races, and making rainbow streamers as they follow the Pip and Posy Play at the Palace trail – a joyful adventure perfect for curious minds and little explorers inspired by the characters Pip and Posy from the award-winning books published by Nosy Crow and TV series by Magic Light Pictures.
Families visiting on 6th August can also expect a special appearance from Pip and Posy characters at intervals through the day from 11am to 3:30pm. Costumed characters are present on specific dates only. See www.blenheimpalace.com for more information.
Playday is a national campaign that encourages the importance of play, expressing creativity, and sharing moments of joy. Coordinated by Play England, Playday celebrates children’s right to play and is held every year on the first Wednesday in August.
The theme of this year’s Playday is Spaces for Play highlighting the vital importance of accessible, inclusive spaces where children have opportunities to play freely, spending time, and connecting with friends feeling valued as part of their community. Adventure Play was thoughtfully designed with exactly that in mind so that families of all abilities can explore and play.
There are wider pathways, anti-slip resin inserts on timber decking for safer footing, gentle ramps and handrails throughout buildings and towers providing wheelchair access to most areas and carefully selected materials to ensure safe and smooth access for all visitors. With its treehouses, rope bridges, water play and winding slides, the playground invites families to unplug, get outdoors, and reconnect through hands-on, screen-free fun.
Heather Carter, Managing Director – Visitor Attraction, said: “Playing is such an important part of childhood as it’s a chance to explore different worlds and scenarios using imagination. Children should be encouraged to play and we want to foster this, not just for National Playday, but always, which is the magic of Adventure Play and letting children and their imaginations run free.”
Blenheim Palace recently launched the all-new 3D interactive experience in Adventure Play which invites children to join Pip and Posy on a Rainbow Treasure Hunt, inspired by an episode from Pip and Posy, Magic Light Pictures’ hugely popular pre-school series, which airs on Sky Kids and Channel 5’s Milkshake!
Families looking to visit Pip and Posy Play at the Palace will need a Palace and Play Pass, which grants access to both Blenheim Palace and Adventure Play for a full year, making it fantastic value for regular visitors. A Palace and Play Pass is available at £165 for a family of four (two adults and two children) and at £51 per adult and £41 per child for individual day passes.
What’s more, families visiting on National Playday and Monday to Friday until 5th September should take advantage of the current Kids Eat Free campaign. Kids get two free slices of scrumptious pizza at the Pizzeria this summer for every adult meal purchased (choose from classic Margherita or tasty Pepperoni and a refreshing carton of juice, absolutely free).
Don’t miss the chance to experience this exclusive, limited-time Pip and Posy adventure. Book your visit now by visiting www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/pip-and-posy/.
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Blenheim Palace. For more information please contact Cab Campaign [email protected]
About Adventure Play
Adventure Play is the biggest family-themed attraction in the history of Blenheim Palace. Hidden within the Walled Garden, the outdoor immersive area for mini explorers is where young imaginations can run wild.
Little adventurers from toddlers to pre-teens will love the limitless hours of freedom and fun as they run, jump, climb, clamber, slide and splash, exploring the network of tunnels, ziplines, bridges, cargo nets and chambers.
Aimed at children from pre-school to 11 years of age, Adventure Play is an inclusive experience that has been carefully designed and created to ensure children of all abilities are able to explore and enjoy the extensive play areas, with a special, safe enclosed toddler zone for mini explorers too.
About Blenheim Palace
Home to the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Blenheim Palace is set in over 2,000 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland and is the birthplace of one of Britain’s most famous leaders, Sir Winston Churchill.
With over 300 years of history to share and one of the most important and extensive collections in Europe, Blenheim Palace is not only an iconic part of history, but also a living, changing experience with a wealth of sporting and cultural events, themed exhibitions and tours all year around.
A short miniature train ride away from the Palace is the Walled Garden, which boasts interactive areas entirely dedicated for families to explore including Adventure Play and the Rowse Honey Hive, The Marlborough Maze and Butterfly House. With curated events, an exciting programme of annual activities, entertainment and dedicated eateries for families, these areas guarantee a memorable family day out.
Beyond the grounds and an array of Formal Gardens, the total Estate expands into a further 10,000 acres and focuses on care for the land through sustainable means, pursuing net zero, the growth of the local economy, the provision of affordable homes, apprenticeship training and supported community groups.
Blenheim Palace is Britain’s Greatest Palace.
About Magic Light Pictures
Magic Light Pictures directly manages film production, global distribution, marketing and licensing. Magic Light’s most well-known brand is The Gruffalo, based on the best-selling picture books by creators Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Magic Light has four Oscar nominations; three BAFTA wins as well as numerous other international awards. It has produced 12 half-hour specials based on the works of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, all have premiered on BBC One, Christmas Day. The films have been sold to over 180 broadcasters worldwide. The most recent of these was Tiddler, which screened on BBC One over Christmas 2024.
Magic Light runs a cross-category international merchandising programme for The Gruffalo and Friends brand, with over 80 licensees and hundreds of products.
In 2021 Magic Light released its first children’s series based on the collection of books illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Pip and Posy, published by Nosy Crow. The show is available on Channel Five, Sky Kids and Nick Jr. in the UK and has over 32 international broadcasters with 29 local language versions. The second season launched in April 2023, with a full merchandise programme, including a Master Toy range with Bandai which launched in 2024. This year the first of 3 x ’25 seasonal specials will air exclusively on Sky Kids, as well as a new live attraction, Pip and Posy Play at the Palace at Blenheim Palace Adventure Play opening this May.
Follow on LinkedIn and Instagram @MagicLightPics
About Nosy Crow
Nosy Crow is a multi-award-winning publisher which began publishing child-focused, parent-friendly children’s books and audio books in 2011. It was named Children’s Publisher of the Year (2017 and 2019) and Independent Publisher of the Year (2020) at the British Book Awards, and was awarded the Independent Publishers Guild’s overall Independent Publisher of the Year twice (2016 and 2021). It has also won the IPG’s Children’s Publisher of the Year seven times, mostly recently in 2023. Nosy Crow’s perspective is international: it has won the IPG’s International Achievement Award five times; the British Book Award for Export twice; and is the only book publisher ever to win two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for International Trade. Other prizes include the Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Award, the Nectar Small Business of the Year Award, the Growing Business Awards Young Company of the Year Award and many others for individual titles. Nosy Crow is also proud that it has been shortlisted for the IPG’s Sustainability Award and Diversity and Inclusivity Award.
A subsidiary of Nosy Crow Ltd, Nosy Crow Inc publishes high-quality, commercial fiction and non-fiction books for children ages 0-12 with a goal of inspiring children to read for pleasure and, ultimately, to become lifelong readers. Nosy Crow Inc launched in 2023 and is based in North America.
