Galleon arrives in Kensington Gardens playground

A life-size wooden ship has arrived in a central London park after travelling across the North Sea.

The galleon will be the centrepiece of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens when it reopens in the summer.

The free playground is currently undergoing a £3m renewal by the Royal Parks charity which will also include a new treehouse and redesigned water play area.

Andy Williams, park manager for Kensington Gardens, said he was "delighted" with the galleon, adding: "Children can be the captain of their own ship and let their imaginations soar when the playground reopens."

Two halves of the ship were lifted by crane into the playground, where they were fitted together before the galleon was moved as one structure on to its foundations.

It will next have two crow's nests, a tunnel slide and rigging installed.

The wooden ship was manufactured in Frasdorf, Germany, and was made mostly from mountain larch wood from the Bavarian Alps.

It left Frasdorf last week and travelled to Rotterdam in the Netherlands before it crossed the North Sea to Tilbury in Essex. From there it was transported by road to its final destination.

The playground, which is inspired by the adventures of Peter Pan, first opened in 2000 to commemorate Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in a car crash three years earlier.

The renewal is funded by the Royal Parks charity and a mix of public and private donations. Fundraising for the project is ongoing.

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