Embarking on a journey through Lancaster

Armed with a newly printed trail map, my wits and an army of loyal tourist board members, I set forth to try out the new Lancaster Heritage themed Treasure Trail – a heritage themed walking trail through the city of Lancaster with clues to solve along the way.......

Clue one is outside the Storey Institute and Vistor Information Centre. We look high and low along the building (testing our knowledge of Latin along the way) – this first clue wasn’t too difficult to solve – It seems we are being eased in gently.

Clue two is outside Lancaster City Museum . We look along the roman pillars until we find the date when the mayor laid the stone… on to the next.

Clue three is on Dalton Square, so we get a nice walk past all the shops. The answer is to be found on the Queen Victoria monument.

We spend a few minutes discussing the freeze of all the famous Victorians with some connection to Lancaster – its quite a roll call. We find the answer and head on.

Clue four is on the canal towpath – we count the bridges until we get to 102 – this clue answer is difficult to find – we are being tested … but finally we find the answer and head up to St Peter’s Cathedral for Clue five.

Clue five is another tricky one – there are lots of figure heads carved into the side of the Cathedral and we need to find one with a veil….  A- ha! - We find it!

On route to clue six we make a small detour for lunch at The Borough – all this trail following and clue hunting has made us very hungry. The school dinners menu (£6.95 for two courses) is great value and I have fish and chips following by apple and berry crumble with ice cream. Perfect fuel for a cold January day.

The walk to Clue six is back through town to Church Street – it would appear that Bonnie Prince Charles stayed on this very street – but at who’s house did he stay? We find the blue plaque and head up the hill towards the castle.

Clue seven is outside Judges’ Lodgings. There is a brief dilemma on the flower carvings we need to count – some are painted and others are plain – we opt to count them all (which is the right option)

Clue eight brings us to the castle (and to one of my favourite views across Lancaster and up to the Ashton Memorial) This answer isn’t a difficult one to solve but it would be a good opportunity to pop into the castle for a guided tour (they usually run on the hour and I have been on them several times) but we haven’t time today and so walk quickly on to Lancaster Priory for clue nine.

Clue nine is a fun one. We find the headless lady very quickly but can we find ‘George Lloyd’……. eventually we do.

Eddie and Yvonne can't resist the photo opportunity....

And so we head down the hill to the quay on the River Lune for clue ten at the Maritime Museum. (I visited the Maritime Museum last year and was very impressed – it’s a real treasure trove of nautical heritage.)

The final clue is solved (or counted as is the case) and we must head home because we have finished the trail and there is work to be done. We have all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will be visiting Lancaster again soon......

Sally

Comments

[Suzi Bunting]

Fantastic! I cant wait to have ago - love Tim's inquisitive look at clue eight! Hope he was able to help you Sally.

[Kevin Lloyd]

Excellent! Can we go?!

[Sarah Lundy]

Brilliant Sally. Got my trail in my bag and I'm ready to go. Got nothing planned this weekend so it seems like I just found my Sunday stroll (and lunch).