AN ENTERPRISING family of Herefordshire farmers are welcoming visitors to the county’s first ever maize maze.

 

Ed Godsall and his fiancee Hannah Graham planted the crop back in April before labouring through some of the hottest days of the year to maintain 3.5km of winding paths.

 

The eight-acre attraction at Moor Court Farm, in Stretton Grandison near Ledbury, is now open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays into September.

 

Then, as the nights start drawing in, the maze will be one of the highlights of a planned two-night Halloween Scarefest.

 

The farm is already a popular spooky destination for families, with Pumpkin Pete’s pick-your-own pumpkins drawing visitors for several years.

 

"Building on the success of our PYO pumpkin patch, my partner Hannah and I thought that we'd try and put on a summer event — when the sun eventually decides to shine," said Ed.

 

With rising demand for ‘agri-tourism', diversifying into seasonal events such as the farm's pumpkin patch and maze made perfect sense.

 

"It helps balance the risk of traditional farming practices, but also can add to the stress," Ed said. The farm, which has been in the family for four generations, is mainly arable, with some sheep and, of course, plenty of pumpkins. 

 

"We talked with a specialist maze company, who helped come up with the design and map it out. It was then left to me to strim out the paths, all 3.5km of them," he added.

 

"We're now up and running — and hoping that lots of people will want to come and enjoy the twists and turns of Herefordshire very first maize maze. 

 

“Once they've completed the maze, they can enjoy an ice cream from our coffee cart, or a wood fired pizza! There is also a charity tractor trailer ride, so you can travel the whole way round the maze, even if you didn't manage it on foot.”

 

The dog-friendly attraction opens at 10am with last admission at 4pm. Booking a reduced-price allocated time slot, via ticketsource.co.uk/pumpkin-petes, is recommended. However, subject to capacity, payment by cash or card can be taken at the gate.

 

For more information about the maze and Moor Court Farm, visit pumpkinpetes.co.uk.