It has been shipped in from Germany via The Netherlands
This is the first look at a giant 17 metre-long ship arriving at a West London park for a new £3million play area. The brand-spanking news life-size wooden ship has docked in Kensington Gardens after making its way across the North Sea.
The wooden ship is the centrepiece of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground when it reopens this summer. It was built in Germany and is mostly made of mountain larch wood, sourced from sustainably managed forests in the Bavarian Alps.
Here, the harsh alpine conditions result in extremely slow growth, meaning the timber is stronger, naturally rot-resistant, and doesn’t require chemical treatments. The ship set sail from Germany last week and travelled to Rotterdam in The Netherlands before crossing the North Sea to Tilbury in Essex.
It was then moved by road to its final destination, the capital. The playground is free-to-enter and is undergoing a £3million facelift courtesy of The Royal Parks charity.
It includes a new Galleon, a new Treehouse, a redesigned water play area and a refreshed under-threes zone. The Galleon is being delivered by Timberplay UK and its partners Richter Spielgerate, which also designed and produced the original Galleon back in 2000.
The playground is in Kensington Gardens, and was opened in 2000 to commemorate Princess Diana, who lived at the nearby Kensington Palace. It was inspired by the adventures of Peter Pan.
The playground hosts over a million visits a year, and after decades of adventures and play, some of the larger pieces in the playground had come to the end of its life. Andy Williams, Park Manager for Kensington Gardens said: “We are delighted to have the new Galleon – the centrepiece of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground– here in Kensington Gardens.
“Children can be the captain of their own ship and let their imaginations soar when the playground reopens in summer 2026. The new ship will be even more fun to play on with two crow’s nests, a tunnel slide and lots of inclusive play elements such as a play kitchen, a musical fence, and a play telescope. The new Galleon will also provide wheelchair accessible spaces so that children of all abilities can play together.”
Paul Collings, Managing Director of Timberplay said: “Timberplay are delighted to be part of this landmark project at Kensington Gardens. This new Galleon and Treehouse will reinforce the space as a benchmark for public play, delighting millions of children for years to come.”
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