Maze the force be with you: York Maze launches Star Wars spectacular

It’s not every day that the full might of the Empire descends on Elvington.

But strange incidents seem to happen at this time of year. So the sight of Darth Vader and assorted galactic stormtroopers invading a cornfield south of York did not induce panic in the locals.

After all Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2D2 were there to battle the dark side.

They were all on hand to launch the York Maze 2017 – which is marking the 40th anniversary of Star Wars.

Farmer Tom Pearcy, the man in charge of the giant maize maze, has fond childhood memories of seeing Luke and the gang when the movie burst onto our screens in 1977.

So he jumped at the chance of dressing up as Han Solo and creating a Star Wars design in his 15-acre field.

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Cast of characters

“There are so many iconic characters featured in the movies, but there just isn’t space in my maize field to feature them all,” Tom said.

“One of the hardest decisions in designing the maze, was who to leave out.”

In the end Darth, C-3PO, Han and Chewy feature in the finished maze. The same size as eight football pitches, it is one of the biggest mazes in the world.

The York Maze Star Wars 40th Anniversary tribute maze is open for visitors to explore this summer from Saturday (July 15) to Monday, September 4, when the maize will be harvested and fed to the cows.

Previous amazing mazes

The York Maze was first launched in 2002. Here are all the designs…