“I love coming to the valley with my 4 children, as it’s a great place to play for them. My children are old enough to come here on their own but I still come along with them to have a brew and a chat with the staff its great! The staff are always hands on and always there to give advice or listen if its needed!" - quote from a parent

Gwenfro Valley is a staffed adventure playground situated in Caia Park, a large housing estate ranked in the top 10 most deprived wards in Wales. Situated close to the Wrexham Football Ground our small charity runs this much-loved community space, which has been open for over 15 years and is free to access and open to all. Gwenfro Valley follows in the rich history and tradition of the junk playgrounds pioneers. This is a dedicated space for playing but not of the highly commercialised and manufactured kind. This is a space developed and maintained by children and adults together. A constantly evolving space full of loose materials, bits and pieces, varied terrain and self-built structures. The playground is staffed by experienced and playful playworkers who work with children and their families, both to support children’s play and other aspects of their lives. Gwenfro Valley is a place for adventurous playing, where children engage in a wide variety of physical play behaviours. This includes climbing and clambering over structures, crawling through smaller spaces, balancing, digging, swinging, playing games of off-ground tig or hide and seek, lifting and carrying heavy objects such as tyres, using tools to build dens, making obstacle courses, and playing parkour, as well as informal sports like football. Importantly this is a space accessed by a wide range of ages, from children in their early years to older teenagers, an equal mix of genders (with as many girls as boys choosing to attend), as well as a significant number of neurodiverse and disabled children.