Wistow Maze 2026: A Tribute to David Attenborough

Twenty years I’ve lived in Leicester. Twenty years I’ve driven past the signs for Wistow. And it took a giant gorilla to finally get me there.

This year’s maze is a tribute to Sir David Attenborough for his 100th birthday, cut into the shape of a gorilla in a nod to his famous 1979 encounter with mountain gorillas in Rwanda. If you’ve somehow also managed to miss Wistow Maze all these years, consider this your sign to go!

First stop: the Activity Funyard

Before you even set foot in the maze, there’s the Activity Funyard. This includes hoopla, a space-hopper track, a sandpit, bean bag toss and more, all included in your entry price. No “that’ll be another fiver” surprises here, which, as any parent knows, is basically worth a five-star review on its own. Honestly, you could happily lose an hour here before you’ve even started on the maze itself.

Into the maze

Armed with a map (and a couple of spare pens, because ours mysteriously died halfway round – learn from our mistakes!), we set off into three miles of winding paths. Marc and my 13-year-old stepdaughter Amber were on navigation duty while I focused on the far more important job of photographer. Amber, I’m pleased to report, did brilliantly. Marc… let’s just say there were a few “wrong turn” moments and leave it there.

The maze itself is well thought out for families:

• Numbered boards throughout, so you always know roughly where you are
• A quick exit point if little legs (or patience) give out
• Vantage points up wooden steps for a proper bird’s-eye view of the gorilla design
• Bridges to cross and picnic benches dotted about for a breather
• An animal trail with questions to complete as you go, which kept the kids properly engaged from start to finish

It’s a proper maize maze too – so as you wind your way through, you’re brushing past actual corn on the cob growing up around you.. Along the way there were also sunflowers, bees, ladybirds and plenty of sunshine (a bit windy, but we’ll take it).

The verdict

All in – maze plus Funyard, we were there for about 3.5 hours and clocked up roughly 5,000 steps. As days out go, that’s brilliant value, and a sneaky bit of exercise thrown in feels like a win to me.

One thing to think about: we nearly brought Alfie’s pushchair for “one last outing,” but held off, and it’s just as well – the ground would’ve made it hard going. If you’ve got a chunkier, off-road-style pushchair you’ll probably fare better, and the paths may compact down more as the season goes on.

I absolutely loved it, so much so that afterwards I did a straw poll of the family asking if they’d want to come back next year and it was a resounding yes all round.

The details

When: Monday 20 July – Sunday 6 September (daily), plus the weekend of 12-13 September 2026 Time: 10am-6pm (last admission 4:30pm) No need to book in advance

Prices:

• Child (13 & under): £8.95
• Under 2s: Free
• Adult: £10.95
• Family Ticket (2+2): £37

More info: wistow.com