Puzzling paths at Hanmer

Press, 21 January 1982, Page 5

Puzzling paths at Hanmer

J maze has .been added to tourist attractions at imer Springs. . slightly modified form the Chevening maze in ;land. the Hanmer springs ?e has been installed by Murray Sisson.

'he traditional English zes were of solid sod [is or live hedges but the imer maze has been built iorizontal half-round larch is fastened to tanalised is. The walls are I.Bm i. here is no danger of ig trapped in the maze •ause the bottom rails of ■ walls are about 60cm jve the ground, so it is feible to crawl out fectlv.

Mr Sisson has modified the evening pattern slightly, ach he considered was beming too easy to solve, e use of the post and rail bstruction will allow him svary the pattern at any pe to give the maze rewed interest. About 20 minutes was the

average time taken to complete a trip through the maze, with the longest time being 45 minutes, said Mr Sisson.

Additional interest is provided by a centre tower as a goal, which can be climbed to give those who reach the centre an over all view of the maze.

Chevening, the one copied for Hanmer. was one of the many created during an upsurge of interest in mazes during Victorian times. Many English hedge mazes were lost during the two world wars. Then the mazes became overgrown because of the shortage of manpower and they had to be removed. In recent years, mazes in Britain have been enjoying a new lease of life. Older mazes are being made more accessible to the public and many new ones have been built. One of the latest and reputed to be the world’s largest, the Longleat Maze, was opened in 1978.