The Knight’s Maze
The History of the Maze
The Knight’s Maze at Eastnor Castle is one of our most popular attractions; the yew maze was planted in 1994 and has challenged visitors for over 25 years. The Knight’s Maze originally sat next to a Garden Centre, which closed and the building is now used as our Visitor Entrance on days when we open to visitors.
The Knight’s Maze opened for the first time in 1995 although the yew plants were only about 30cm high at that point! Even so, small children enjoyed finding their way to the middle, without the risk of getting lost! The yews grew very quickly and soon became a very challenging Knight’s Maze! In fact, it was so challenging that initially there were problems as children would get stuck and then break through the hedge to get out, leaving big holes.
And now…
Thankfully, the hedge is now too thick for children to tear through it and leaves holes, so we provide a map to visitors so they can find their way out in an emergency!
The tower in the middle of the Knight’s Maze and the Junior Obstacle Course were added much later in 2005 and now provide an excellent play area, in addition to our adventure playground next to the castle.
Every year, Eastnor’s grounds men take about 3 weeks to trim the maze. They laboriously start in the middle and work their way to the outside, cutting the tops and sides of the hedges and using wheelbarrows to remove and dispose of the clippings. Now that’s AMAZING!
If you’re nervous about entering our maze, you can download the escape route below!
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Plan your visit
View our opening times and admission prices to plan your visit to Eastnor Castle.
There’s always more to discover…
“Absolutely lovely day out, something for everyone. Lovely walks around the lake. Different events going on each weekend, so visits are never the same. Plenty of things for the children to do, lots of parks and a maze… which we love to get lost in. All round lovely day out.”
Don’t leave your dog at home
Dogs Welcome
Eastnor Castle is very proud to be a Dogs Welcome tourist attraction and one of the few stately homes where dogs are welcome into its grounds and house.
If they are on a lead, your dog is welcome to wander with you when you visit, and every owner is offered dog waste bags on arrival. There is also a dedicated ‘Dogs-Off-Leads Area’ where dogs are free to run amongst the trees!