With Nanny Wild One visiting us for a few days, we were keen to find a new local place to explore together. As luck would have it, one such place just over the border in Leicestershire, had just opened up to the public for its annual summer stint.
Wistow Maze in the village of Wistow is created using maize and sunflower crops and is an impressive masterpiece.
Every year, the owners creatively carve out a new maze route.
This year the maze is sport themed and features a rugby player, a nod to the World Cup taking place later this year.
I have to admit I’m blown away by the aerial picture of the maze and the amount of planning and effort it must have taken to create it.
As with all mazes, the goal is to avoid getting lost and make it to the middle. However, Wistow has cleverly put in an extra challenge, which kept our wild one’s enthusiasm high and allowed us to explore all the different nooks and crannies of the maze.
At the entrance we were handed a challenge card and a map with markers showing where the question boards are. As we made our way around the maze, we found the boards, answered the questions and tried to solve the challenge. 
Even though Dexter is only two and has no clue what a cricket bat is made from (phew-luckily we did!) hunting down the question boards really added to the excitement for him. He loved being on a treasure hunt for ‘clues’.
The maze has bridges and viewing towers which gave us an opportunity to see the sheer size of the site and admire the beautiful surrounding countryside.
It took us about an hour and a half to get around the maze and walk to all the question card points. It really is a big maze. Our top tip would be to use the map and a pen and track where you have been. It’s a very well designed maze and we definitely would have got lost if we didn’t track our route. We saw quite a few confused looking people wandering about.
Walking boots or wellies are advisable, especially after heavy rainfall. The ground can get very muddy and the owners provide boot scrapers at the end of the maze to help clear the mud.
If you’ve still got some energy left after tackling the maze, the ‘funyard’, included in the price, has an array of traditional sports games to try your hand at including ring toss, bean bag throwing and ‘splat the rat’. Dexter loved these and so did we. Never underestimate the competitive nature of the mother/daughter relationship, especially at the ring toss!
There is plenty of free parking available at the Wistow Rural Centre, just across the road. Make sure you bring money with you, as Wistow Maze is unable to accept cards.
We had a great afternoon at Wistow Maze, it’ll definitely become an annual visit for us. It’s very reasonably priced and is an ideal place to visit with children during the school holidays. Try not to get too lost!
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