The Cornish Maize Maze and fun farm — Attraction in Pillaton

Thought we would try something new with the family today and headed for the Maize Maze and Fun Farm. For four adults and two children we were charged £60 when booking in advance. This felt quite expensive but we were willing to give it a go.

On arrival, it was fairly quiet which was a pleasant relief for a mid summer holiday afternoon. The 'farm' has a few animals to look at and feed (£1.50) including donkeys, llamas, geese, goats and cows. There was also a lot of open space with picnic tables, garden games, two trampolines, three bouncy castles and some other little bits. There is a very small cafe on site selling the usual things and an ice cream shack. I was disappointed to discover that the cafe would not refill water bottles for children nor were there any water points on the site. This seemed somewhat behind the times and not something I expect of a family attraction.

The main event was of course the maize maze which has two challenges. The first was very child friendly and not too long. The children had to find signs hidden in the maze and add stickers to their collection sheets. The whole family enjoyed this part.

The second challenge was much much harder and involved the same sticker process but I would not advise it for younger children. My two (6 and 4) found it very lengthy and got somewhat bored, very hot and a little grumpy. A solution map is available for £1.50 (refundable if not opened) and this became essential to completing the maze and indeed getting out! My children managed to escape with the grand parents before my wife and I completed the maze on their behalf! We enjoyed the challenge.

Also on site, is a slip and slide which claims to be the longest in the UK. This comes with an additional cost but we did not venture over or try that on this occasion. It was busy and did look good fun.

Overall, we managed to spend a pleasurable afternoon here but I can't help but feel that £60 is somewhat steep given what is on offer. If your children want to try a different kind of maze which actually is very challenging then perhaps this place is worth a...

So much mud I didn't get the email about wellies until I got there. Oopsie. So I was a big muddy kid. Need to come back next year for maze in July with the adopted fam. Super friendly staff, had a good hour of decompression time (after a soul sucking group meeting about the state of my state pension at the job centre this was just the ticket) with my squeaky wheeled wheelbarrow slipping and sliding up the muddy pumpkin aisles. Some pumpkins had been butchered of their beautiful stalks and lots of worms and sluggies hiding from the pale autumnal sun. Fed the animals too. Watch the alpacas they're a bit nibbley. The donkeys whine at you when it's not their turn to be fed. The pale one lets you pet it. All in all a good hour killed. Good pumpkin haul. Good pumpkin carving competition in evening with...

The slip and slide was excellent! Great fun with a variety of inflatable rings (single and double) and bodyboards. The staff overseeing this were very helpful. The maze is good too. Expect to need to use the map though (which I think is normal but it is given to you in an envelope and called a cheat sheet!) to find your way around and find all of the markers/activities for the children to find. The first part is simpler and the second a little more complex. There are also picnic tables, animals and a play area with bouncy castles, swings and games. We bought some drinks and food. The coffees were fairly standard and out of a machine but the pasties, sausage rolls and chips were good. All came out hot and the pasties were very tasty. Overall, a...