August was a fun month as we designed, prepped and delivered our very first public-facing event: a treasure hunt!
Last year, I attended the gorgeous ‘Krankenhaus Festival’ in the western Lake District. Organised by the band Sea Power and their friends, it’s a wondrous mix of live music, comedy, nature hikes, talks and much more. I was a volunteer, invited to tail-walk hikes along the coast and into the fells. Loved every second.
It’s held in the truly delightful grounds of Muncaster Castle. Think historic buildings, forests, landscaped gardens and so on. They’ve also got hawks, owls and vultures – and axe throwing, archery and other medieval-themed activities too. Truly a diverse place for a cultural highlight.
It sowed a seed and I was invited to return this year to volunteer again. I didn’t give it a second thought. It also made me think: what else could I bring with me? What would make 2026 even more fun than 2025?
Well… Maps. Obviously!
After a few weeks umming and ahhing, I pitched the idea of a treasure hunt. To my delight, the idea was well-received. Fast forward to September and I can say it was a success. Phew.
Inspired by flora and fauna found across the festival site, I developed a bespoke map. I wanted to fuse realism with a little whimsy. This was a lot more complex than it seemed. Realism was the easy bit – getting LiDAR tiles, rendering hillshades and so on. Digitising buildings and paths wasn’t awful, either.
Creating whimsy, though? Gosh, what a challenge. It’s subjective at the best of times. I can’t even describe what ‘whimsy’, for me, means. I guess I wanted something that worked, spatially, but was a long way away from consultancy-type deliverables. Something a bit more fun. A map that would exercise my creative mind for a change.
I’ll spare you the details. Just know that it ultimately landed well 😅
It was pure joy seeing a couple of families wandering the site with my ‘treasure hunt’ entry cards as I sought a morning coffee. It was a relief, a reward and a joy to know I also have multiple winners. People actually completed my hunt. Amazing. I might even give myself a pat on the back.
It was great great fun to develop and, apparently, good challenging fun for treasure hunters too. It’s also catalysed my long-shelved plans to run events regularly.
Now that feels like finding a pot of once buried gold!