9 amazing mazes in the UK worth getting lost in

Get lost in a timeless pastime and discover the UK’s most amazing mazes, no matter the season.

Puzzles aren’t just for doing indoors on a rainy day. Get immersed in the outdoors and venture through one of the UK’s many amazing mazes. Heaped in history, there are mazes to visit across the country, and they’re grown from all kinds of bushes and shrubs including willow, hedge, maize, and even stone.

These immersive puzzles have enthralled and bemused us for well over 3,000 years. Some are centuries old; others have cultural significance. And they’re all a great way to while away anything from half an hour to half a day.

Choose from our selection of some of the best mazes in the UK – and try not to get lost!

Castlewellan Peace Max

Getty ImagesCounty Down, Northern Ireland

More impressive even than the expanse of this vast verdant labyrinth – at over 3km of looping paths, Castlewellan Peace Maze is among the world’s largest – is the story of its creation.

Designed in conjunction with thousands of schoolchildren and opened 25 years ago, the maze’s 6,000 yew trees were planted by people from across the region as a symbol of ‘the path to a peaceful future for Northern Ireland’. And peace can be found in abundance in the Mourne Mountains overlooking Castlewellan Forest Park, which also features a historic arboretum encompassing Annesley Walled Garden, a delightful playpark for children, and glorious walking and mountain-biking trails to be explored.

Opening times:

• April - October: 9am-8pm

• November - March: 9am-4pm

Traquair

Getty ImagesScottish Borders

To call Traquair House Scotland’s oldest inhabited home is an understatement. Originally a medieval royal hunting lodge, in the 16th and 17th centuries it was

transformed into a fortified mansion – a castle in all but name, with turrets and secret passages, hulking iron-bound doors and bear-topped gateposts.

And it has history to match: Mary, Queen of Scots stayed here, as did Bonnie Prince Charlie. It’s also home to Scotland’s largest hedge maze, with no dead ends – visitors must find four sub-centres before reaching the middle.

Opening times:

• April - June: 11am-5pm (closed Fridays)

• July - August: 10.30am-5pm (open 7 days)

• September: 11am-5pm (closed Fridays)

• October: 11am-4pm (closed Fridays)

• November: 11am-3pm (weekends only)

• 1 December - 31 March House & Grounds closed

Boundless offer: Boundless Plus members can save 50% off the price of admission to Traquair House with the National Art Pass. Upgrade to Boundless Plus to get your National Art Pass and enjoy free entry at over 250 cultural venues and 50% off major exhibitions. Your National Art Pass covers you, plus one adult and unlimited children in your household.

Hampton Court Palace Maze

Historic Royal PalacesGreater London

Sure, this regal labyrinth isn’t the biggest maze – reaching the centre takes most visitors only around 20 minutes. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in historical significance.

The UK’s oldest surviving hedge maze was commissioned around the turn of the 18th century by William III for the ‘Wilderness’ area of his gardens, setting a trend for ‘puzzle’ mazes in Britain – ones in which you can actually get lost.

Of course, the monarch and his queen, Mary, didn’t just leave their mark on the gardens. Explore their magnificent baroque palace built by Christopher Wren to augment Henry VIII’s Tudor mansion. Boundless Plus members enjoy unlimited entry.

Opening times:

• Monday to Sunday from 20 July, 10am-5.15pm

• Closed Mondays and Tuesdays from September

• Closed 24-26 December

Boundless offer: Boundless Plus members can take a journey back through time and visit Historic Royal Palace places like Hampton Court Palace. Boundless Plus members get unlimited access to all Historic Royal Palaces sites, plus admission for one child per visit.

Heatherton Hedge Maze

HeathertonPembrokeshire

Keeping kids happy over the summer can seem like a full-time job. So dispatching them to get lost in a maze devised to distract and disorientate, planted with some 5,500 beech trees, seems an ideal option.

That’s just one of a wide range of things to do at Heatherton World of Activities, a family-friendly attraction in south-west Wales, which also features a climbing wall, adventure golf, archery and tree-tops trail, plus lowoctane fun for younger children. The Pembrokeshire coast is nearby, with great walks and sandy beaches.

Glenurgan Maze

Cornwall

To lose yourself in more exotic climes, head for the banks of the Helford River, where a warren of trails snakes through three lush valleys brimming with subtropical plants.

In the 1820s, wealthy Quakers Alfred and Sarah Fox planted a dizzying array of curious and colourful species here, from destinations as far-flung as Bhutan and New Zealand.

In 1833, they added a cherry-laurel maze that still enchants today, leading visitors to National Trust location Glenduragan Garden, worming their way around its sinuous, serpentine paths beneath lofty palms to the thatched hut in the centre. It’s equally delightful to watch others tackling the challenge from the hillside opposite.

Boundless offer: Save 10% on admission to National Trust locations and at its cafes with National Trust gift cards purchased via Daily Discounts.

Elton Giant Mazes

Elton Giant MazesGloucestershire

If you’ve wandered through a maize field in summer you’ll know how disorientating it is. The maze-makers at this family-focused site, Elton Mazes, create an entirely new oversized puzzle each year: last summer’s was themed around rainforests, with a bird of paradise etched into the fields.

From 18 July, new paths will trace spacelinked shapes. Kids can test their balancing, leaping, hanging and swinging abilities across the 20 challenge zones of the Activities Maze, too. It’s a stone’s throw from Whitemead Forest Park, your Boundless getaway in the Forest of Dean.

Boundless offer: Make a trip out of your visit to Elton Giant Mazes and book your stay at Whitemead Forest Park. Boundless members can currently save up to 40% on summer holiday breaks in the Summer Flash Sale.

Horrible Histories Maze

Warwick Castle

Kids can overload on excitement at this pictureperfect bastion, with its 14th-century towers, ramparts and murky dungeon. But the Horrible Histories Maze is something special: a multisensory tour through time, from the Vicious Vikings and Stormin’ Normans to the Measly Middle Ages and Vile Victorians.

Featuring a host of interactive games, it’s grisly good fun.

Boundless offer: Boundless members can save up to 15% on standard entry tickets to Merlin sites including Warwick Castle.

York Maze

York MazeYork

Grown from over one million living, growing maize plants across a field bigger than the size of eight Wembley football pitches, York Maze is the largest maze in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe, incorporating rides and other attractions into a jampacked family day out.

Each year, it takes on an awe-inspiring theme – from the Gruffalo to Mr Men – and, for 2026, it’ll celebrate the centenary of David Attenborough and the natural world.

Opening times:

• 11 July - 3rd September: 10am-6.30pm

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  Minotaur Maze

Getty ImagesNorthumberland

Looking for something a little bit different? Feel like you’re stuck in a Greek myth with Kielder Forest’s Minotaur Maze, made from basalt stone and glass. This maze was first opened in 2006 and designed by artist Shona Kitchen and architect Nick Coombe, and is one of many interesting art installations you can visit in Kielder.

Kielder Forest is England’s largest forest and is also home to other installations like Silvas Capitalis and the Kielder Skyspace. It’s also a reserve for rare red squirrels, and home to the largest colony of osprey.

^{This article was accurate at the time of publication. Please note information and offers shown may change over time.}