Review - Tulleys The Howl
The Howl is a brand new scream park based at Mead Open Farm in Bedfordshire, which has been designed by the team from Tulleys Shocktoberfest in Crawley. Although the infrastructure and layouts between the two parks are very different, it is very clear once you are inside that this is a “Tulleys” attraction. The atmosphere is almost identical, and the cast of roaming characters is as fun and engaging as anything seen at Shocktoberfest.
Because of this, it is actually very hard to review the attraction without making the obvious comparisons to its big brother down South. Certainly, the two parks share a lot of the same DNA, but seeing as the main audience for The Howl may never have been to Shocktoberfest, this isn’t a bad thing.
So let’s get the obvious comparisons out the way and move on. The Shed is effectively The Cellar, The Dark is The Volt, Mr Toppers Slayground is Nightshade Circus, and the Haunted House is (ahem) The Haunted House. This isn’t a bad thing – it’s just very noticeable for those of us who were at Shocktoberfest the night before. The only different or more original attraction to The Howl was Squealers Yard..
Squealers Yard is probably the longest of the attractions at the park and was definitely our favourite. Combining indoor and outdoor scares, the attraction took us through many different buildings and vehicles as we tried to escape from the flesh hungry redneck cannibals inside. The maze threw us off guard almost immediately with an intriguing trick that left some of the team wandering through parts of the maze on their own. Once reunited we were chased, scared and cajoled throughout. Of course, what would a maze about flesh acting characters be without a few obligatory chainsaws? It helps when the guy holding said powered tool is 6’7 and built like a brick ****house! All in, a very impressive attraction with some lively actors and great scares.
The Shed is an intricately themed and tightly paced maze that took us through a colony of inbred mutants who have been locked away out of sight. The mutants were able to attack from all angles and provided an amazing number of quality jump scares throughout. This, mixed with some great effects, including an amazing wolf puppet, really helped to create an exciting and lively attraction. After all, when you struggle to hear the opening speech as there are too many screams coming from WITHIN the maze then you know the team are doing something right!
Mr Topper’s Slaybarn is The Howl’s take on the clown maze and started with the curtain maze so popular with these attractions. This eventually gave way to something more akin to an evil fun house with some interesting hiding places throughout. The use of UV light to highlight the evil scribblings on the walls was a nice touch and the clowns managed some fun scares through the maze.
The Dark is home to some of the creatures that the park is named after. Being a standard dark maze, we were surprised just how many scares the front of the group got. The sudden appearance right out of the pitch black of an elaborate wolf costume, sent the leaders of the group to the floor in shock. The simple use of darkness and the sudden illumination worked really well, although those at the back of the group missed many of the bigger scares.
The Haunted House was a tour through an elaborately themed house full of creepy characters. Many of the actors were able to sneak around to appear or re-appear out of nowhere and created a number of good scares. The attraction is open during the day as part of the family Halloween activities but we hope they don’t have the actors in it as it would easily traumatise small kids. The attraction was genuinely scary in palaces and beautifully decorated throughout.
Obviously Tulleys is famous for its street entertainment and the “family” were out in force. Young pregnant Chastity was particularly engaging as was grandmother who seemed to take a liking to several men in our group. With other roaming characters, a lively band and an array of food options, there was plenty to see or do between attractions and whilst in the queues.
Looking back at the event it is really hard to believe that this is its first year. Most parks or attractions start small but Mead Open Farm have jumped feet first into the scream park market with 5 attractions. Fortunately for them, with the strength of the Tulleys brand behind them, it really feels like an established and complete scream park, and will clearly go from strength to strength. The locals who attended were loving it, and the fact that the event sold out on its opening night, it would appear that the park will have a massive hit on their hands.
