Lost in the maze? Oh Deere!

When the Fisher family decided to construct a maize maze this summer to attract visitors to their farm at Newton, near Bingham in Nottinghamshire, the choice of design was obvious – the distinctive 'leaping deer' logo of John Deere, whose headquarters is just a few miles down the road at Langar.

The Newton maize maze at Newton House Farm, which opened towards the end of July, covers six acres. The maize plants measure around 2m high at full maturity, so finding your way round to the eye of the deer can be quite challenging! The maze is currently open every day from 10am to 6pm, depending on the weather, and will stay open until the maize needs to be harvested, sometime in September.

In addition to the main maze, there is a mini straw bale maze for younger children, a bouncy castle (open at weekends only), a giant sand pit and picnic area. The John Deere ride-on pedal tractors are also proving a real hit.

"We had no idea whether we had plotted the design correctly into the drilled maize until my son Thomas took this picture from a helicopter," said Carole Fisher, who initially approached John Deere to ask permission to use the company's logo for the design.

"As you can imagine, it was a relief to find that it had all turned out as planned. While Thomas is running the maze, the whole family has been involved at the various stages of construction, and we are now enjoying the fact that it is fully up and running.

"When we decided to do this, we wanted the project to help improve the public's knowledge and understanding of modern agricultural practices, so we have put up some large posters giving information about our farm, the maize crop and John Deere.

"Visitors are encouraged to read these before entering, as we have placed question boards throughout the maze to help them find the eye of the deer, as well as the way out. We have found that the maze can take anything between half an hour and two hours to complete – so far only a few have had to be rescued and led out!"

Access to the Newton maize maze is only off the East Bridgford Road, between East Bridgford and Newton. Admission is £5 for adults, and £4 for children and OAPs (children under 3 are free); a family ticket for two adults and two children costs £16, and parking is free.