A giant gorilla is about to appear in a Leicestershire field.
Wistow Maze, near Kibworth, is marking Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday with a new design shaped like a mountain gorilla. The attraction said the design pays tribute to the broadcaster, who is from the county and grew up on the campus of the University of Leicester.
The award-winning maze has three miles of pathways and takes about two hours on average to complete. Each year, its routes are marked out using GPS, with a new topical design cut through corn and sunflowers.
Last year, the maze was designed as a steam train to mark 200 years of the modern railway. Previous designs have included a crown for the Queen’s Jubilee, an ambulance to celebrate 70 years and a javelin thrower to mark the Olympics.
This year’s design references Attenborough’s 1978 televised encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Virunga Mountains.
Diana Brooks, owner of Wistow Maze, said: “Our maze is offering visitors an opportunity to celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s historic milestone.
“We spend almost a year mapping out the design so we knew 12 months ago what we wanted to do and then it has been a lot hard work and effort since then to get it looking right.
“He is certainly one of Britain’s national treasures but it also ties in nicely to him coming from Leicestershire too.”
Visitors are being encouraged to find 12 quiz boards hidden in the maze’s pathways, featuring animals from Attenborough’s nature series, along with facts about the naturalist and broadcaster.
High-level bridges and towers will give visitors panoramic views over the fields, which will later bloom with sunflowers. At the end of the season, the corn is harvested for cattle fodder before the maze is redesigned the following spring using satellite technology.
Wistow Maze has won Leicestershire’s Best Visitor Attraction and attracts thousands of visitors each year.
It will open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from July 20 until Sept. 6, as well as on the weekend of Sept. 12 and 13. Tickets cost £8.95 for children and £10.95 for adults. A family ticket for two adults and two children costs £37.
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