CASTLE Howard is gearing up to reopen its adventure playground tomorrow (Saturday).

The reopening of Skelf Island, with its rope bridges, slides, nets and climbing equipment, comes with new ‘Skelf and Safety’ measures in place to ensure that all visitors have space to play whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines.

Abbigail Ollive, head of marketing and sales at Castle Howard, said: “We have been eagerly awaiting the announcement from the Government confirming that playgrounds across the country can reopen. We have been working hard to put our reopening plans into action, ensuring new rules aid social/physical distancing but whilst ensuring our visitors have plenty of fun! We are delighted to be welcoming back visitors to Skelf Island over the coming weeks.”

As Skelf Island’s first birthday approaches, the marketing campaign for the launch of the playground has been shortlisted for the prestigious Museum & Heritage Awards.

The Castle Howard gardens reopened to the public on June 8 and visitors have since been enjoying the spacious grounds with acres of meandering woodland paths, lakeside terraces, temples, and fountains.

All visitors are required to pre-book tickets online via the Castle Howard website for capacity management purposes and will then self-scan at the Ticket Office to have contactless entry to the gardens.

The country estate has been awarded the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard on behalf of Visit Britain in recognition of exceeding government guidelines, ensuring processes are in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social/physical distancing.