Last week was half term for the kids here, so Half Pint and I got out there on one of the few dry days and made like Taggart to solve a murder mystery in Glasgow city centre. Don't freak out, no one actually died in the making of this day out. This was for goal #83 of of my 101 things to do in 1001 days - Do at least five Treasure Trails.
Treasure Trails were something I came across when looking for inspiration for my 101/1001 list - they're themed walks with clues to solve, adding an element of fun to a day out and getting you to look closer at a place than you perhaps otherwise would. We chose to do one close to home, the Glasgow Cathedral trail.
I'll admit, I was a little nervous about paying to download our first trail - I didn't know what to expect and the price is a little steep at basically £7 a pop. I actually downloaded it during the summer holidays when we were at the Necropolis and Cathedral (you can read about that day out in this entry here), but we didn't end up using it that day as we didn't have enough cash to feed into the parking metre. I wasn't going to let it go to waste though, and was particularly keen to do this one as it is an area of the city I know well after seven years spent studying there. That background knowledge maybe helped with some of the clues, but the trail is so well put together that I don't doubt you could follow it having never been there before.
The trail itself is easy to follow, there is no map reading involved and you simply follow the directions and clues from step-to-step. That isn't to say there is no challenge here though - you need your thinking cap on and you have to keep your eyes peeled. Half Pint and I walked past one clue completely and had to retrace our steps a bit, and we spent a good while on a detour in a church yard because we misunderstood a clue. We also had to resort to Google at one point too! There is actually a text line if you get really stuck, but we didn't need to use it. The trail follows pavements and paths the whole way, and is fairly level save for a couple of hills so it isn't challenging. It does cover two miles though, but there are plenty of places to rest or even stop in for food and drinks.
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| one of our finds on the trail |
Even though I thought I knew the area really well, the amount of new things I discovered on our walk was impressive. We also made some pit stops in the Provand's Lordship (the oldest house in Glasgow) and St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life and Art*, which aren't places I think I'd have ever visited had it not been for this trail. Both were actually quite interesting (and free!).
One of the clues related to a building that is actually being pulled down, which is where my local knowledge came in handy as we were still able to solve the clue. But as I said, I downloaded this a good few months ago and I know from looking in my local area that trails are updated and monitored - for example, Helensburgh has it's own trail but as the town is undergoing major regeneration works the trail has actually been taken offline for now. I don't doubt that the current version of the Glasgow trail we did has either been updated or is currently offline now that one of the clues is compromised.
I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more fanfare when we finished the trail and solved the crime. You do get entered into a prize draw, but I would have hoped for some sort of follow on story or conclusion(why was she murdered?!). And I do think that there is a lot more that could be done with the website in terms of showing your achievements or interacting with other users who have also completed the trail too, to give it more of a community feel.
On the whole, both Half Pint and I had a really good time doing this trail. It is something fun, different and I'm sure from a kid's perspective transforms a boring sightseeing walk into something a lot more exciting and memorable. There are trails all over our area of the country, and the UK in general. I think they would be great either when sightseeing in a new area or - like for me and Half Pint - a new way to explore your own patch. I definitely want to do more local ones, and will be checking for ones in any other places we visit. I will return to my grumble about the cost though, and say that I'd probably do a lot more if there was a cheaper price tag!
Any other Treasure Trailers out there? I'd love to hear which ones you've tried, and what you thought.
* I am a concrete atheist and not in the least bit spiritual, but even I took something away from this museum. I learned something about the part different religions play in Glasgow, as well as refreshing my memory of RE lessons at school as to what different religions and cultures believe. I think it's important to know these things, to understand and respect other people. It would have been nice to see some non-religious belief systems - such as humanism - represented too though, if for no other reason than balance.
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