Giant gorilla maze celebrates Sir David Attenborough turning 100

By Ed Chatterton

One of the Britain's biggest mazes is celebrating Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday by designing the giant puzzle in the shape of a mountain gorilla.

Wistow Maze, near Kibworth, Leicestershire, came up with the design to pay tribute to the legendary broadcaster who hails from the county having grown up on the campus of the University of Leicester.

The popular award-winning attraction features a winding labyrinth of pathways stretching for three miles and takes on average around two hours to walk around.

Each year the pathways for the maze are marked out using GPS, with a new and topical design cutting its way through towering walls of corn and sunflowers.

Last year it was designed in the shape of a steam train to commemorate 200 years of the modern railway.

It has also been shaped into a crown to mark the Queen's Jubilee, an ambulance to celebrate 70 years and a javelin thrower to mark the Olympics.

This year, its owner has paid tribute to one of Leicester's most famous sons with a quirky design a mountain gorilla — in reference to the naturalist famous 1978 televised encounter with the creatures in Rwanda's Virunga Mountains.

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Diana Brooks, owner of Wistow Maze, said: "Our maze is offering visitors an opportunity to celebrate Sir David Attenborough's historic milestone.

"We spend almost a year mapping out the design so we knew 12 months ago what we wanted to do and then it has been a lot hard work and effort since then to get it looking right.

"He is certainly one of Britain's national treasures but it also ties in nicely to him coming from Leicestershire too."

Visitors are encouraged to find 12 quiz boards hidden among the pathways, featuring animals from his pioneering nature series, as well as interesting facts about the famous naturalist and broadcaster.

High-level bridges and towers give visitors stunning panoramic views over the fields, which will eventually blossom with sunflowers.

At the end of the season, the corn is harvested for cattle fodder before being redesigned the following spring using satellite technology.

Wistow Maze is a winner of Leicestershire's "Best Visitor Attraction" and attracts thousands of visitors each year.

The maze will open daily (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) from July 20 until Sept. 6 as well as the weekend of Sept. 12-13.

Admission charges are £8.95 ($11.90) for a child and £10.95 ($14.60) for an adult. Family Ticket for two adults and two children are £37 ($49.25).