Castles Carey started, as with so many companies, by accident.

When my son reached the age of two and was becoming very active, I started looking at the various options for activity centres i.e. swings, climbing boards, ladders etc. He already had a large sandpit and needed an increase in variety. My research showed me that there were two routes; firstly the metal combination climbing kits which are very functional but unattractive and secondly, the flat pack wooden kits, erected by various companies in a day or two.

I decided to visit one of the wooden manufacturers (I had already discounted the metal frames as I think they are unattractive in a garden) and found that they all came with some form of limitation either in the form of age or weight. It seemed to me that if you were going to spend a sizeable sum of money on a play area, then the least it should do is last the children many years and not be discarded through lack of use at the 10 year old mark. I continue to enjoy having a swing to this day, so this set me thinking.

So was born my first set of swings and climbing frames. Robust, attractive and fits well in an English garden, will take any weight or age and receives many admiring comments. This led to various friends enquiring as to whether I might build something for them.