The Forbidden Corner

The Forbidden Corner is four acres of tunnels, chambers, staircases and follies on the Tupgill Park Estate above Middleham, and none of it makes much sense until you are inside. It is a labyrinth, it is family-owned, and the family still run it themselves. You are handed a picture map at the gate rather than a route, and after that it is your problem: which door leads somewhere, which passage doubles back, which innocent flagstone is about to soak your shoes. Children treat the whole thing as a puzzle to beat. Adults usually start out humouring them and finish up arguing about which way the Eye of the Needle was. The estate calls itself the strangest place in the world, the sort of line you would normally let pass, and in this case it is close to fair. Even the visitor numbers are argued over: the owners' reply to a TripAdvisor review puts it above 100,000 a year, while the Yorkshire Post reported around 80,000 in 2023.

From Tea Time Cafe at 87 Market Place, the usual route takes the A61 out of Thirsk to the A1(M), north to Leeming Bar, then through Bedale, Leyburn and Middleham. As of October 2026 English Heritage reports Middleham Bridge, on the A6108 between Leyburn and Middleham, closed to all traffic until further notice, so for now come in via Masham on the A6108 to Middleham and carry on from there. Allow about 55 minutes on the usual route, and a bit more if you get stuck behind something agricultural on the last few miles. Parking on site is free. The sat nav postcode is DL8 4TJ.

Come by car or not at all. No bus serves Tupgill Park. The seasonal Moorsbus M5 that passes through Thirsk at weekends and on bank holidays (3 April to 27 September in 2026) runs east towards Coxwold, Byland, Ampleforth and Helmsley, which is the opposite direction, and the western Dales need Leyburn or Hawes connections that do not join up from here. If you have no car for the day, Ripon on the 70/X70 bus and York by train are the two big trips that work properly.

Book your tickets first, then collect the picture map at the entrance and let the children lead. Somewhere in there are the Temple of the Underworld, the Eye of the Needle and a translucent glass pyramid, along with a good many doors that go nowhere and a few that unexpectedly do. Water tricks are triggered as you pass, and the front of the group gets the worst of them. The Quest app sends you hunting hidden coins if the map alone is not enough of a hook. Most people finish at the Corner Cafe and the gift shop.

The scale is the surprise. Four acres does not sound like much until you are half an hour in and still finding chambers. The follies are properly built rather than thrown up for effect, and the underground sections are dark enough to feel like an adventure without frightening most children. It is family-owned and it shows in the detail of the jokes. Middleham Castle is five minutes down the road, so a full day of the two together takes no planning at all.

Book ahead, and treat that as the first job rather than the last. Wear proper shoes, because there are steps, tunnels and uneven ground the whole way round, and accept that somebody in your party will get wet. Allow a full afternoon rather than an hour and a half. Under-16s need an adult with them. Under-4s go free, so the family ticket only pays for itself with two children old enough to be charged for. Check the dates carefully in the shoulder months: from 1 November it is weekends only, it closes earlier in poor light, and after 20 December it is shut until late March. Breakfast with us first if you are making a day of it, because the drive is a long one on an empty stomach.