One of Muncaster’s favourite characters, Max MeadowVole, will wave goodbye to his maze playground this weekend as exciting new plans take shape at the Cumbrian castle.

For the last 23 years, Maxy-M has helped educate and entertain visitors about the environment in the castle’s famous MeadowVole Maze.

Max MeadowVole ready for a busy time as Muncaster’s famous maze marks its final weekend before new developments

But the maze is about to be re-developed into an exciting new attraction which will open in time for this year’s main visitor season which starts on March 23.

To celebrate the last 23 years, MeadowVole Maze will open for a final time this weekend (January 13 -14) to give Max the chance to have one last run-around before he moves on to pastures new at the castle.

“We hope lots of people who have enjoyed visiting our maze will come along for one final visit before it is transformed,” explains Ewan Frost-Pennington from Muncaster Castle. 

“We may be saying farewell to the maze but not to Max. He is such a key part of life at Muncaster he will still be making regular appearances.”

The MeadowVole Maze, with its seven foot tall grass, helped visitors imagine what it was like being a little meadow vole like Max.

Ewan says: “I, and many of the team here, grew up with great memories of the maze so it will be sad to see it go. But we are all very excited about what is replacing it.”

Exact details of those plans are under wraps for now but development work will begin as soon as the weekend is over so that visitors have a brand new attraction to enjoy by the start of the new season.

As part of the celebratory weekend, the gardens, café and Hawk & Owl Centre will also open although there will be no flying displays.

“We have been overwhelmed by the love and affection shown for Max and his maze over the years and we know he is looking forward to saying a last goodbye to his playground,” says Ewan.

“I think he’s looking forward to having a bit of a rest from being chased by badgers, hedgehogs and cats.

“It may be the end of an era but it’s the start of a new one – and one we believe will be every bit as popular as the maze has been.”

The new development comes after a successful 2023 in which visitor numbers at Muncaster rose by seven percent on the previous year and they are now even higher than the pre-Covid year of 2019.

“There is a real buzz around Muncaster and we want to build on the success of last year,” explains Ewan who is part of the family who have lived at Muncaster Castle for the last 800 years.

“Because of the growth and changes there are now some exciting job opportunities too,” he says.

“We need someone who can oversee castle fine dining, fantastic café food and festival catering. And we need other senior people including an operation manager to run our festivals and the new offerings we have in the pipeline.”

“It’s a great opportunity to be involved with and work in an ancient castle that is heading into one of the most exciting times it’s seen throughout its long history.”

Muncaster has already revealed some of it events for 2024 that start with the half term break on February 10-18 and the ever popular Sausage Festival on May 4-6 is the first of the announced festivals.

Sports enthusiasts can Race the Tide on its return on August 9-12.

Visitors can scare themselves to their heart’s content as Halloween events are set to run from October 25 to November 3.

There is also a weekly ParkRun that takes place around the castles and gardens.

For more details of the events at the castle and gardens head to www.muncaster.co.uk/