Tulleys Farm was founded in 1937 and is a working farm in West Sussex. It is host to many seasonal events and attracts around 100,000 visitors a year.<2> In 2004 the farm was awarded 'Farm Retailer of the Year' by the National Farmers Union.<15>
Current Operations
Tulleys Farm began operating in its current form in 1992, and is currently run by the former FARMA chairman Stuart Beare. The farm currently offers 'pick your own' services, which began in 1972 as 1 acre (0.40 ha; 0.00 sq mi) of strawberries. However, as the farm expanded, this function of the farm was turned over to a 30 acres (12.14 ha; 0.05 sq mi) patch which offered strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, sunflowers, plums, pumpkins, squash and gourds. Instead, the original acre was incorporated into the 12 acres (4.86 ha; 0.02 sq mi) maize maze attraction.<2>
50 acres (20.23 ha; 0.08 sq mi) of the farm are rented out to Southern Pursuits, meaning that 145 acres (58.68 ha; 0.23 sq mi) are available for other farm functions.<2><5> The farm has 20 year-around employees, though that increases to around 240 during Shocktober Fest.<2>
There is a year-round produce shop and the Farmhouse Kitchen Tea Room. As of 2009 the annual turnover was £2.5m. The farm also holds the Egg-Stravaganza as an Easter event, and Christmas Family Magic for the winter.<6> In 2009 the farm was given approval by local Rev Gordon Parry after a visitor decried their vegetable-nativity, named "Away in a Mangetout" as offensive.<13><14>
Maize Maze
In 1998, Tulleys Farm was host to its first maze, created by artist Adrian Fisher.<3> The maze, shaped like a dragon, incorporated six bridges, and its pathways were almost 3.1 miles (5.0 km) long.<3> Inside the maze was a portable toilet and kiosk, with journalists noting that some visitors were still lost after 40 minutes inside the structure.<4> It was created by hand, rather than industrial tools, and only available for that summer. Afterwards the land was given back over to farming.<4>
Fisher returned to Tulleys Farm in 1999 as part of a 24-maze, international project, and his subsequent 2000 design for the farm took 9 months to create.<8><12> In later years, the farm introduced an Angry Birds maze, with pathways of 3.5 miles (5.6 km). Angry birds characters could be found throughout the attraction, and the owner attempted to set a world record for the largest Angry Bird to the Guinness Book of World Records. Throughout the years the maze has also taken the form of a native American Indian, an owl, pirate, dinosaur and sea monster.<9>
Shocktober Fest
Shocktober Fest, a haunted house-themed event that runs of the farm, began in 1998.<7>
In 2012 the farm hosted an unsuccessful attempt to break the Guinness World Record for 'Most Zombies Together in one Place', with 2,113 participants.<1> A further attempt to create a world record for 'Most Vampires in One Place' in 2013 was also unsuccessful.<10> However, the 2012 attempt attracted celebrities Shane Ritchie and Alan Ford to the event.<11>
In 2012 the farm was investigated by the Advertising Standards Agency after complaints were made that their bus adverts were 'too scary', the same complaints were made in 2013.<7>