Treasure trails are a nationwide company. They have designed murder mystery, treasure hunt and spy trails through various locations in the UK. There are 26 trails to choose from throughout the Northumbria and there is something for everyone from a fog on the Tyne spy trail to a flodden fields mystery. Trails cost from £6.99 each and can be downloaded or posted. The treasure trails website is extremely informative and user friendly - it lets you know how accessible each trail is (and if it is wheelchair and pushchair friendly), how long it is likely to take and car parking details. This really helps you to choose the correct trail for your family.
Our Corbridge murder mystery trail was likely to take 1.5 hours, was fully accessible apart from one steep hill/few steps where there were no pavements, parking was free and there were pubs en-route. Perfect for our family! We ordered on-line and it arrived the next day.
We arrived in Corbridge on a very sunny day and read our challenge - we had to work out who had murdered the town's famous chef and stolen his famous pasty recipe. We looked at the 19 suspects and all had our suspicions of who it could be.
Daddy took charge and read the instructions while we rushed around looking for clues. There were 23 clues in total with varying difficulty which meant the whole family could get involved and be challenged. Our toddler loved looking for door numbers, our little girl took charge when we had to find a certain flower, daddy had to de-cipher some Roman numerals and our eldest son worked out some maths. It was lovely to get out of the house and all work together as a team.
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As these trails were self guided we were able to take our time and really get a feel for Corbridge - we stopped off at the newly opened Forum Books for children (which was lovely), for some drinks in the market square and to browse the lovely jewellers, delicatessen and antique shops.
As you go through your murder mystery trail, each clue eliminates one suspect or weapon. I have to admit, one clue did stump us so we used the free text service included in our pack to help us out. Phew!
When we had whittled our suspects down to two people, we decided we would stop for lunch. I had heard lovely things about The Angel of Corbridge and it was busy which is always a good sign so we decided to dine here. Our lunch for 2 adults and 3 children was a little on the steep side at £50 for 2 sandwiches, 3 child sized main courses and one round of non-alcoholic drinks, however I was really impressed with the quality of the food we were served, the children's meals in particular were of a very high standard and I guess you do get what you pay for. The slightly inflated price was worth it and we would certainly return.
After our re-fuel we were raring to go again and promptly solved they mystery! I won't spoil it for you but it wasn't who any of us suspected. Once at home you can enter your answers onto the treasure trails website to find out if you are correct, you will also be entered into a prize draw to win £1000 and can download a certificate for your family which is a nice touch.
On our way home from a lovely few hours in Corbridge we stopped off at Brockbushes farm which is a few miles from the town to pick our own strawberries which was a great way to end our day.
We all thoroughly enjoyed taking part in a treasure trail murder mystery and it was a lovely alternative way to explore a new town. They would be ideal of you are on holiday in part if the UK and would like to visit a particular area and keep the kids entertained or if you simply wish to discover and see a different side to your local area. I will certainly be purchasing a few trails when we visit Cornwall this year to help discover the towns we will be staying near.
My parents-in-law bought us one of these for Christmas for a bit of fun! I still haven't tried it yet, I think its for Windermere area! Your post has kicked me into digging it out from our bookshelf and start making plans! X
ReplyDeleteThey are fab Rosie - I think we're going to get another one for our trip to Scarborough xx
DeleteAh these sound fab. I havent been to Corbridge for years
ReplyDeleteCat x
It's lovely - I want to go back without the kids so I can browse all the wonderful shops x
DeleteHow funny I have just been reading a few blog posts this morning and having never heard of Treasure Trails this is the second post I have read this morning about them. they sound great.
ReplyDeleteThey are fab - you's will have to try one xx
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