All New At Old Cleeve – Minehead, Somerset – July 2026

For around a year, members of Old Cleeve Parish Council, near Washford in Minehead, North Somerset, have worked hard to raise the funds and backing needed to replace and add several new pieces of play equipment to their playing field.

A Playing Field Fit for Every Age

Rhino Play was awarded the contract to bring the vision to life, supplying and installing a set of Twin Bay Swings fitted with a birds nest, a cradle seat and a flat seat, giving every age group a seat to enjoy. Alongside the swings sits our Hare Tor Climber, a log adventure climber complete with its own tower and slide, and our ever-popular Weston Watch Tower play system – two towers with floors set at 1200mm high, linked by a clatter bridge and finished with a slide, net, ramp and fireman’s pole.

Safety Surfacing Built to Let the Grass Breathe

All of this new equipment was safety surfaced with our rubber grass mats, which let the grass grow up through the matting while still providing a fully tested safety surface underneath.

Why This Equipment Was Right for Old Cleeve

Each piece chosen for the playing field adds something different to the mix:

• Birds nest swing – its wide, basket-style seat lets several children swing together at once, making it a naturally social piece of equipment as well as a physically active one.
• Cradle seat – designed with younger children in mind, helping them build early coordination and balance skills in a supported seat.
• Flat seat – the classic swing experience, giving older children and teens a seat suited to their size and confidence.
• Hare Tor Climber – combines climbing, balancing and sliding in one unit, encouraging free play, problem-solving and team play as children find their own way around it.
• Weston Watch Tower – with two towers, a clatter bridge, net, ramp and fireman’s pole, it gives children multiple ways in and out, supporting imaginative and role play alongside the physical challenge.
• Rubber Grass Mats – let the grass grow up through the surface for a natural look, while still giving a fully tested, low-maintenance safety surface underneath.

Together, this mix gives Old Cleeve’s playing field genuine play value across a wide age range, from toddlers in the cradle seat right through to teens taking on the Watch Tower and Hare Tor Climber.

A Project Worth the Mud and Rain

Our installers battled through thick mud and rain to get this project finished – hard to picture now, writing this in the middle of a summer heatwave! When Stuart visited to check over and photograph the finished site, it looked fantastic and had already bedded into its surroundings beautifully, with the grass having properly established after the winter’s mud bath.

The Outcome

Thanks to everyone at Old Cleeve Parish Council for working with us on this project. If you’d like to discuss a similar playing field upgrade for your parish or community, email our team at info@rhinoplay.co.uk or call 01803 873711. Take a look at our guide to the benefits of new play equipment, see another recent parish refresh in our Boyton case study, or browse more of our case studies.