The Brighton firm behind the Royal Pavilion ice rink is to instal a 72ft x 72ft maze for the summer.
The maze is due to open on Thursday 4 July and is based on The Selfish Giant, a story by Oscar Wilde.
Shella Parkin, managing director of Laine Ltd, said: “We wanted to create something amazing for the school summer holidays on the eastern lawns in addition to our popular winter attraction.
“I’ve always loved mazes and felt the Pavilion deserved its own one as there has been a long history of association between historic buildings and mazes.
“Our aim is to create a maze that looks as though it has always been there but somehow ‘out of view’.
“Our design is inspired by a story I’ve loved since I was a little girl and have read aloud to my own children.”
The story is a fairy tale about a giant who doesn’t want to share the garden that he loves with children but learns the error of his ways.
The maze is based on a Roman design and contains almost 400 yards of corridors. It includes giant gardening tools, riddles and sound effects.
It also includes traditional games such as Nine Men’s Morris and Fox and Geese.
The organisers said that it would startle and delight adults and children alike as they try to find their way to the centre of the maze.
The attraction will cost £4 a person. The opening hours will be 11am to 7pm until Tuesday 3 September.
Will it take up the space normally used by ‘yoof’ sitting in groups and leaving behind tins, bottles, plastic bags and sandwich boxes, tissues and the rest? They should be water-cannoned off those lawns as soon as they arrive.
Nice idea to instal a maze (which the council is perfectly capable of doing as a permanent feature) but £4 per person is out of most families’ range, surely? It is very, very steep.
Cheer up Valerie. If the Ice Rink is anything to go by, it will be a lot of fun. £4? I have three children who I’m willing to spend that money on. Each. The price of a pint of beer.
In fact, I’ll pay for you if you want. Bring a little sunshine to your life.
Wow, the maze sounds amazing! I can’t wait to take my two little ones there. If it’s anything like as good and stylish as the ice-rink was then it’s going to be great. I think £4 per person is cheap, you don’t get many places where a family of 4 could get entry for under £20!
What about those who have their wedding booked at The Pavilion, no photos after their ceremony on the lawns then???. Would this not be more suited in a different green space in the City which would help struggling operators outside of the central venues that get the support time and time again as well as be more accessible for families – £4 to visit and how much to pay to park in the city – could be an expensive day out.
I think £4 is a bargin! I took my brother and his family to the sea life center earlier this year and it cost £17 each including the little one….I was horrified!
I think the maze sounds like a wondrous experience – there’s the maze and the games and the riddles and the sounds and then the whole story wrapped around it. I’m very excited about it.