As it approaches its 40th anniversary, our reporter Lara Keay heads to London's biggest outdoor adventure play centre to find out what it's all about.

DRIVING into Woodford Bridge along Roding Lane North, most people are unaware of the multi-coloured adventure playground hidden behind the trees at number 119.

ELHAP has been supporting children with disabilities and challenging behaviour since it first opened its doors in 1977.

Surrounded by two acres of woodland complete with a multi-storey space rocket, full-size Tardis and giant see-saw, ELHAP encourages children to learn through adventure play.

Manager Rob Dighton has been working with the charity since 1989 and has seen the way children play and engage with the world around them change massively over the years.

He said: “I grew up in Woodford Green and I remember our parents used to say ‘Right, be back by dinner time,’ and off we went.

“We used to swim in the river, climb trees, and even though I soon learned I couldn’t climb a tree to save my life, taking those risks helped us learn how things worked.

“The world has changed so much since then, it’s considered a scarier place now, so children stay so wrapped up and protected they don't know how to play anymore.

“But it’s every child’s birth right to be able to play freely, and that’s what ELHAP is all about.”

ELHAP’s Woodford Bridge site is the biggest of its kind in the country, with equipment for both able-bodied and disabled children.

Rob added: “The kind of children we work with has really changed since I first started.

“We have far less children in wheelchairs than we used to. The ones we see the most of nowadays is children with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour.

“These are the invisible children – you don’t see them at the park because their parents don’t feel like they can take them there.

“These families often feel like they don’t have a place in the community, so they’re the ones its most important we reach out to.”

ELHAP’s 18 full-time staff and 57 volunteers run after school clubs, play schemes and drop in sessions come rain or shine all year round.

But with 8,000 visits a year and families travelling from across London, Essex and Hertfordshire to make the most of the centre’s unique facilities, meeting demand is no mean feat.

With local authority funding from nearby boroughs like Redbridge and Waltham Forest decreasing every year, staff are depending more and more on grants, donations and local support.

Rob said: “We’ve always been good at building new shipwrecks, aeroplanes and sandpits on a budget, but all these funding cuts have really made us rethink the way we do things.

“I keep asking myself, how can we support more families with less money? That’s the real challenge facing us now.

“A lot of people right on our doorstep don’t even know we’re here, so the more the local community gets behind us, the more we can provide for them.”

ELHAP is doing a sponsored woodland walk starting from the centre on July 23.

For more information on how to get involved or how to make a donation, see the website.

http://www.elhap.org.uk/