MAZE OR LABYRINTH?
One path, or a puzzle.
The words overlap in everyday English,
but the designs work very differently.
ONE PATH
The labyrinth
A single winding route with no junctions. You cannot get lost; you just keep walking until you reach the centre.
See a medieval one
MANY PATHS
The puzzle maze
Junctions, choices and dead ends. Puzzle mazes grew up as garden features from the 15th century onwards.
A short history
THE METHODS
How to solve one
Hand on the wall works surprisingly often. Where it fails, marking your path never does.
Which rule when?WHICH RULE WORKS?
Pick your maze,
get the rule.
Choose the kind of maze in front of you. The rules come from university notes on maze-solving algorithms, and the labyrinth example from Historic England.
An island is any section of wall that does not join up with the outer wall. You often cannot tell from the inside, so if you pass the same spot twice, switch to marking your path.
TWO ENGLISH CLASSICS
A turf labyrinth,
a hedge maze.
One you walk without a choice,
one you have to think your way through.
11 rings
One path through
This turf labyrinth is just over 12 m across, with a single convoluted path to the centre. Historic England notes it may have been cut by Spalding Priory before 1220.
JULIAN’S BOWER · MEDIEVAL
20 minutes
Average time to the centre
Commissioned by William III and designed by George London and Henry Wise, the maze covers a third of an acre. It was planted in hornbeam and later replanted in yew.
HAMPTON COURT · c.1700
Britannica even prints a route for Hampton Court: go left on entering, right at the first two choices, then left after that.
QUICK QUESTIONS
Mazes, answered.
Short answers to the questions people ask most.
What is the difference between a maze and a labyrinth?
In everyday use the words overlap, and Britannica treats them as alternative names. Many people now use labyrinth for a design with one winding path and no choices, like the medieval turf labyrinths, and maze for a puzzle with junctions and dead ends.
Does keeping one hand on the wall always work?
No. It works when the walls all join up with the outside wall and the goal is on that edge. It can trap you in a loop around a free-standing section of wall, and it may never reach a goal in the middle that sits on such an island.
What is Trémaux’s algorithm?
A 19th-century method credited to Charles Pierre Trémaux. Mark each passage as you use it, never enter one with two marks, and turn back at dead ends. It works on any maze with well-defined passages, though not always by the shortest route.
What is the oldest hedge maze in the UK?
Historic Royal Palaces describes the maze at Hampton Court Palace as the UK’s oldest surviving hedge maze. It was commissioned by William III around 1700 and designed by George London and Henry Wise.
Can you walk the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral?
Yes, on set days. The cathedral opens its floor labyrinth to walkers on Fridays from Lent until All Saints’ Day on 1 November, except Good Friday, and it may close for services. Check the cathedral’s own page before you travel.
