Our climbing frames are designed for children aged from 3-14yrs of all abilities. They include swings, slides, monkey bars and integrated playhouses. All models are designed for home-build and include a free 10 year wood warranty. They're fun, safe & durable!
Guaranteed best prices - We offer always guaranteed best prices.
Home delivery - We offer a range of home-delivery options to mainland UK (Next day delivery available for additional cost).
10 year wood warranty - We'll replace wooden parts if the structural integrity is damaged due to rot or insect infestation.
Cedar wood - Our premium cedar wood has less cracks, knots and splinters than other types of wood. No need to pressure treat our wood, as it is premium timber.
Best play features - We offer the most popular features as standard on our garden play equipment.
Availability: In-Stock & Pre-Order
Availability: In-Stock & Pre-Order
Availability: In-Stock & Pre-Order
Availability: In-Stock & Pre-Order
We want to help you find the perfect play equipment for your family, your garden and your budget. We're available via Live Chat (or email messaging) to help answer your questions.
We understand when you’ve not purchased garden play equipment for your children before it can be a complicated and confusing process.
We have tried to remove the ‘jargon’, and give an honest guide to climbing frames for beginners.
Climbing frames are made from a selection of materials. The material varies depending on the intended use. Plastic climbing frames tend to be for young children. Metal climbing frames tend to be small and basic. Wooden climbing frames are the most flexible as they are suitable for all ages of children, and sizes of gardens.
Many people wish to have a wooden climbing frame in their garden. They look great, are strong, durable and have fantastic play features. They come in a range of sizes, so they suit smaller gardens in addition to being ideal for those with more space. They also include features which make them suited to both younger and older children.
Before you can decide on a set you also need to consider the type of wood it will be made from. For most people china cedar is the best compromise. It is strong, durable and very cost effective. If you are looking for a for a premium bespoke playset (several thousand pounds) then a Western Red Cedar, or Redwood playground may suit you.
There are two main types of wooden climbing frame. One is made from round poles, and the other is squared ‘sawn wood’. The round poles generally look much more rustic, and are made from pine, fir or spruce. These are normally just swingsets, although some may have slides. Sawn wood climbing frames tend to be larger and have more play features. They normally have a ‘fort’ with swings, slides and other play accessories. Different brands use different types of wood as discussed below.
Selwood Climbing Frames have been manufactured from cedar for many years. We believe that our premium cedar is ideal for use in children’s climbing frames. The wood is strong and durable. Plus it has minimal cracks, splits, splinters or checks. More...
Pine, fir and spruce timber needs treating with pressure treatment. This process forces chemical preservative into the wood to stop it decaying. Without this treatment the wood will rot quickly. More...
A premium wood, redwood is strong and durable but is also very expensive. The wood is slow growing which also makes it heavy. This makes it costly to purchase, and more expensive to deliver. More...
Not actually a ‘real’ cedar (like china cedar) but has the beneficial properties. This includes the natural oils which are resistant to rot and insect infestation. This is a large slow growing tree which makes it a premium timber.
Dome climbing frames are the traditional metal play equipment design. These dome structures are normally made from metal tubes. They tend to be very basic with little or no play deck and minimal features. Metal climbing frames sometimes include slides, or monkey bars. They rarely include swings. A metal swingset would also have to be purchased separately. This would would add to the cost and space required for your garden play equipment.
Plastic climbing frames tend to be limited in size and strength. Due to this they are ideal for toddlers, but not older children. They can be nice moulded shapes, but due to plastic manufacturing they are limited with features and modularity. This means children can outgrow them quickly.
Most playsets are designed for children. Depending on your intended use, you may require a different type of climbing frame for residential or commercial use. Residential use would be for private residential gardens. Commercial use would be public playground equipment, such as parks or schools. Residential garden play equipment should be tested to EN-71 safety standards. Commercial play equipment should be tested to EN-1176 safety standards.
There are many retailers of garden climbing frames, but there are few true specialists. Selwood has been specialising in climbing frames since 2004. There are few companies who can off this knowledge and experience. We have been this successful because we have ensured we supply the best value garden play equipment. You can see this from our thousands of customer reviews. We manufacture ourselves, and would advise you purchase from a manufacturer. This enables you to deal directly with the company that had designed and made the product you are purchasing. This generally means you’ll get better service and support.
If you require playground equipment for public use then you will need something which meets commercial safety standards. You are best to check with your insurance company, but many will stipulate they require EN1176 testing standards. The main visible difference is that in a commercial environment the swings need to be separate to the rest of the play features. There are many other differences also. Commercial play equipment also needs to be installed with safety surfacing.
