Building a treehouse seems like a piece of cake to a child, but a few planks of wood, some bent nails and a trip to A&E later brings the whole idea crashing back to earth. Realistically the job falls down to any willing adult who is responsible enough to construct something to safely hold a group of children ten feet up in the air.

To begin with you will need a tree, obviously, preferably your own tree and away from the liability lawsuit hunters. Find a big one, bigger is better, make sure it’s healthy and try and chose one with several large branches within reach. If you can find two or more trees close together you can build between them, reducing the amount of struts you will need to use.

You will obviously need the materials but make sure you have some decent tools, either invest in some or borrow some from a willing friend/relative. Judge the lengths of material you need based on the tree and how big you really want to build it. Consider the maximum dimensions and have at least four pieces of wood at this length (depending on your design). This will form a base and other materials can be mounted on top.