Initially mazes were popular forms of amusement for kings and princes, so they tended to be found only at the wealthiest palaces throughout Europe. The trend is thought to have begun during the Italian Renaissance before spreading north to Germany, France, Holland and Britain.

Capability Brown was royal gardener for 20 years, and lived alongside the famous maze at Hampton Court, which he was under strict orders not to interfere with! Today Hampton Court Palace's hedge maze is perhaps the most famous in the world - it's also the oldest. Designed by George London and Henry Wise in 1689, it was planted in hornbeam in 1690 to mark the arrival of William of Orange to England, and this was gradually replaced by fast-growing yew in the 1960s. The maze, which is trapezoidal in shape [a four-sided figure with no parallel sides] attracts around 330,000 visitors each year.

In the 19th century, with the growth of industrialisation and the leisure industry, mazes became less elitist. They were built in parks, and palaces began opening their doors to the public. The craze also spread to wealthy families, who planted them in their gardens.

During the two world wars many mazes were abandoned but today more are being built than at any time in their history, and they are flourishing all over the world. In Britain there are now more than 125 mazes open to the public, compared with 42 in 1980.

World expert

Dorset-based Adrian Fisher has created more than 300 mazes in 17 countries since 1979. His firm is also responsible for the hedge mazes at Leeds Castle, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Blenheim Palace. He designed the world's first cornfield Maize Maze in Pennsylvania in 1993 and the craze has since spread throughout the US and Europe. Maize Mazes are usually very large and changed each season to encourage new waves of tourists year after year.

Adrian, who is internationally recognised as the world's leading maze designer, told ICONS his firm creates about 90 new mazes each year. "We receive enquiries for all kinds of mazes - from formal hedge mazes to mirror mazes; from water mazes to mazes made of decorative paving.

"Mazes strike a deep chord in everyone. They appeal to that sense of playfulness which each of us uses as children to explore and discover the world around us. We love the unknown, the out-of-sight, the mystery of places undiscovered. We can explore mazes on our own, or with friends, or with family relations of any age. We get the most wonderful feedback from visitors, who want to tell us of their experiences."

Adrian enjoyed puzzles and board games as a boy and built his first hedge maze in his father's garden in 1975, before starting full-time in 1983. "I'm also fascinated by history, geometry and landscape, and being a maze designer allows me to enjoy great creativity in these and many other ways," he explains. "Now my company has a team of 14 working on maze projects all over the world."

Edited highlights

There are too many hedge mazes in Britain to list here - see http://www.maze-world.com/BritainHedge.htm

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  The maze at Longleat, Wiltshire
  © Longleat Enterprises Ltd
  The spectacular hedge maze at Longleat in Wiltshire is one of the longest mazes in the world. Made of more than 16,000 English Yews, it was first laid out in 1975 by the designer Greg Bright. It covers an area of around 1.48 acres with a total pathway length of 1.69 miles (2.72km). An added attraction is that it's three-dimensional: six wooden bridges offer tantalising glimpses towards the elusive centre of the maze, which is marked by an observation tower for visitors who manage to find it! The average time taken to reach the centre is 90 minutes.
  
  
• The aMazing Hedge Puzzle at Symonds Yat West, Herefordshire, was planted more than 20 years ago by brothers Lindsay and Edward Heyes. Called the Jubilee Maze, it's made of 1,039 Port Orford Cedar bushes and is the county's most popular private tourist attraction. There are 12 routes to the centre but only one escape-route out - and 13 dead ends!
  
  
• Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire and Leeds Castle in Kent, all have impressive mazes.
  
  
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  Alice in Wonderland-themed maze at Adventure Wonderland, Christchurch, Dorset
  © 2006 Adventure Wonderland
  At Adventure Wonderland in  Dorset, there's an Alice Maze which has hidden within it Alice, The Mad Hatter, The White Rabbit, The Gryphon, The Queens of Hearts, The Cheshire Cat, The Mock Turtle, The Dodo and The Giant Teapot. You can print off a copy of the maze to solve here
  
  

The cheat's guide

Want to know how to find your way out of a maze?

The wall-follower route works for "simply connected" mazes, i.e. those where the walls are connected together. By keeping one hand (either left or right) touching one wall of the maze you are guaranteed not to get lost! This doesn't work for disjointed mazes though…

• To have a go at solving a variety of easy, intermediate, hexagonal and difficult mazes, visit http://www.mazes.org.uk/