Millets Farm Centre in Oxfordshire has created a giant Alice in Wonderland themed maize maze, featuring the famous White Rabbit
Come and lose yourself in WonderlandMillets Maize Maze opens on July 15 2011
Millets Farm Centre in Oxfordshire has created a giant Alice in Wonderland themed maize maze, featuring the famous White Rabbit. With over 500,000 grains of maize, planted and taking 90 days to grow, the 10 acres of 7ft high maize is finally ready to open to the public this Friday, July 15.
The 3-4 mile-long path offers hours of fun for kids chasing after friends and family as well as 2 quiz activities to complete on the way round. Each group also gets a flag when they enter the maze to wave just in case they get lost!
Tony Carter, owner of Millets Farm, says, “It takes about two hours to complete the whole maze, unless you get really lost! We had thousands of people visit the maze last year with about 100 people getting lost and waving their flags asking for help. On the whole more women get lost than men – or at least more women wave their flags to ask for help! It isn’t just people that get lost, over the years our lost property collection has included everything from car keys to mobile phones, shoes to sunglasses, and even a buggy.”
Millets Maize Maze was the UK’s first to open in 1997 and every year is re-planted in April to ensure it reaches its full height ready for the maze opening in mid July.
Tony adds, “We look at the maze as a giant dot-to-dot; once we’ve decided on the theme we use GPS to mark out the pathways using over 1,000 numbered canes and spray paint. The pathways are then ready for cutting after plenty of sunshine and rain. We always cross our fingers at this stage because you never know exactly what it is going to look like until it has grown.”
This year's maze features three maze levels to suit all ages and abilities (Fortune, Mad Hatters' Tea Time Table and the amazing Wonderland Maze) plus a courtyard brimming with garden games and bouncing delights. New for 2011 is a pedal go-kart track adding to the truly wonderland experience of Millets.
Check out the Millets Farm Centre website at www.milletsfarmcentre.com for full details.
The Maize Maze is open seven days a week from July 15 until September 4, after which it will only be open at weekends until finally closing on September 18.
Opening times: 10am-6pm, with last entry to the maze at 4.30pm.
Admission prices:
Admission prices to the Maize Maze range from �6 for an adult and �5.25 for a child through to �24.50 for a family of five. A family season pass, costs �46.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
A series of Alice in Wonderland workshops will take place throughout the summer:
Put on a Play in a Week: July 25-July 29 (9-12yr olds), Aug 22-26 (6-8yr olds) 9am-4.30pm For further information on these 5-day workshops and to book tickets, please call the Creation Box Office on 01865 766266
Storytelling Workshops: Aug 8th (5-7yr olds) and Aug 22 (8-12yr olds) 2.30-4.30pm Led by professional story tellers, re-create a famous chapter from Alice in Wonderland and then perform it for your family - all in under two hours! Tickets can be purchased in advance online via the Millets Website.
Come and get lost in the dark! The maze is open for fun torchlight maze nights on selected dates in August (19 & 20th, 26th & 27th) and September (2nd & 3rd, 10th & 17th). Hot food is available and don’t forget to bring your torch.
The Maze is also available for private parties wanting some exclusive Wonderland time!
