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Play bark depth

Updated: October 2026

A swing or trampoline is about to go on the lawn, and the bark you bought for the border is still in the boot. The bag may say it is suitable as play bark. Play bark depth is a different specification from a garden mulch. A loose-fill play surface is a particle size, a depth tied to the fall, and a test. The five amazon.co.uk bags in the [bark mulch comparison](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/bark-mulch) are garden products. Peter F. used BS EN 1176-1:2017 as indexed by NBS, RoSPA Play Safety’s surfacing note, and the listings as they stood on 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

A swing or trampoline is about to go on the lawn, and the bark you bought for the border is still in the boot. The bag may say it is suitable as play bark.

Our top picks

Indigo Indigo chipped bark 70 L

Best overall

Indigo Indigo chipped bark 70 L
8.6/10about £15.99
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Melcourt Melcourt composted fine bark

Alternative

Melcourt Melcourt composted fine bark
7.5/10about £15.95
View offer
Laeto Laeto bark chippings 60 L

Preis-Tipp

Laeto Laeto bark chippings 60 L
7.9/10about £15.19
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On this page
  1. 1.Garden bark is the wrong product
  2. 2.Depth in BS EN 1176-1
  3. 3.Loose fill has to be maintained
  4. 4.What to ask for, and when to stop

Garden bark is the wrong product

The Royal Horticultural Society asks for at least 5 cm of organic mulch on a bed, and ideally 7.5 cm. A child falling from a swing meets the ground at a speed that thin layer does not address. Installers who sell play surfaces say ordinary decorative bark is not the tested product. Among the five bags, only Laeto bark chippings, B09D8F1RFP, at £15.19 for 60 litres, makes a play-area claim, and it makes it in a bullet. The listing has no particle range and no EN 1177 certificate. Composted fines are the wrong texture as well: they are a soil conditioner, and they matt down. The best bark mulch page names those bags for borders and soil. Spreading them on a bed is the how to lay bark mulch page.

Depth in BS EN 1176-1

BS EN 1176-1:2017 Table 4 gives bark as an example loose fill with a particle size of 20–80 mm. For a free fall under 2 metres the table gives 200 mm of bark. For a free fall under 3 metres it gives 300 mm. You then install another 100 mm so the fill can displace when it is scuffed. A fall under 2 metres means 200 mm plus 100 mm, so 300 mm in the pit. A fall under 3 metres means 300 mm plus 100 mm, so 400 mm in the pit. Critical fall height is the fall the surface is meant to cushion. A 60 litre bag at 300 mm covers about 0.2 square metres. Fines and unscreened chunks sit outside that example.
Indigo Indigo chipped bark 70 L

Testsieger

Indigo Indigo chipped bark 70 L
8.6/10about £15.99
View offer

Loose fill has to be maintained

Loose fill moves. RoSPA says it disperses and has to be maintained, and that you should ask for a written test to BS 7188 and EN 1177, installed to EN 1176. Rake the high spots back and top the hollows up. A pit that started at 300 mm and is now 100 mm under the seat is the thin-layer problem again, at a worse height.

What to ask for, and when to stop

Ask for play-grade bark in the 20–80 mm range, the critical fall height the test covers, and a written EN 1177 result. Ask how deep to install, including the 100 mm for displacement. A page that says suitable as play bark and then shows a 60 litre decorative sack has not answered those questions. The bark mulch buying guide is how to read a litre claim. A trampoline in a garden is still a fall. If you cannot get a certificate, and you cannot install the table depth plus 100 mm and keep it there, change the surface or the equipment. Call a professional when the site is a public or shared playground, or when the fall is over 600 mm and you are not equipped to design the pit and the maintenance. A sack with glass or treated timber does not go under children.

Common questions

Can I use the bark I bought for the border under a swing?
Border bark is a 5–7.5 cm mulch. A swing needs play-grade bark, tested, at the Table 4 depth plus 100 mm for displacement. None of the five bags shows an EN 1177 certificate. The Laeto bullet does not add a particle size or a test. Leave that sack on the bed. Buy a fill that names 20–80 mm bark and comes with the paperwork.
What is a critical fall height?
It is the fall the surface is designed to cushion. Take it from the highest point a child can drop from onto that bark, and choose a Table 4 depth that covers it. The seller’s EN 1177 test should name the height it supports. A bag with no test has no critical fall height you can quote, whatever the bullet says about play.
What particle size is in the standard’s example?
Table 4’s bark example is 20–80 mm. Fines, composted bark, and mixed chips with no stated size sit outside it. Our five listings do not print a millimetre range. A photograph of small chippings is not a 20–80 mm grade. A sack that looks like soil conditioner is the wrong texture for this table.
Do I need a certificate for a trampoline at home?
A garden trampoline is still a fall. RoSPA tells buyers to ask for a written EN 1177 test and installation to EN 1176. If the seller cannot show the test, and you cannot build and keep the table depth plus 100 mm, choose another surface. A 60 litre decorative bag under the mat does not meet the figure.
Why do some sites say 300 mm when the table says 200 mm?
The table says 200 mm of bark for a free fall under 2 metres, and you add 100 mm because loose fill moves, which is 300 mm in the ground. A single 300 mm on a website is often that installed depth, or a house rule. The under-3-metre line is 300 mm in the table plus the same extra 100 mm, which is 400 mm installed. Keep both numbers together, and leave a retailer’s chart as a retailer’s chart.

Related pages

Bark mulch

Best bark mulch for UK borders, clay beds and pots

Bark mulch buying guide for grade and litre checks

Composted bark vs chipped bark for UK beds and clay

How to lay bark mulch on UK beds, borders and pots

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the five amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. A play-bark bullet is a listing claim. None of these bags is scored as EN 1177 play bark. The 2022 peat announcement is not treated here as a ban in force.

  1. RHS, How to mulch with organic matter (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS, Woody waste: using as mulch (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Melcourt Ornamental Bark Mulch (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. RoSPA Play Safety, play area surfacing (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. BS EN 1176-1:2017, NBS index (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. amazon.co.uk Best Sellers in Mulches (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, sale of horticultural peat, 27 August 2022 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Office for the Internal Market, proposed peat ban (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 19 October 2026)