Photos by Stephen Candy Photography
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What an event! My five friends and I visited Tulley's The Howl on Saturday 10th October 2015. After scouring the internet for local Halloween scream park events in Bedfordshire I finally found the 'Tulley's The Howl' website. I was really suprised and glad that there was finally a brand new scream park operating in Bedfordshire as the area seems to have been a blank spot for these sort of events until now. So after researching the event further without a doubt we booked the X Scream tickets online for only £11.95 after a handy £3 discount with a simple discount code which was flooding their social media (HOWLFACE3) Although I have not visited Tulley's Shocktober Fest myself I was aware that it was the 'UK's Number 1 Scream Park' and that the ingenious creators behind it had built Tulley's The Howl at Mead Open Farm as part of a scheme to widen the Tulley's Farm chain. So what could we expect from 'Tulley's The Howl'? On arrival we exchanged our booking confirmation sheet for 6 tickets very quickly and went straight into the park. The park was fairly small and the mazes were fairly close together and this created a really warm festival atmosphere. There was a fire pit, a live band and various live actors roaming about entertaining the guests with friendly banter. The entire park had been decorated with pumpkins, corn plants and dead branches which all tied the event together. After wandering around and embracing the ambience we all headed towards the arena to participate in the 'Howling World Record'. We were all counted as we entered the arena where Esmerlda the beloved and comical character from Tulley's Shocktober Fest was entertaining the audience with stand up comedy. As the crowd entered the arena various members of the creative team gave speeches comically interrupted by Esmerelda at stages along with a Wolf Trust representative who was spreading awareness of the charity throughout the evening. Once everyone was in and that's all 470 of us! We howled for about a minute straight whilst the adjudicator kept a close watch. After announcing that we had broken the record we soon were on our way to our first attraction The Haunted House.
The Haunted House Scare Factor 7
Well the Haunted house lived up to its name! We were shown into the attraction in groups of around 6 (conveniently it was only us) and we were given a short safety briefing. As we ventured into the attraction it was clear to see the effort and level of detail that had gone into theming the attraction. There must have been about 20 actors in this maze alone and they were all either jumping out from every direction or standing in the corners of the rooms staring at you creepily. The highlight of this maze was entering a wardrobe full of clothes hanging from the ceiling and having actors reach out from every direction. The maze lasted over 10 minutes and it seemed to go on forever, much to the enjoyment of our group.
Mr Topper's Slay Barn Scare Factor 7
Mr Topper's Slay Barn was the classic Circus and clown themed attraction at Tulley's The Howl. On entrance we were given a safety briefing then we entered a labyrinth of red and white striped curtains until we finally spilled out into the rest of the maze. The maze was painted with Ultra Violet paint and was lit by Ultra Violet and Coloured LED lights. The set consisted of slides, ball pits and oversized dice and although I personally am not particularly frightened of clowns anyone one who is should enter this maze cautiously. The finale to the maze was a room full of bouncy clown characters jumping around above you and chasing you out.
The Dark Scare Factor 8
The clue is really in the title as this maze really is dark. We entered once again as a group of six and were given a similar safety briefing in a well themed room. We were also given details of the back-story of how a family were keeping a werewolf hidden in a high tech vault and used electricity to tame the beast. We instantly knew this attraction was going to be scary and one of our first clues was when a group of adults in front of us backed out in discomfort. The first segment of the maze was exceptionally themed and featured winding corridors. However the anticipation of an actor jumping out sent shivers down our spines and although the first segment was suprisingly light, members of my group were quite frightened. We then found ourselves in a room were the only exit was a tight squeeze between two black inflatable walls. It was a matter of pushing through with serious strength as the walls pushed inwards on you in the darkness. It was genuinely one of the most intense experien ces I've ever had especially as it was so long. On the other end was a completely different world and we were forced to feel the walls to find our way through. Unlike most mazes this maze was made up of entirely randomly shaped large rooms which made it extremely disorientating and the fact that the floor sloped up and down did not help us make our way through easily. As we moved through the rooms feeling the walls with our hands we discovered that the walls were covered in electric shock pads which gave a sharp tingly when touching them. At this stage we were in complete darkness and the texture of the floor started to change from wood to gravel, sand and carpet. The finale to the maze was an impressive werewolf actor whose torch was a relief after the 10 minutes of complete and utter darkness we had experienced before.
The Shed Scare Factor 9
The Shed was one of my favourite horror mazes at Tulley's The Howl as I felt it was very well rounded with an equal mix of detailed theming, suspense, storylines and of course jumpy moments. We entered and were once again given the safety briefing and introduction to the maze along with the back-story to the maze. We were then instructed to assemble into a conga line to prevent losing someone in the maze and then we entered. The level of theming in this maze was exceptional and the cluttered hoarder's shed look was almost over accomplished with a grisly array of old tyres, tools, shipping pallets, oil cans, bottles, jars, hessian fabrics and general clutter. The scaring opportunities in this maze were endless and the actors really took advantage of this as we saw the appearance of at least 30 actors due to the well planned layout of the maze. There was a completely unexpected scare in this attraction which was one of the highlights of my entire visit. The actors in this maze got incr edibly close to your face and in the last room there were at least 6 actors jumping from wall to wall. The finale to this maze was being chased out by a leaf blower back into the park grounds.
