Hampton Court Maze

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Posted 2017-03-03 by Former Writer ⇒ follow

'It is the most famous Maze in the history of the world, and immeasurably the one most visited' Ernest Law, 1926

Tackling a hedge maze conjures up feelings of grand adventure, of tackling the impossible and only you can triumph, of cracking the puzzle and defeating the Minotaur at its heart. It's the impenetrable Labyrinth. You think of Labyrinth the film and all those wonderful childhood memories of imaginary epic battles between good and evil. Or is that just me?!

#gs .NiO271g">Hampton Court's famous Maze is the oldest surviving hedge maze in the UK, commissioned by William III around 1700. Surely a Maze as old as this must have a rather wonderful magical draw to it... and it does.

The Maze is called a multicursal or puzzle maze because of its branching twists and infuriating dead ends. It's not as large as some more modern mazes and so not as complicated as it's bigger relatives, but presents a fun challenge that will certainly delight and entertain the little ones. It has around half a mile of paths and takes an average of 30-45 minutes to complete. There's a cafe to retire to after you have triumphed should you need to rest your weary feet.

There were originally two mazes planted here, but only one survives, and it now entices around 330,000 visitors a year into it's puzzling hedges.

You can, of course, pay extra to visit Hampton Court Palace and it's stunning Gardens too. If you don't want to splash the extra cash, you get great views of Hampton Court Palace and the beautiful river Thames from outside the grounds.

There is a stunning walk along the Thames Path towards Thames Ditton and on to Kingston that is well worth the time.

You can then circle back through Bushy Park to Hampton Court if you are feeling up to it. It is a spectacular, if rather long, walk. I know this as I attempted it at 9 months pregnant - which I probably wouldn't recommend! I had to sit down for about 3 days after it.

The Maze is open daily from 10am-5.15pm. You can buy a ticket for the Maze at £4.70 for adults and £2.90 for children. Kids under five go free. A family ticket for 2 adults and 3 children is £13.60.

Spoiler alert: There is a map of the solution to the Maze on their website. You know, just in case you get stuck.