A new £200,000 playpark at an Inverclyde beauty spot has opened to the public and is looking ship-shape.

Local schoolchildren were the first to try out the nautical-themed facility at Lunderston Bay near Gourock Town Centre, which features a pirate ship as the centrepiece.

It also has wheelchair-accessible play equipment to ensure the park is accessible for children and young people of all abilities.

Inverclyde Council has invested around £200k in the facility, which was built by contractors Hawthorn Heights and on land provided by Ardgowan Estate.

The park opened on Friday 14 October 2022 – just in time for the start of the school’s October break.

Councillor Jim Clocherty, Inverclyde Council’s convener of education and communities and vice-convener of environment and regeneration, said: “The council has invested heavily in playparks right across Inverclyde in recent years and this magnificent development really is the icing on the cake.

“This will be a terrific asset for local families and visitors alike and further enhance what is already one of our most visited and best-loved attractions here at Lunderston Bay.

“The opening of the playpark comes in the nick of time for the start of the October school holidays and with household budgets being squeezed due to the cost of living crisis, provides a fun, free, healthy activity for families to enjoy while the schools are off.”

Lunderston Bay is one of six sites across Inverclyde that has been upgraded as part of a £400k council investment in new and improved playparks and is the largest single project in the programme.

New equipment has also been installed at Craigend and Wellpark in Greenock, Coronation Park in Port Glasgow, and King Street in Gourock.

There are now 53 council-owned play areas across Inverclyde – an increase of eight over the last decade – and a further 16 facilities in housing estates that are not managed or maintained by the local authority.

The number of inclusive play areas throughout the area now totals 32 compared with five in 2019.

The new waterfront playpark is part of a £540k package of improvements from the council at Lunderston Bay and Inverclyde’s other Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park site at Greenock Cut.

Following a reorganisation of the regional park, which used to be jointly controlled by neighbouring local authorities, the Inverclyde parts and local staff, including the rangers, transferred to the council last year.

The Clyde Muirshiel investment includes grants from the national body NatureScot.

Find out more about what Inverclyde has to offer at www.discoverinverclyde.com.