Squealer's Yard Scare Factor 9
Squealers yard was by far one of the longest and most intense attractions at Tulley's The Howl and I was suprised by the originality and attention to detail this horror maze had to offer. The experience started in a butcher's shop and we were given a brief introduction and back-story. As soon as the intro had finished one of the best live actors opened up a hatch in the shop counter letting us into the 'back room' through a door. I was suprised as the group was then split into two and we each took different paths which rejoined a few minutes later. We encountered some terrifying bangs inside animatronic oil bins and the maze led us in and out of horse boxes, vans and shipping containers with blinding lights and agile actors. A large amount of the maze was built of shipping pallets and the walls were extremely high. At moments we could see the sky but we weaved in and out of shacks and buildings which made the maze feel very unique in the way that we really didn't know what would awai t us around the corner. The finale to this maze was a long shipping container filled with fog and strobe lights and a 6ft tall man wielding a chainsaw. Overall this maze exceeded my expectations massively and I was suprised by how they could fill a maze as long as it was with so many actors.
Street Theatre and Band Scare Factor 6
The street entertainment was a great addition to the atmosphere at Tulley's The Howl and the fact that the characters all played a part in the back-stories of the horror mazes reflected the thought the Mead Open Farm and Tulley's Team had put into the event. The characters were entertaining people in the queue lines, food outlets and shops and there were plenty of them all spread evenly around the park. There was also a superb band playing all the classic Halloween and chart hits in a large marquee and there was also a good disco breaking up each set. This was a great place to eat food and relax between the horror mazes.
Facilities
The facilities at Tulley's The Howl could not have been better with good clean permanent toilets and a range of food outlets restaurants and cafes. There was a good sized shop with a selection of products and there were staff at the welcome desk ready to help with any requirements or enquiries. The event is well staffed with plenty of security, event managers, stewards and of course scare actors!
Overall the event was superb and we look forward to seeing how this event can expand and evolve in the future. We had a fantastic time and were there from start till finish. I'd like to thank the staff for being so helpful and putting together such an original and scary event. The theming was superb and it is clear to see how much work the team have put into making it a night to remember. I'd recommend the event to any brave souls aged 12+ to adults as there is definitely something for everyone and as for under 12s Mead Open Farm hold their annual Freaky Fortnight specially designed for younger thrill seekers.
The Haunted House Scare Factor 7
Well the Haunted house lived up to its name! We were shown into the attraction in groups of around 6 (conveniently it was only us) and we were given a short safety briefing. As we ventured into the attraction it was clear to see the effort and level of detail that had gone into theming the attraction. There must have been about 20 actors in this maze alone and they were all either jumping out from every direction or standing in the corners of the rooms staring at you creepily. The highlight of this maze was entering a wardrobe full of clothes hanging from the ceiling and having actors reach out from every direction. The maze lasted over 10 minutes and it seemed to go on forever, much to the enjoyment of our group.
Mr Topper's Slay Barn Scare Factor 7
Mr Topper's Slay Barn was the classic Circus and clown themed attraction at Tulley's The Howl. On entrance we were given a safety briefing then we entered a labyrinth of red and white striped curtains until we finally spilled out into the rest of the maze. The maze was painted with Ultra Violet paint and was lit by Ultra Violet and Coloured LED lights. The set consisted of slides, ball pits and oversized dice and although I personally am not particularly frightened of clowns anyone one who is should enter this maze cautiously. The finale to the maze was a room full of bouncy clown characters jumping around above you and chasing you out.
