The eagle has landed! The Lakeland Maze Farm Park is opening the pathways to its award-winning maze on Saturday July 13 and becoming part of the worldwide celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of man first landing on the moon.
The Sedgwick-based maze, on the outskirts of Kendal, which is itself celebrating a 15th birthday this year, will have a week before the official moon-landing anniversary to fire up the imaginations of kids and parents, interesting them in the landmark moment when Neil Armstrong and Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin took the world’s first space walk, on July 20, 1969.
Investigations into one of the most iconic moments of the 20th century will be sparked by the design of this year’s maze, which features a spaceman, the Earth and the NASA emblem, all cut out of the towering maize crop, to create a living puzzle. This typically takes around two hours to crack, before the way out is discovered.
This experience will be a most atmospheric moon walk – and one sure to be of appeal to schools looking to teach pupils about Apollo 11’s history-making mission. The magnitude of the moment was succinctly summed up by Armstrong as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, as 650m people watched the lunar module, Eagle, land on the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility.
The Lakeland Maze Park will not deny any visitors the opportunity to copy the distinct way in which the world’s most famous astronauts walked on the moon, offering a daily opportunity to do this from opening on July 13 to September 3 and then at weekends to September 29. Visitors will all be given a flag to carry into the maze too, just in case they cannot got out, so there is every opportunity to pretend this is the Star-Spangled Banner that Armstrong and Aldrin planted!
The Lakeland Maze Farm Park is sure its 2019 design will make it one of Britain’s most popular mazes to explore this year and be a spark for educational visits by schools. But it also has much more on offer in its 15th anniversary year, for every family or visitor to enjoy.
Plans put in place over the winter have created a new underground tube maze, adding to the wet-weather facilities. Additionally, a new arena has been created, as a forum for animal activities and talks that will focus on the cattle, sheep, pigs, ferrets, llamas, alpacas, goats, horses and the loveable Winston the donkey, who all call the park home.
A large vintage tractor has been wheeled in and there is a new sandpit zone and big inflatable bouncy castle. Still available, are popular features such as indoor and outdoor karting, trampolines, giant draughts, tractor and trailer rides, café and picnic areas.
Moonlit mazes are this year planned for Saturdays September 21 and 28, with a moon walk through the dark on offer from 6pm to 10pm.
Lakeland Maze Park owner, Graham Wadsworth, says: “This year, we not only have a sensational maze design, but a real talking point that will allow kids, and many of their parents who were not born at the time of the Cold War’s ‘Race to Space’, to learn more about that sensational period of time between rocket launch at Cape Canaveral on July 16 1969 and the splashdown in the Pacific ocean on July 24 1969.
“We are proud to play our part in the 50th anniversary celebrations of this landmark occasion, which changed the way we looked at the world and the galaxy forever, inspired artists like David Bowie and TV programmes such as Star Trek whilst, of course, eventually leading to the creation of ‘Toy Story’ character, Buzz Lightyear.”
Entrance to the farm park and access to all of its facilities, as well as the maze, costs £8.95 for adults, £7.95 for children and concessions and £6.95 for seniors. Family tickets cost £32.
More information is available at www.lakelandmaze.co.uk or by calling 015395 61760. The park can be found at Raines Hall Farm, Sedgwick, LA8 0JH.
