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Wintergarden Play Area Unveiled at Bluewater Shopping Centre

Jupiter Play & Leisure, in partnership with Landsec, is delighted to unveil the transformation of Bluewater Shopping Centre’s Wintergarden Play Area in Dartford. The site has been reimagined as an immersive, mushroom-inspired destination designed to spark curiosity, movement, and joyful play for families.

Officially sprouted in April 2026, the revitalised Wintergarden brings together inclusive design with imaginative play and subtle touches of a garden in bloom. The space creates opportunities for children to explore, connect, and let their imaginations run wild.

From a Child’s Dream to a Playful Reality

The vision for the new Wintergarden Play Area began with a design competition among year 6 pupils at Temple Hill Primary School in Dartford. The winning sketch became the seed of the design, initially concepted by 100 Architects, and was brought to life by Rachel Stanley, our Senior Designer & Quantity Surveyor.

The pupil’s influence can be seen throughout the final design, with playful shapes, natural textures, and gentle references to the blooming garden inviting storytelling across the site.

What You'll Find at Bluewater's Wintergarden

Drawing on over 30 diverse pieces of play equipment, the redesigned Wintergarden offers a complete landscape of movement, imagination, and inclusion with moments for intergenerational play woven throughout.

Bespoke Mushroom Multiplay Unit

At the heart of the Wintergarden lies the bespoke Mushroom Multiplay Unit: two sculptural towers linked by a crawl tunnel. The larger tower reaches an impressive 8.8 metres in height, with plenty of room inside to climb and crawl your way to the top. The shorter 5 metre tall wheelchair-accessible tower provides space to climb, slide, and crawl. Nestled under the mushroom domes of each unit are mirrored ceilings that encourage social play, accompanied by subtle lighting that illuminates the unit and extends play time into the darker hours.

The entire unit offers play value from above and below. On the upper level there are chances for climbing, immersive viewpoints, and an exhilarating spiral tube slide that kids big or small will adore. Below the unit are a series of balancing ropes for visitors to put their agility to the test, before reaching the shaded chillout nets for a well earned rest.

Hillside Ascent

Sprinkled with a range of equipment, the Hillside Retreat offers an alternative route to the bespoke multiplay unit. One end of the hill features a wheelchair-accessible (with assistance) ramp, accompanied by a chime quartet for visitors to exercise their musical abilities. At the other end lies a balance trail consisting of a wooden zigzag balancing bridge, a rubber triangular belt bridge, and a triangle bridge. Testing the abilities of visitors, the trail creates challenge and inspires strategic thinking to make their way across the equipment.

Memo Interactive Activity Zone

Offering an engaging and dynamic experience, the Memo Interactive Activity Zone provides space for education and competition, all whilst getting visitors moving! Pressing the button on the middle pillar unlocks a catalogue of over 64 games across education and activity, from multiplication and language quizzes to Tag and storytelling games.

The Memo is driven by data. Most importantly, this enables key stakeholders to track return on investment and evaluate performance and profitability in real time. By continuously capturing statistics, the Lappset Dashboard also identifies the most popular games, hours of use, and weekday popularity to build an instant picture of how the space is being used.

Swinging Arches

Overlooking the Wintergarden Lake is a row of arch swings and a standing seesaw, culminating in the ultimate view that any visitor will be delighted to see. The swinging arches feature a mixture of cradle seats for toddlers, flat rubber seats for older children and adults, and an accessible nest basket for all visitors. The addition of subtle lighting provides further aesthetic appeal and visual stimulation, connecting all areas of the park through a trail of light in the dark.

Play Wall

Towards the entrance seating area is a feature play wall. The wall is built up of a variety of play elements from full length chimes to a tactile and visually stimulating spinning wheel and pixels game. But the main attraction is a series of talk tubes, configured at different heights to encourage social interaction amongst visitors of all ages.

Designed for Inclusion and Accessibility

At Jupiter Play & Leisure, inclusive design is integral to all our projects. And Wintergarden Play Area is no different. The play area has been crafted to ensure that:

Children with and without mobility aids can access meaningful play
Sensory, imaginative, and physical play coexist in harmony
Families and visitors of all ages can experience the landscape together
Active areas are balanced with quiet environments for respite

The result is a natural, innovative, and welcoming play space. A place where children are encouraged to explore, grow, and create stories that they will cherish forever.

A Historic Milestone for Jupiter Play & Leisure

This partnership marks a historic milestone in Jupiter Play & Leisure’s journey. Working with one of the UK’s largest shopping centres has provided us with the opportunity to leave our mark on over 27 million visitors each year, making their visit to Bluewater Shopping Centre even more memorable.

Managing Director Michael Hoenigmann shares: “Wintergarden Play Area at Bluewater Shopping Centre was a fabulous project to work on! We developed this amazing playground in partnership with Landsec with countless unique features. From the play wall that encourages active play and the swing line that illuminates the play area to the giant bespoke mushroom unit, it’s fantastic to see families having so much fun. The space has really set a new standard for other retail centres to live up to.”

James Waugh, Centre Director at Bluewater, commented: “We’re proud to invest in Bluewater to create a fantastic full day out experience for guests of all ages. The new play park has significantly enhanced our family offering, giving an inclusive play experience that transforms a key area of the centre into an engaging hub for children of all ages and abilities.

“We are delighted to have welcomed families to experience the magic of the new space, and we thank the Year 6 students of Temple Hill Primary School and Jupiter Play & Leisure for their inspired ideas.”

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