Double award for peace maze
Northern Ireland’s Peace Maze won two accolades today when it was officially recognised as being both the longest and largest maze in the world.
Recognition for the maze, at Castlewellan Forest Park in the foothills of the Mountains of Mourne in Co Down, was provided by Guinness World Records.
Managed by the Forest Service, the maze is over two miles long and the hedges within it consist of 6,000 yew trees.
It has become one of the North's fastest-growing tourist attractions with nearly 250,000 visitors to date.
The idea for the maze was conceived on the day the Good Friday Agreement was signed on April 10 1998.
District Forest Officer John Watson said: “The concept was to commemorate peace and reconciliation with a significant landscape project for the people of Northern Ireland and its visitors to enjoy”.
He said they were delighted to have received the acknowledgement of the new world records: “These are great recognition of the role many people played in the development of the Peace Maze.
“There were unprecedented levels of pupil participation , where over 4,000 school children submitted designs for the maze and 1,000 people attended community planting days.”
Covering nearly three acres, the maze is 21% larger and 29% longer than the previous record-holders.
Maze manager Michael Lear said it had been designed in two halves, with a divide that must be crossed to solve the ‘maze puzzle’.
He said the hedges had developed well since being planted and would become more impressive as they were clipped and formed over the next decade.
“Our visitor figures have exceeded expectations and show how popular the attraction is with the public. We had 20,000 visitors in May alone,” he said.
The cost of the maze project was around £570,000 (€856,784) , 75% of which was funded by the European Union Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
