Marlborough Maze

The maze at Marlborough sits in proper Oxfordshire countryside, a proper puzzle to get lost in if you're after that sort of thing. It's the sort of attraction that works best with kids aged six to twelve - young enough to genuinely struggle with the paths, old enough not to need carrying out. Adults find it either brilliant fun or a bit pointless depending on your tolerance for dead ends.

What you're doing is walking a hedge maze, trying to find your way to the centre and back out again. Sounds simple. It's not. The walls are tall enough that you can't cheat by looking over the top, and the layout changes your sense of direction within about three turns. Most people take fifteen to thirty minutes, though some get properly stuck and need rescuing.

It's worth combining with a stay at nearby Greenhill Leisure Park - close enough that you can visit without much fuss, but not so close that you'll bump into the same families every day. If you're doing a caravan holiday in the Oxford area, this fills an afternoon slot nicely. Weston Caravan and Campsite works too if you're staying further out.

Go early in the season when the hedges are freshly trimmed and visibility is decent. Autumn visits mean overgrown paths and lost phones in the undergrowth. Free admission would be standard for something like this, though do check ahead as details aren't confirmed. Allow two hours including photos and moaning about wrong turns.