Yorkshire's weirdest attraction? Our reporter visits the 'forbidden' part of the Dales which feels like Narnia

What if I told you that probably the closest you’ll ever get to the Labyrinth is - improbably - in the Yorkshire Dales?

The Forbidden Corner, a short drive from Leyburn, advertises itself as ‘the strangest place in the world’ and in some ways, if you haven’t been before, I’m loath to review it in too much detail. The fun of the site is in discovering its weird, uncanny features for yourself - you won’t even find a proper map on arrival.

But, if you are intent on being spoiled, read on.

Somewhere between a maze, a castle, landscaped gardens and a cave, the Forbidden Corner is about the most magical place I can remember visiting. As a young girl I was (and to be honest, still am) intent on somehow finding Narnia and the Forbidden Corner awoke a childlike sense of wonder in me last found in the back of CS Lewis’s wardrobe.

The site, with its walls, crenallations and towers, looks medieval in parts, but it was actually constructed in the early 1990s by Colin Armstrong and extended in 1998. It now welcomes tens of thousands of visitors every year.

From entering the site - through a giant mouth, complete with bellowing uvula, you begin quickly to understand that here, nothing is as it seems.

There’s no set pathway to follow or timetable of activities: you’re free to explore the site at your own pace.

Doors open in the wrong direction, and hidden stairways in towers seem to defy the laws of physics. You will find yourself exploring a passage in one part of the four-acre site which leads you, after a meandering walk in the dark, metres from where you started.

And don’t wear your best clothes: you will get wet, whether from hopping through stepping stones or from being unexpectedly squirted by a Grecian statue.

The Forbidden Corner does warn against parts of the site for those with severe claustrophobia or panic, and I would say that bears out, particularly in the main house (reached through the stepping stones.) This part of the experience is genuinely scary: staircases are extremely narrow and dark, there are lots of tunnels to crouch through, and there is one particular element involving animatronic mice (think Beatrix Potter if she ever wrote a horror novel) that I, at the grand old age of 32, was too frightened to walk through alone.

We visited on Bank Holiday Saturday and it was extremely busy - to be honest, too much so for it to feel relaxing. It felt like we spent half our visit making our way back down staircases to avoid traffic jams at the top. I’d recommend visiting during the week if you’re not coming with children.

Speaking of which: something else to bear in mind is that the Forbidden Corner was built as a private folly before it opened to the public. It has not been constructed with prams and pushchairs in mind and we saw more than one family trudging back to the car, disappointed, after realising they wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy their visit. If you have kids and they won’t be able to manage a lot of walking (and there’s a lot of walking), I’d recommend taking some form of lightweight carrier. We had our one-year-old in a fabric back carrier and it worked fine, but do be aware of low ceilings and uneven ground in many areas of the site.

When the Forbidden Corner opened to the public in 1994, there was less emphasis on accessibility than there is now. That being said, some 30 years later, I don’t think there’s much excuse for a modern, man-made tourist attraction to be so inaccessible to wheelchair users or those with additional needs. It’s forgivable to not be able to take a pram or pushchair in but cutting out access to disabled people is such a shame. I’d love to see a bit of the imagination that so clearly abounds among the Forbidden Corner team to create some new accessible paths and features.

Once you’ve finished exploring, reasonably priced coffee and the usual pies, sausage rolls and sandwiches, plus local Brymoor ice cream, can be purchased at the onsite cafe. I’m reliably informed by my carnivorous husband that the steak and onion pie was “exceptional.” Or, if you’re fancying something a little more special, The Saddle Room pub and restaurant is just next door and offers a seasonal menu and cosy atmosphere.

I think it is genuinely impossible to find all the secrets of the Forbidden Corner in one day. That’s not a shame at all. For this Labyrinth and Narnia lover, no excuse is needed to return one day and discover yet more magic. Who knows: perhaps I’ll even brave the mice.