Lake District farmer creates a special tribute to the 2012 Olympics

Lakes farmer creates maze as a tribute to Olympics Lakes farmer creates maze as a tribute to Olympics

A Lake District farmer has fashioned his own special giant tribute to the upcoming London 2012 Olympics across 10 and half acres of cornfields in Cumbria.

Graham Wadsworth, 41, has created the image of a giant horse rider leaping over a jump in honour of Great Britain’s equestrian team which are highly fancied to win Gold.

The special design at Raines Hall Farm, Sedgwick, near Kendal, was plotted using GPS. It took a day-and-a-half to do with the Dad-of-one walking the 3.5 miles of its design and carving it with a lawnmower and then perfecting it with a hand-strimmer.

The horse and rider are leaping a real dry stone wall. The horse measures a massive 200 metres x 100 metres, and the rider 80 metres by 60 metres.

Every summer the farm becomes 'the Lakeland Maize Maze', welcoming more than 20,000 visitors and from Saturday, families will be able to walk around the giant horse design as a 'Maize Maze', using quiz boards, clues and bridges to find their way to its centre.

Graham, 41, runs with wife Jane and horse-mad daughter Hannah. Mr Wadsworth said: “With it being Olympic year and Great Britain standing a good chance for gold in Equestrian events, we thought we’d pay our own special tribute. We’re a long way from the Olympics here but we’ll be rooting for team GB like the rest of the country.” Last year, the farm won Best Maize Maze tourist attraction in the UK title awarded by the official Maize Maze Association.

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The maize will stay until October when it has reached such a height that it has to be harvested and made into silage for a local dairy farmer.

Comments(14)

dominic.blakey says...
12:59pm Mon 16 Jul 12

Sedgwick isn't in the Lake District? LOL

oceancloud says...
1:09pm Mon 16 Jul 12

Hope he doesnt get into trouble with the sponsorship/advertis
ing gestapo.

Cas220 says...
3:03pm Mon 16 Jul 12

You would think the Westmorland Gazette would know that Kendal isn't yet in the Lake District!
A'maze'ing though.

give-up says...
1:22pm Tue 17 Jul 12

This is brilliant - well done. Re The Lake District..... where is it exactly? When Wordsworth et al spoke about it there was no concept of National Parks, so iwe can't claim it's the National Park boundary. The Americans think it starts in Manchester (check out their promotional material). Surely it's not something to argue about.

dominic.blakey says...
2:12pm Tue 17 Jul 12

give-up wrote:
This is brilliant - well done. Re The Lake District..... where is it exactly? When Wordsworth et al spoke about it there was no concept of National Parks, so iwe can't claim it's the National Park boundary. The Americans think it starts in Manchester (check out their promotional material). Surely it's not something to argue about.
There is actually a sign stating that you are entering the Lake District. The sign is located just past The Gateway Inn on Windermere Road.

Don't believe me? http://tinyurl.com/d
xgzujy (That link will take you to Google Maps Street View).

Wilson Grizleymire says...
8:33pm Tue 17 Jul 12

Ok folks how many of us have told a fib on Holiday Eh "Where are you from"
Wasset "Where" near Milnthorpe "Where" The lake district "Oh they say its wonderful" ... Pine lake and t'other spot at Tewittfield recon there in't lakes when you read their bumf. I guess
when you are aiming to get folk from miles away to stay it's near enough to fib..Just like you lot on Holiday Eh

Reverend Mark says...
9:29am Wed 18 Jul 12

Great effort with the maze design that looks good from the air. It's a shame that it won't be appreciated by those who walk its ways.

Cas220 says...
10:09am Thu 19 Jul 12

No, I purposefully make sure that people know the part of Cumbria I live in is NOT in the Lake District.

Kendmoor says...
10:03am Fri 20 Jul 12

dominic.blakey wrote:
give-up wrote:
This is brilliant - well done. Re The Lake District..... where is it exactly? When Wordsworth et al spoke about it there was no concept of National Parks, so iwe can't claim it's the National Park boundary. The Americans think it starts in Manchester (check out their promotional material). Surely it's not something to argue about.
There is actually a sign stating that you are entering the Lake District. The sign is located just past The Gateway Inn on Windermere Road.

Don't believe me? http://tinyurl.com/d

xgzujy (That link will take you to Google Maps Street View).
Thats just a national park sign, when you actually enter into Cumbria the sign says "Cumbria 'The Lake district'" (looking up the name of the road the sign is on right now)

ie a. Cumbria 'The Lake District'
b. The Lake District, 'National Park'

Kendmoor says...
10:10am Fri 20 Jul 12

back on subject though, it is a shame that you have to watch your back when it comes to infringing on copywrites - I'm sure he'll be fine though..

Kendmoor says...
10:20am Fri 20 Jul 12

ahhh, here you go Dominic, a picture of it! M6 as you cross into cumbria.
http://www.wainwrigh
t-wanderings.co.uk/0
491-0015.jpg

Kendmoor says...
10:22am Fri 20 Jul 12

working picture:
http://tinyurl.com/c
lby8mm

Cas220 says...
11:46pm Fri 20 Jul 12

Kendmoor wrote:
working picture:That sign seems a bit short-sighted seeing as how part of Cumbria is in the Yorkshire Dales as well as a large proportion being non national park... I wonder if they will change the county boundaries back when they extend the parks.

give-up says...
12:04pm Mon 23 Jul 12

Hey Dominic - as a resident of the Lake District who happens to be inside the National Park Boundary I pass these signs most days. They are just that, National Park signs provided for administrative convenience. Where the actual Lake District starts and finishes is open to interpretation.

click2find

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