Ballenbaan van Bouw het Avontuur

We design and build outdoor wooden ball runs, made to measure from your idea.

In Dutch, a “ballenbaan” is a ball run. It is also slang for a shit job. We kept the name anyway, purely for satirical reasons: nobody here has ever had more fun at work.

Book a free intro call

Why

A few years ago I took this photo, over the shoulder of my eldest son Jinne. On a holiday in Austria we came across a wooden ball run along the mountainside. My children wanted to go straight to it. So did I.

Here he is still holding on to the ball. As soon as he lets go, he will run after it. Watching, predicting, being surprised. And wanting another go once he reaches the bottom.

I watched with him, without knowing that something was starting for me too.

With Bouw het Avontuur I have been building climbing parks, adventure forests and ziplines for years. Up on that mountainside a new idea began. What could we make with this ourselves? Something that belongs to the place, makes people curious and stays a discovery for us too.

That is the space I want to keep. Thinking something up together, building it, letting go of the ball. Seeing what happens.

Only now do I see that in this photo we were both standing at the beginning. Jinne with a ball in his hand. Me with an idea in my head.

Neither of us knew where it would end.

Portrait of Walter Bisselink in the adventure forest

Walter Bisselink - has a Ballenbaan

Over the shoulder of Jinne, who is putting his ball into a wooden cow at the top of a Kugelbahn: a wooden ball run that runs down a mountainside outdoors in Austria

This is how we work

  1. 1

    Free introduction

    We talk through your ideas and the location. If it clicks, we start designing.

  2. 2

    Preliminary design

    In two working sessions on location we make a first layout together, and our draughtsmen turn it into a 3D design. €2,750 excluding VAT.

  3. 3

    Final design

    We work it out into technical drawings, ready for planning permission and production. We fix the price in advance.

  4. 4

    Construction and installation

    You build it yourself with our parts, or we build it for you.

How does your ball run come about?

we try to understand you

Pencil sketch of the first layout of a custom ball run: a long chute on tall posts leading to a covered rack and a bowl
3D design of the same ball run: two sledges, the pentagon, the covered rack and the bowl

we try to convince you

impressionImpression of a large outdoor wooden ball run on metal posts along a forest path, with a pentagonal loop, a covered rack and a bowl at the end
now just try getting your kids to go home

we try to understand you

Pencil sketch of the first layout of a custom ball run: a gate with hanging strings, a play surface and a trestle at the end
3D design of the same ball run: the gate, a wide play surface and the wooden trestle

we try to convince you

impressionImpression of a long outdoor wooden ball run on metal posts through the forest, with a gate and a wooden trestle at the end
now just try getting your kids to go home

What does a ball run cost?

Every ball run is designed and built to measure. The final price depends on the terrain, the length of the run and the number of special elements. As a guide, there are three levels:

  • Simple

    from€350 per m¹

    A solid, playful ball run with a clear line, simple bends and changes in height.

  • Adventurous

    from€500 per m¹

    More variety, extra bends, crossings, changes in height and surprising elements along the way.

  • Specials

    from€750 per m¹

    For real eye-catchers: unique structures, interactive parts and fully custom work that makes the ball run an attraction in its own right.

All prices exclude VAT.

Always built with Robinia

Our ball runs are always made of Robinia wood. This wood is naturally very durable and falls into durability class 1–2. That makes Robinia ideal for long outdoor use, without the wood needing heavy chemical treatment.

That way we build ball runs that are not only fun to use, but also robust, natural and made for years of play.

Book your intro call here

Pick a fifteen-minute slot on a Tuesday or Thursday, between 4:30 and 5:30 pm Dutch time. You book in Google's calendar and get a confirmation by email straight away.

Not working here? Open the calendar in a new window.

See more

How we build, with prototypes, mistakes and solutions, you can see at Bouw het Avontuur.

To the Bouw het Avontuur website

Contact

Call us on +31 (0)6 245 06 897, or send us a WhatsApp message.

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