Leighton Buzzard scream park The Howl wins national award for Best Event

The business's annual scream park was recently crowned Best Event at the National Farm Attractions Network (NFAN) awards, which held a gala dinner in Blackpool.

Each October, Mead Open Farm's 'The Howl' sees a number of spooky themed mazes appear – all featuring actors in creepy costumes who give the audience thrills and chills.

Sue Heast, director, said: "It's just a very unique event. It's interactive and I don't know many other children's farm parks that transform into an adult theme park for the evenings.

"We always try to do something new each year and make it memorable, so people want to come back – and we're currently in the development stages."

Sue, along with her husband and fellow director, Matt, were first inspired to run a scream park after visiting one during a family holiday.

The farm park was "ticking along nicely" and the Heasts thought that evening entertainment could be a great opportunity.

"It's just got a festival feel and the farm gets transformed into this crazy Halloween event," explained Sue. "I think people want experiences nowadays – they don't want to stay at home and watch TV."

'The Howl' boasts a number of themed mazes, including The Shed, Squealer's Yard, Howl Valley High, Red, and Noxious.

In each, there are a variety of different characters you'll meet – including reclusive American family The Lycenthrops in The Shed, and 'Ma and her boys' in Squealer's Yard.

Sue added: "The characters come to life and I think the actors have amazing imaginations. They will be able to take something and evolve it."

There are also live bands, street food, and entertainers at the event.

For the NFAN awards, Sue and Matt were proud to take along their colleagues, general manager Stephen Miller, facilities manger, Luke Beacall, and marketing manager, Abigail Perrott.

The event was run across a few days, and also featured workshops, networking opportunities and a trade show.

Sue concluded: "I would like to say thank you to everybody who has worked on The Howl over the years, from the actors, to the design team, electricians and marketing.

"There are lots of different skills to put the event together."