Selwood Products does not supply commercial specification play equipment. We specialise only in residential climbing frames and garden playsets. Below we have listed some suppliers you may wish to speak with about a commercial playsets: - HAGS SMP - Kompan - Playdale - Fenland Leisure
Babies and toddlers are already growing fast. They’ll not want to miss out playing with friends and siblings! Our climbing frames are designed for children aged from 3-14yrs. So we wouldn’t advise buying a climbing frame for a baby, but you may want to get them a baby swing. This could be used as soon as they are strong enough to support themselves securely. Obviously adult supervision is required.
Our climbing frames are intended to be used by families. We understand that children will be different ages and abilities. We include features for both younger and older children on all of our products.
We often find mum and dad are at least as excited as the kids about buying a wooden climbing frame for the garden. However, our products are not designed for adults. Our climbing frames conform to EN-71 safety testing, which is intended for children aged 3-14 and up to 50kg per user. We do encourage parents to supervise and participate in play as much as possible though. This will help children remain safe and grow in confidence.
We try to include the most popular play features on all our sets. Our most frequently requested features are swings, slides, monkey bars, integrated playhouses, and accessories.
It’s important to consider where you’ll place your climbing frame once it arrives. It sounds silly, but climbing frames can be pretty big once assembled. We give measurements for each of our playsets, but remember to add an area for safety and movement. The EU guidelines are 1.8m (approx 6ft) to allow for children to swing, exit the slide and jump/fall without injury from ladders, rockwalls or steps.
We understand that many towns, cities and new-build housing estates have smaller, or odd shaped gardens. Due to this we manufacture a range of play forts with slides, or small climbing frames for those with small gardens.
When climbing frames include one or two slides, swings and monkey bars they can be quite large. This provides ample opportunity for your children and their friends to maximise their garden play time.
We always recommend that you leave area around your play equipment for children to move. They need to be able to access the play features without clashing with other users. The last thing you want is children running through swings to get to the slide!
We recommend our climbing frames are installed directly on a flat, level grass surface. Some ‘cutting in’ may be required to ensure the fort is flat and level. Our sets are not designed to be installed on a undulating or sloping surface. Some customers choose to install a special safety surface such as play bark, rubber, sand or soft bond.
There are different types of climbing frame kits you can purchase. It is possible to commission a unique garden playset which is bespoke and made-to-measure for you and your children. The price is normally prohibitive. It is also possible to completely design and make a DIY climbing frame of your own creation. The time is also normally prohibitive. We offer well designed, attractive, strong, safe and fun play equipment for a fantastic price.
Our products are delivered to your door flat packed in a double layered carboard box. This keeps all the wood hardware and accessories together. They arrive completely ready for home build so you’ll not have any hidden costs or need to buy any extras.
For those customers who have a dream of building their kids the best treehouse ever will love our playsets. The illustrated manual will help guide you through step-by-step. At the end though you’ll be the kids hero!
Some customers don’t have the time to assemble their playset, or would rather someone else do it. For these customers we advise you use a local handyman or DIY flat pack builder to assemble your set. Click here for our advice and tips for using professional installers.
Many of our products are modular, or semi-modular. This means you can add bits on at a later stage if you wish. Many customers choose their perfect setup from day one, but some choose to add playhouses, or monkey bars at a later date for extra play value.
Our UK based customer service team are always available to help and support you. Whether it’s choosing a product for your family, or with help and advice assembling your playset. We’re always on live chat to help you.
Every wooden garden product needs care. Whether a shed, fence, decking, or dining table. You climbing frame will also need some care and maintenance to ensure it lasts a long as possible and stays looking great.
Wooden products suffer from weathering. This is due to the harsh and variable nature of our weather. Some days are blisteringly hot, some a freezing cold, some are soggy. This can cause the wood in your set to dry, peel or crack. The effects of this can be minimised by intermittently applying a stain, sealant or wood protector. We offer a Selwood Wood Stain and Protector if you wish to colour match your set. Some customers choose something similar from a local supplier, or change the colour of their set altogether.
Your children and their friends will undoubtedly be using the climbing frame. So we advise checking it throughout the play season to ensure there’s no likely areas for them to injure themselves. Ensure no screws or bolts have worked loose.
Purchasing a climbing frame is a considered purchase for any family. It is important because it has both emotional value as you will spend so much time with you children. Plus it is a significant investment for many people. Due to this we strongly advise you consider who you purchase from before you commit to choosing a product. We pride ourselves on fantastic service, in addition to our unbeatable products.
You’ll see from our many thousands of customers that many people comment about us on social media, or share reviews about us and with us. From our product pages you can see hundreds of individual reviews from customers all over the UK, Europe and world. We also have a customer gallery where you can browse all our customer submitted images.
We are UK owned and based. Our showroom, warehouse and head office customer service team is located in the UK. We also have customer service staff located in other countries to support our customers all over the world.
