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Bewilderwood says its business is poised to go global
Bewilderwood, the children's outdoor play concept involving jungle bridges, magical treehouses and zip wires, could go global say its founders.
The first site was opened by a Norfolk farmer in 2007 as a farm diversification project. Now Bure Valley Adventures, the company formed to run it, is awaiting a decision by planners regarding opening a second site at the National Trust property, Tatton Hall, in Cheshire.
Talks are already underway for land at Windsor and development director Simon Egan says they are talking to companies as far afield as Singapore and Canada, as well as Center Parcs in Europe.
What gives Bewilderwood its extra edge is the story around it. Tom Blofeld, who owns the Norfolk estate, wrote a story about the characters who live there: the tree-inhabitating twiggles and marsh-dwelling boggles. New characters are being developed for Tatton Hall.
There has been vociferous local protest to the Cheshire site, because of the ancient woodland and the noise of children enjoying themselves, so the application had to be modified. Despite this, the council appears to view it favourably. It upholds Tatton Park's vision to be financially self-supporting by 2016/17, creates employment opportunities and help it become a flagship tourism venue, attracting around 250,000 visitors a year.
If it gets the go ahead, the site will open in 2014.
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