Review: Millets Farm's Maize Maze, Oxfordshire.

This is a sponsored post for which we received a free family pass to enter the Millet's Farm Maize Maze

Millet's Farm is local to us. I knew about it well enough, had even been there a few times; after all it is a farm zoo, pick your own, head there with the kids to give them a day out kind of day.

What I didn't know was that in the Summer they plant a Maize Maze. So when we received a family pass in the post we picked a day when it wasn't raining and went for an explore. This year's theme is Clownin' About.

I have to admit, I wasn't totally sure how the boys (at 3 1/2 and 5) were going to find the idea of a maze. They quite like problem solving but this was going to be a full size problem and I was just hoping there would be a way to find them again as they move pretty fast and the bump and I don't.

I needn't have worried. The boys LOVED it. From the second they entered the maze they didn't stop running. Millet's had done a good job setting up different tasks to do in the maze which kept their interest up the whole way round. They also provided maps to prevent too much time spent going in circles and flags so that you can spot where the small people have got to. There was the occasional moment when a path appeared that looked as if it had been flattened by lost souls, but they could be used or not as you wished. There were bridges to climb over, 'snake traps' to go through and plenty of other stuff to keep the  interest up.

Once finished, there was a bouncy castle, sand pit, trampoline, and games section to chill out at. There were also a couple of other maze games (we particularly enjoyed the finding the jewel one). We could have easily spent a few more hours there than we did.

I asked the boys what mark they'd give the maze out of 10. There was no hesitation. 'TEN!' they shouted.

did I mention they didn't stop running?

Trying to work out the games

A little more reserved verdict from the parents. I found the amount of information at the ticket booth quite overwhelming and instantly forgot all of it. The large number of Millet's Farm employees in their bright red t-shirts were both welcome sights and very helpful. We were lucky to go on a beautiful day, but the rain can make the maze pretty muddy and there is no refund on tickets if you buy in advance in the weather turns out not to play ball. You can eat at the Farm Centre's restaurant but a quick nose round that suggested that it wasn't cheap; you can also take a picnic if you prefer. It wasn't too crowded when we went, on a really busy day you may need to wait a bit for a turn on the trampoline etc. Worth pointing out that the car park for the Farm Centre always looks really, really crowded, but many people go to use the shop, pick your own and petting zoo, not everyone will be found in the maze.

Overall we rated it. At £19.50 for a family ticket (2+2) we thought it provided pretty good value for money, there was enough there to keep us there most the day. The Farm Centre work hard to make it a really fun attraction and they also do Torchlit Nights, Halloween events etc.

The maze is a summer attraction, open until 19th September. More info can be found here.