THE “customers” immediately endorsed a new £200,000 venture when it opened on Wingates Industrial Estate in Westhoughton.

The occasion was the official opening of the new Party & Play Funhouse “Outdoor Adventure” – an imaginative, natural play area created for owner Catalina Sastre-Done by award-winning Bolton company Cool Canvas.

The latest addition to the successful leisure business marked another milestone for Ms Sastre-Done who opened her indoor play centre in 2007 and then moved to new purpose-built premises close by in 2013 because she needed to expand the facilities available.

The new area adjoining the centre has everything to absorb children – from a zip wire and trampoline to tree houses, bridges, a hobbit hole, a maze, sand and water play areas and even a mini shop and a mini kitchen. They are all built out of natural products, colourfully set against a winding “Yellow Brick Road” and grassy areas. There’s even a nod to Bolton’s history and coat-of-arms with a carved elephant!

The adventure area proved a hit with the many children who attended the official opening with their equally entranced mums and dads. Eight year-old Ava Kenyon loved the zip wire and the tree house while her Mum, Hannah Foster, was taken with the kitchen area.

And eight year-old Noah Wotherspoon, son of Cool Canvas boss Oliver Wotherspoon, really enjoyed the trampoline. His Dad was delighted with the success of the new area. “It’s our biggest project to date and we’re really pleased with it,” he commented.

Ms Sastre-Done said she was “really thrilled” with the area. “Cool Canvas have done a fantastic job here,” she stated. “They worked with such passion and craftsmanship it was wonderful to see it gradually coming to life. And now just great to see the children enjoying it so much.”

The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Carole Swarbrick, opened the new area and described it as “just amazing – I’m sure all youngsters will love it, and so will their parents.”