Knaresborough treasure hunt strikes gold

Questr.org launched the activity in a bid to get families more active over the summer holidays by seeking out hidden treasures throughout the historic market town.

Dan Wilson from the local tech company said: “We’ve been blown away by the success of this game.

“It’s clearly captured people’s imagination and has encouraged more children and their families to get out and move more during the holidays.”

Research conducted during the game now reveals that over 800 people took part and for many, it encouraged them to do more physical activity than they would have done previously.

Dan added: “We will be sharing the information we’ve collected with the council to demonstrate how simple it can be to make a big impact and potentially improve health outcomes. We hope to be back soon with more games!”

Dozens of bases were located around the town, in parks, shops and attractions.

Explorers had to seek out and scan the bases with their smartphones, each base revealing a different password. If all passwords were correctly recorded, explorers were entered into a prize draw to win the treasure, worth £100.

The Great Knaresborough Treasure Hunt was funded by Knaresborough Lions, Town Council and local business to get families and visitors to explore the town and enjoy being out and about.

And the research also showed that only 28 per cent of adults and 37 per cent of children do the recommended levels of physical activity each week, the peak times for exploring the town were between 11am and 1pm and bases were scanned 1,352 times by 822 people.

The town’s most popular location was the war memorial in the Castle Grounds and 78 per cent of explorers said that the treasure hunt encouraged them to be more active.

Sheena Walton, from Harrogate, said: “Fabulous idea!! Got us out together as a family and introduced physical activity in a fun way. It enabled our six-year-old daughter to practice her numbers and phonics and sounding out of letters.”

The ‘treasure’ was won by eight-year-old Lottie Beaumont from Knaresborough, who said: “I really enjoyed being outside exploring different parts of Knaresborough with my family.

“My younger brother and I loved hunting for the QR codes in the local area using the map provided, then scanning them in with our mum and dad.

“It was really fun to watch the magic scroll open to reveal each password. It was brilliant!”

For more visit www.questr.org/knaresborough or Active Knaresborough Facebook.