Wickey Sandpit Flip - Review and Giveaway

Don't know what it is about sand that makes it appealing to young and old alike. When he is not at the beach, which unfortunately is not very often, J loves to get down and dirty in the grainy stuff in the confines of a sandpit. 

His hand-me-down plastic one was getting rather worn. So the opportunity to review a Wickey Sandpit Flip came at just the right time.

The sandpit arrived promptly. Good job M was on hand to take delivery, as the package was really heavy. Not unexpected when you are looking at a large wooden sandpit. In the end, it was him pushing and me pulling that got the large package out to the garden for assembly. 

Neither M nor I are great at DIY. So it came as given that assembling the sandpit would be a 2-person job and would take considerable time and effort. It did. All of four hours. 

The job would have been much easier if pilot holes were pre-drilled in all the wooden boards. Think IKEA and how quickly you can assemble pre-marked, pre-drilled furniture. The instructions took time to decipher as well. Clearer diagrams and well-marked measurements would certainly make short shrift of hard work.

Another thing to remember. You will need a proper set of tools to fit all the parts together, including a power drill. The wood used for the Wickey sandpit is strong and sturdy and it takes more than muscle power to drive a nail through it.

 

Talking of wood, it seems to be of reasonably good quality. It is pre-treated to survive outdoors even in wet weather. I did notice that some pieces were fraying at the edges, so we sanded them down and aligned them to face inwards, away from the area of play.

Once assembled, the Flip looks really nice, definitely worth all that time and effort. I love the slightly rustic feel and the way it opens up to fold into benches on either side.  It is a clever bit of design, I have to say. So much nicer for little bottoms to perch comfortably on a bench as little hands and welly-booted feet enjoy hours of messy play in the sand. It is good size too, and can easily sit six children, three on either side.

A couple of other things. The sandpit does not come with a base. So you can either tip the sand on the garden floor. Or you can buy a Safe Sand foil sheet to line the inside. We also added corner protectors to make sure there were no nasty bumps when it came to running around the sandpit. And there is gaping between the wooden planks at the top. So the sand is open to the elements. How it all survives in the cold and wet remains to be seen.

For now, we are loving our new Wickey sandpit. J has been outside playing in the sand even in the current miserable weather. Now that is a huge plus. Anything that gets him outdoors in all weathers has to be considered a success.

The lovely people at Wickey are offering one of my readers the chance to win their own Wickey Sandpit Flip. It is sure to make a brilliant present, just in time for Christmas. You can enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We were sent a Wickey sandpit for the purpose of this review and I was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.