Tulleys Farm is a fourth-generation family farm, located in West Sussex. Originating in 1937, the farming business at Tulleys was founded by Bernard Beare, and continues to be run by the Beare family to this day. Tulleys is best known for its seasonal attractions, most notably the annual Halloween festival held each October, entitled Shocktober Fest which has become the largest scream park in Europe.
| Tulleys Farm | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Tulleys Farm Location within West Sussex | |
| OS grid reference | TQ 32983 35696 |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Crawley |
| Postcode district | RH10 |
| Website | www |
History
editOriginally from Devon, Bernard Beare began farming in 1911 and gradually moved East over the subsequent 25 years. In 1937 he settled at Worth Hall Farm, working with his young family to turn an ordinary dairy farm into a successful farming enterprise. In addition to the original dairy herd, Bernard was able to produce salad crops for the London markets, vegetables for pickling firms such as Epicure and herbs like mint and parsley for contract.[1]
In the early 1970s, Bernard's son Denis saw the potential for pick-your-own and, with his wife Marion, pursued turning Tulleys Farm into one of the largest pick-your-own farms in the area. Growing over 40 different crops on 120 acres.[2]
Following Stuart Beare, the son of Denis and Marion, joining the farming business in 1991, the farm shop and tearoom were opened in 1992 and 1996 respectively,[3] the farm shop closed in 2014.[4] The farm shop re-opened in March 2020 but this time in the form of a drive thru.
In 2004 the farm was awarded 'Farm Retailer of the Year' by the National Farmers Union.[5]
Reluctant to label himself a ‘conventional farmer’, Stuart’s devotion to creating an experience for his customers has led to the establishment of seasonal events. Stuart’s son Sam joined the business in 2017.[6][7][8][9]
In 2022, Tulleys Escape Rooms received numerous awards, and three of the Escape Rooms, Dodge City, Nethercott Manor and Spellcraft were awarded as some of the Best Escape Rooms in the UK for 2022.[10]
Events
editTulleys Farm currently hosts three seasonal events, taking place in summer, autumn and winter. As well as the Tulleys tearoom and Escape rooms which are open all year round.
Tulleys Escape Rooms & Games
editTulleys Escape Rooms are live challenge rooms in which customers have 60 minutes to try and escape, aided by the help of attraction hosts, who give clues over speakers inside the room. There are currently 4 rooms to choose from and a further 2, smaller and easier game rooms in a nearby trailer.[11]
- The Outfitters — Set in 1926 Chicago, in the midst of crime (Difficulty: 4).
- Mutiny — Set in 1672 the golden age of Piracy (Difficulty: 3).
- Nethercott Manor — Set in an old manor house and its gardens (Difficulty: 5).
- Dodge City — A wild west themed escape room (Difficulty: 4)
In December 2019 two new escape games were introduced UNCLE TICK-TOCK's CIRCUS & KRAKEN CASINO the two escape games are both an hour long, aimed at beginners, fun, simple and contained in just one room
Tulleys Maze
editIn 1998, Tulleys Farm was host to its first maze, created by artist Adrian Fisher.[12]
Open from mid-July until early September, Tulleys Maze is the farm’s main summer event, centered around an eight acre Maize field which is transformed into a challenging maze. In addition to the Giant Maize Maze there are numerous giant games, mini mazes, tractor rides, giant slides, and attractions such as the Secret Forest, Farmers Golf and Straw Mountain. Towards the end of the Maze period Torch Nights also take place, giving visitors the opportunity to complete the maze in the dark.[13]
The maze did not open in the summer of 2018 and was instead replaced with the re-introduction of pick-you-own to Tulleys Farm in the form of Pumpkins. This was met with great excitement with ITV London broadcasting the weather live from the fields.
