WHEN he wasn’t working on the family farm, Russell Lucas-Rowe would be entertaining visitors at, what was then known as The Alice in Wonderland Maze.

“I used to have to help run the park and the farm in the early days,” he recalls.

“I would be putting on the Mad Hatter’s costume one minute and the next I would be changing into my old clothes to go and milk the cows!”

His wife Lucy used to take-on the role of Alice.

“On one of our first dates I asked her to accompany me to an event in which I had to go as the Mad Hatter so she went dressed as Alice - fortunately she looks a little bit like Alice so that helped!”

Mr Lucas-Rowe who is the third generation of a local farming family based at Hurn, says the maze was originally regarded as a sideline.

“We started Pick Your Own strawberries and raspberries in around 1971 and we wanted to entertain the children whilst the parents were picking, so we thought it would be nice to have a garden and a maze,” he explains.

“When we first started thinking about the design we felt it needed a good theme.

“The Alice In Wonderland story was ideal because the real Alice lived in Lyndhurst so there was the local connection and the story itself has such an enduring appeal for children.”

But the maze which was planted in 1990 and opened to the public two years later, soon took on a life of it’s own.

“Hundreds of children came along wanting to meet Alice which is how I came to find myself in Mad Hatter garb telling the story to hundreds of youngsters.

“By the end of the first season 54,000 people had been to visit us which encouraged us to gradually expand and within a few years we closed the Pick Your Own because the children’s park had taken off.”

Today the park, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last month, has become one of Dorset’s most popular attractions employing around 100 staff in peak season and pulling in around 180,000 visitors every year.

“We still have a farm with some cattle and horses, but the park has completely taken over which is nice because it is still a green attraction.

“One of the biggest challenges has been to keep the right balance by not becoming too over-developed and keeping the original feel of the gardens but also moving with the times.

“Fortunately we have four sons ranging from 18 to ten who tell us what they would like which helps. Every year we bring in a new attraction – this year it’s the Polly Drop.”

The biggest development for the family-run business was Wild Thing, the £1million indoor play area which opened in 2005.

“The indoor playground was the biggest break for us because it allowed us to stay open all year whereas we used to close for the winter.

“We also changed the name to Adventure Wonderland to give the park broader appeal to boys and meant we could cater for slightly older children up to age ten.”

The park which covers 20 acres and is also home to Bournemouth’s Aviation Museum, has been involved with many charity events over the years including the Children In Need Appeal.

This year it is hosting a fund-raising event for Julia’s House on September 3-4.

Factfile

• The maze was designed by Adrian Fisher as part of the reconstructed Georgian garden.

• The hedges are made from 5,200 beech bushes and cover one and a quarter acres.

• It is four times the size of Hampton Court’s maze and the third largest in Britain after Longleat and Blenheim Palace.

• The park now has over 30 rides and attractions.