Discover Chicken Run Adventures

Meet an openhearted family who, through wishing to share their beautiful property with others, have created a peaceful haven where you can relax while your children explore an exciting adventure course

Story Katrine Anker-Nilssen

Di and Ryan Love lived in the UK for nine years, and their daughters Grace and Phoebe were born there. “We loved our time in London, but the lure of family, warmer weather and more space was what ultimately brought us back to South Africa in 2006,” says Di. Grace and Phoebe are now 12 and 11, and have a brother, Henry, who’s eight.

The Loves’ beautiful home was built in the 1930s and has been in the family for four generations, remaining relatively unchanged. “My great grandfather, Duncan McKenzie, was a doctor and lived on the Berea. He wanted to get his family away from the Durban heat, so he built a home in Kloof as his country house,” explains Di.

To make it easier for the builders, the house was built almost as an exact replica of their Durban home. “My gran, Christianne, was about six years old when the house was completed. She used to come up with the family as often as possible,” says Di. “After my gran got married to my grandfather, David Carlisle, they moved into the home permanently and started their own family.”

Di’s gran passed away in 2011, which is when the Loves bought the house from the family estate. “As we had a young family of our own, we thought it would be wonderful for our children to grow up on a four-acre playground, and we also wanted to keep it in the family,” says Di.

One of the challenges of having such a large property is running costs, so Di and Ryan decided to start a business. “It was something we gave a lot of thought to because we wanted to maintain the integrity and charm of the property. We wanted children to have fun and benefit from the open space, which is at a premium these days.”

The Tin Shed started operating in 2015 as a party venue. “Ryan spent numerous weekends getting the old shed back to life. All the DIY and building renovations were his doing,” says Di. “Although this was popular, we really wanted to add another dynamic to it. My friend had a zip line in her garden, so Ryan went to visit and they put him in touch with Mark Brown from Chimp and Zee,” explains Di.

The rest is history, as Mark fell in love with the site and his vision was exactly what Di and Ryan were after. And so, Chicken Run Adventures opened in April 2016.

In order to create parking space, they had to demolish the original chicken runs that Di’s gran built in the early 1960s. “She had over 1 000 chickens and supplied eggs to the local community,” explains Di. “It was very sad to see them go, but we had no choice.”

Visitors are invited to pop in on Fridays and Saturdays, and can bring their own refreshments or enjoy a cappuccino made by the barista on site, while the children have unlimited fun on the adventure course. “It offers zip lines and physical obstacles that will captivate children of all skill levels,” says Di. “It is a self-guided tour with assistance from our staff, and there is also a treasure hunt included in the fee of R60 per child.”

As for the future, Di and Ryan have such fun sharing their dreams and ideas. “We want to slowly build and refine the offering, while keeping true to our vision of being children-focused, but at the same time creating an environment that adults can enjoy just as much,” says Di. “We do have something new and exciting we are working on, so watch this space!”

“It is just lovely to think that we share similar experiences with all those generations before us that have enjoyed living in this home,” says Ryan. “We are hoping that this venture will help towards keeping it that way for many generations to come.”

With a lack of back-to-nature, simple and fun outdoor venues to take your children to in the Upper Highway area, Chicken Run Adventures has definitely filled a gap. It offers a great opportunity for youngsters to be left to do their own thing in a safe, secure environment – while you enjoy a delicious picnic and your favourite book under a shady tree.

“Time away from the screen is so important in today’s world, and our fun adventure course provides just that,” says Di.

www.thetinshedkloof.co.za