Shocktober Fest
edit
Shocktober Fest is the Halloween event held yearly at Tulley’s Farm. It offers a total of 11 haunts, including Wastelands Penitentiary, electrick circus, The Chop Shop, The Haunted Hayride, and more[14] The event additionally offers a variety of live music and freshly prepared food. It is known to be Europe’s largest Scream Park.[15] Shocktober Fest is attracting over 100,000 guests every year.[16]
Tulleys Christmas
editThe farm holds Christmas experience for the winter season, which consists of a real ice rink, Santa sleigh ride and a number of other traditional farm activities such as Reindeer food making and gingerbread decorating.
Stuart Beare
editStuart Beare, son of Denis and Marion Beare, and a grandson of Bernard Beare, the founder of Tulleys Farm, joined the business in 1991. Stuart Beare decided to grow pumpkins and hold the first Halloween event at Tulleys, the Pumpkin Festival. In 1997, Stuart created his first Horror Maze with 'The Creepy Cottage', the first 'spooky' attraction. In 2023, Stuart and his team have grown Tulleys into the largest scream park in Europe.[17]
More recently, Stuart diversified Tulleys Farm from just seasonal events through the introduction of Tulleys Escape Rooms. Stuart has been the driving force behind 5 Escape Rooms and 2 Escape Games at Tulleys Farm.[18]
In 2021, He was the author of the idea of receiving cryptocurrency as a payment form of the farm for all aspects on-site, including tickets and food.[19][20]
Shocktober Fest attractions
editCurrent Mazes
- Creepy Cottage (1998–Present)
- Horrorwood Hayride (2002–Present)
- The Cellar (2009–Present)
- Electrick Circus - previously Twisted Clowns (2009–Present)
- HELL-EMENTS — previously VIXI (2011–Present)
- Chop Shop (2015–Present)
- The Village: Coven Of 13 (2016–Present)
- Wastelands Penetentiary (2019–Present)
- Doom Town (2022-Present)
- Purgatory (2024-Present)
- The Carving (2024-Present)
- Carnevil Cabaret (2024-Present)
Previous Mazes
- The Wreckening (2019–2020)
- Field Of Screams (2005–2011)
- Dr Plagues Maze (2013–2014)
- The Tunnel (2014–2015)
- Colony (2015–2018)
- The Volt (2015–2016)
- The Island (2021-2023)
- Circus Of Horrors (2018–2023)
References
edit- ^ "Family farm celebrates 70 years". Mid Sussex Times. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "WIN CHAMPAGNE AND STRAWBERRIES". Mid Sussex Times. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "Multiples bring headaches". Farmers Weekly. 14 June 1996. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "Farm shop closes and no 'pick your own' at Tulleys". Crawley Observer. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "Excelling in their field; innovation, diversification and commitment are the hallmarks of the NFU Excellence Awards national winners". Thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ "Farm launches Europe's biggest Shockober Fest Halloween festival". Crawley Observer. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "What makes Shocktober Fest?". Mynewsdesk. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ Cox, Chris (13 October 2013). "Scaring Yourself Silly This Halloween At Tulleys Shocktober Fest". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ Nightingale-DNU, Laura (1 October 2015). "Halloween horrors set to scare at Tulleys Shocktober Fest". Get Surrey. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ Gord (17 December 2022). "The Best Escape Rooms in the UK in 2022". Review the Room. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ Westwell, Emily. "10 reasons to love Horley". Surrey Life.
- ^ "Maize mazes open for the summer". BBC. 22 July 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ Truelove, Sam (13 July 2017). "Stunning hidden design in this amazing maize maze". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ Madge, Sophie (20 October 2017). "Europe's biggest scream park is back this Halloween and here's what to expect". Kent Live. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ Hussein, S. "Tulley's Farm, Europe's biggest scream park hosts official press night". Blasting News. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "Halloween farm to scare 80,000 visitors". BBC News. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "Tulleys Shocktober Fest Scream Park - Scare Directory". Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ Cozens, Georgie (22 March 2023). "The Complete Guide to Tulley's Escape Rooms Sussex". The Escape Roomer. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "Attraction is first in UK to take cryptocurrency as Drive In Cinema reopens". The Argus. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
- ^ "Tulleys Farm owner on why he has moved to cryptocurrency". Sussex Express.
