Maze MAGIC

Enjoy the challenge of navigating your way through these fun UK mazes

- CLARE WALTERS

For a day out that’ll get all the family thinking on their feet, you can’t beat a maze. Popular for centuries, you can still see ancient grass turf labyrinths like Julian’s Bower in North Lincolnshire. But it was in the 18th century that hedge mazes became fashionable – appearing in grand estates to provide entertainment for royals and landed gentry. Our modern-day versions – cornfield mazes – have cropped up all over the UK.

The first recorded one, the Egyptian Labyrinth, was a palace full of thousands of rooms and courtyards. Yet while we talk about mazes and labyrinths as if they’re the same, they’re not. A labyrinth has a single entrance or exit with one undeviating path that leads directly to the centre. A maze may have several entrances and exits, with many different paths and dead ends to confuse you. While a labyrinth may feel calming and meditative, a maze is more like a puzzle to solve.

We’ve chosen a few that test your wits. Good luck!

Longleat House Wiltshire