A Review of Treasure Trails: Stoke Bruerne

We were gifted a free Treasure Trails map for the purposes of this post. All opinions and words are my own.

Since the weather has been so lovely lately, and we’re a bit fed up of doing the same walks over and over, we decided to do something a little different last Sunday.

As I’ve decided to start blogging again, I’ve been catching up on my emails and I came across an offer from Treasure Trails asking if we’d like to try out one of their trails. I knew that Finn would love it, so I got one for Stoke Bruerne, which is one of our favourite local places for a walk.

What is a Treasure Trail?

Treasure Trails are self guided walks, where you follow a predetermined route, solving clues as you go. There are 1200 trails covering the UK and each one falls into one of three themes: Murder Mystery, Treasure Hunt or Spy Mission. The routes are generally easy, with many being accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs and are suitable for all ages.

Treasure Trails are perfect for a family outing

Our trail was a 2 mile route, starting by the canal museum, with a little stroll along the canal before we headed across the nature reserve and into the village. We visited The Green and the church, before heading back to the canal and up to the Blisworth Tunnel. It was a flat, easy route which we all managed just fine.

There were a variety of clues to solve en route

Our trail was a treasure hunt, with a back story involving a princess, a tiara and a forgetful servant. Each clue we solved meant that we could cross off one of the places on our map. When we were left with just one we would know where the tiara had been lost.

Thanks to his pre school years of watching Noddy The Toyland Detective, Finn loves anything that involves looking for clues and solving mysteries. He was a little disappointed ( well, actually quite a lot disappointed) that we weren’t going to find a real tiara, but I managed to distract him with the first clue and he soon forgot about it.

The whole family enjoyed solving the clues

Each Treasure Trail has around 20-25 clues (ours had 20), plus snippets of information about the local area. I love history and already know quite a bit about Stoke Bruerne thanks to our school trips to the canal museum many years ago, but it was still nice to learn as you go along and share the information with Finn.

I really liked the mix of clues in our Treasure Trail, some were quite tricky and took some thinking about, and some were easy enough for children. At five years old, Finn is probably a tad young, but he helped solve a few clues, including doing some sums and recognising letters. Several of the clues were visual, which was great as it encouraged him to look and concentrate on things around him. He didn’t whinge at all for the whole walk and I liked the fact that he was learning as he went along.

Although I’ve walked along the canal at Stoke Bruerne many many times, I’d never really explored the village. Doing a Treasure Trail also encouraged me to take more in and notice things that I’d never seen before. This aspect has got me excited about doing more Treasure Trails. It would be a good way to get to know somewhere new, but also I fancy doing the one for Northampton as I’m sure I’d learn a lot and see things that I’ve never even noticed in my home town.

The route took us through the village and churchyard

We walked up to the mouth of Blisworth Tunnel, which is a fascinating structure and as the third longest navigable tunnel in the UK, it’s also very impressive.

The route started and finished by the canal museum, with a detour up to Blisworth Tunnel

We solved a couple of clues by the tunnel, and headed back to the museum to solve the last clue. Once you have solved the mystery, you can submit your answer on the Treasure Trails website and download a certificate.

All in all we had a very enjoyable morning. The trail took us about an hour and a half and it was great to have a family walk where we were all engaged and working together.

If you’re looking for a family outing, a different homeschool activity or want to explore a new place, a Treasure Trail is a great way to spend time outdoors together. I will certainly be trying out some more.

Treasure Trails are £9.99 each and are available here.

Have you ever done a Treasure Trail? Where would you like to do one?

If you’re looking for more things to do in Northamptonshire, check out these posts:

My Top Free Family Days Out

Castle Ashby Gardens

The Opening Of Delapre Abbey

My Top 5 Walks in Northamptonshire

Fermyn woods Country Park

Barnwell Country Park