Hundreds of excited Aberdeen youngsters have offered their verdict on the city’s new £1 million playground at Hazlehead Park – with one giving it an astonishing “100/10” review.
The new playpark is one of the biggest in Scotland, and officially opened today to a grand reception.
Hundreds of families arrived to explore the new addition to Aberdeen’s largest park.
It proved so popular that, by the afternoon, huge traffic jams were forming on the road outside.
The playpark includes equipment for both younger and older children, wheelchair-accessible trampolines, large towers, a purpose-made trail and musical items.
It has also retained a few old favourites such as the jeep and sand digger.
So what did the children make of it?
When we arrived at 11.30am, there was barely any room at Hazlehead to park and the excited hubbub from scores of children was audible from some distance.
At the park, scenes of zip-line gliding glee played out as picnic blankets were unfurled and families made the most of a sunny summer day.
Little Adam Riddell is sliding down a new fireman’s pole as his mum Vafa smiles on from the sidelines.
She tells me that, as far she she’s concerned, the makeover was money well spent.
Vafa says: “The park is amazing. This is a huge difference from before, it was always so muddy!”
Meanwhile Birsana Thapa was looking on as her young children bobbed up and down on the see-saw.
Birsana and her offspring were also regular users of the previous park, which was demolished earlier this year, and commended the changes.
She estimates the upgrade to be a “500% improvement”.
‘It brought back memories of my own childhood’
Leanne Spence took her kids there at about noon.
By this time, more and more families were arriving and a long queue of giddy youngsters was forming at the swings.
Leanne offered her thoughts on why it was proving so popular.
She said: “These days, it’s hard to pick out activities that a five-year-old and a 10-year-old can both enjoy. It’s incredible!”
It was a family outing for Kirsty Taylor-Robinson, who visited along with her mum Anne Anderson and daughter Eleanor.
For the mum, it brought back memories of being taken to Hazlehead to play about back when she was a kid.
Kirsty added: “I used to come here when I was a child but now I’ll be back here a lot with my daughter.”
Traffic chaos as families pile into park
By the afternoon, motorists were lamenting massive traffic tailbacks along the surrounding roads in Aberdeen’s west end.
Some took to social media to claim they had been “unable to move for 20 minutes” as hordes of hyper tots rushed to try out the new equipment.
Robert and Agnes Lynch had driven to the spot from Summerhill, with their young daughter Alicia.
Robert is hopeful for similar improvements at other Aberdeen parks, so that families like his won’t have to travel.
He said: “They need to continue building more parks in places like where we live in Summerhill. Otherwise, parks like this will always be too busy.”
New Hazlehead Park gets ‘100/10’ from one fan
Laura Milne visits Hazlehead a lot with her two sons, but the new park was a welcome addition.
She said: “It’s ideal for the kids and makes the space look even bigger. My son’s favourite is the big slide, he gives it a 100/10!”
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Lisa Bain said the playpark is a welcome addition to Aberdeen.
She said: “It needed to be done and what a difference it has made. We used to visit a lot but we’ll definitely be coming a lot more now.”
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