The area at the Cream o’ Galloway Visitor Centre includes kart tracks, a 3D maze, a 50ft tree-top viewing tower, flying fox, drop slide, obstacle course and a popular suspended netting network.
The ice cream company says the nature of the playground, some areas of which include unpredictable motion designed to bounce people together, means that it is not financially viable to open the playground while physical distancing restrictions remain.
Instead the firm is to focus on its core products of ice cream and food tourism to try and protect jobs.
In a statement, founder Wilma Findlay said the decision had been made with a ‘heavy heart’, adding: “Like many local businesses the impact of Covid-19 has been deeply challenging for us and our team.
“Our adventure playground was designed to bring people together, not to keep people apart. Despite our best efforts to make it work, and despite government funding for which we are immensely grateful, we do not believe our playground is viable while physical distancing requirements remain.
“There are enormous costs with running an attraction like this – the insurance and maintenance costs for the playground are eye-watering.
The numbers simply don’t stack up.”