The Dark Scare Factor 8
The clue is really in the title as this maze really is dark. We entered once again as a group of six and were given a similar safety briefing in a well themed room. We were also given details of the back-story of how a family were keeping a werewolf hidden in a high tech vault and used electricity to tame the beast. We instantly knew this attraction was going to be scary and one of our first clues was when a group of adults in front of us backed out in discomfort. The first segment of the maze was exceptionally themed and featured winding corridors. However the anticipation of an actor jumping out sent shivers down our spines and although the first segment was suprisingly light, members of my group were quite frightened. We then found ourselves in a room were the only exit was a tight squeeze between two black inflatable walls. It was a matter of pushing through with serious strength as the walls pushed inwards on you in the darkness. It was genuinely one of the most intense experien ces I've ever had especially as it was so long. On the other end was a completely different world and we were forced to feel the walls to find our way through. Unlike most mazes this maze was made up of entirely randomly shaped large rooms which made it extremely disorientating and the fact that the floor sloped up and down did not help us make our way through easily. As we moved through the rooms feeling the walls with our hands we discovered that the walls were covered in electric shock pads which gave a sharp tingly when touching them. At this stage we were in complete darkness and the texture of the floor started to change from wood to gravel, sand and carpet. The finale to the maze was an impressive werewolf actor whose torch was a relief after the 10 minutes of complete and utter darkness we had experienced before.
The Shed Scare Factor 9
The Shed was one of my favourite horror mazes at Tulley's The Howl as I felt it was very well rounded with an equal mix of detailed theming, suspense, storylines and of course jumpy moments. We entered and were once again given the safety briefing and introduction to the maze along with the back-story to the maze. We were then instructed to assemble into a conga line to prevent losing someone in the maze and then we entered. The level of theming in this maze was exceptional and the cluttered hoarder's shed look was almost over accomplished with a grisly array of old tyres, tools, shipping pallets, oil cans, bottles, jars, hessian fabrics and general clutter. The scaring opportunities in this maze were endless and the actors really took advantage of this as we saw the appearance of at least 30 actors due to the well planned layout of the maze. There was a completely unexpected scare in this attraction which was one of the highlights of my entire visit. The actors in this maze got incr edibly close to your face and in the last room there were at least 6 actors jumping from wall to wall. The finale to this maze was being chased out by a leaf blower back into the park grounds.
Squealer's Yard Scare Factor 9
Squealers yard was by far one of the longest and most intense attractions at Tulley's The Howl and I was suprised by the originality and attention to detail this horror maze had to offer. The experience started in a butcher's shop and we were given a brief introduction and back-story. As soon as the intro had finished one of the best live actors opened up a hatch in the shop counter letting us into the 'back room' through a door. I was suprised as the group was then split into two and we each took different paths which rejoined a few minutes later. We encountered some terrifying bangs inside animatronic oil bins and the maze led us in and out of horse boxes, vans and shipping containers with blinding lights and agile actors. A large amount of the maze was built of shipping pallets and the walls were extremely high. At moments we could see the sky but we weaved in and out of shacks and buildings which made the maze feel very unique in the way that we really didn't know what would awai t us around the corner. The finale to this maze was a long shipping container filled with fog and strobe lights and a 6ft tall man wielding a chainsaw. Overall this maze exceeded my expectations massively and I was suprised by how they could fill a maze as long as it was with so many actors.
Street Theatre and Band Scare Factor 6
The street entertainment was a great addition to the atmosphere at Tulley's The Howl and the fact that the characters all played a part in the back-stories of the horror mazes reflected the thought the Mead Open Farm and Tulley's Team had put into the event. The characters were entertaining people in the queue lines, food outlets and shops and there were plenty of them all spread evenly around the park. There was also a superb band playing all the classic Halloween and chart hits in a large marquee and there was also a good disco breaking up each set. This was a great place to eat food and relax between the horror mazes.
Facilities
The facilities at Tulley's The Howl could not have been better with good clean permanent toilets and a range of food outlets restaurants and cafes. There was a good sized shop with a selection of products and there were staff at the welcome desk ready to help with any requirements or enquiries. The event is well staffed with plenty of security, event managers, stewards and of course scare actors!
Overall the event was superb and we look forward to seeing how this event can expand and evolve in the future. We had a fantastic time and were there from start till finish. I'd like to thank the staff for being so helpful and putting together such an original and scary event. The theming was superb and it is clear to see how much work the team have put into making it a night to remember. I'd recommend the event to any brave souls aged 12+ to adults as there is definitely something for everyone and as for under 12s Mead Open Farm hold their annual Freaky Fortnight specially designed for younger thrill seekers.
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