Police World Edition 4, 2013

Article

Treasure Hunt Six teams from Cambridgeshire branch took a challenge to try and be the first to find the treasure. Nigel Wilson reveals what took place on the day. T his was the second event of this type that the branch had organised. The first was such a successful and the correct route and were not lost in the wilds of Cambridgeshire or some adjoining county. on four wheels

Contestants enjoying a meal and well earned drink at the finish post

looking rather weary. In the words of someone more famous than I, ‘I counted them all out and I counted them all back.’ Everyone enjoyed a meal in the sunshine while I worked out the results. The winning team was ‘Clutching at Straws’ comprising branch Treasurer, Steve Palmer and his wife Lynn. So in true car racing style, the presentation of the bottle of champagne was made to them by Dominic Flynn, holding manager of The Fitzwilliam Arms. Dominic kindly donated the prize and arranged a reception for us all on a very busy Sunday. Nigel Wilson , Cambridgeshire branch Chair

enjoyable day that members asked for another. Not one to disappoint I set about plotting again. I had timed and measured the course and calculated it should take around the two and a half hour mark, with a total distance of 29.4 miles. The hunt format was simple. Get a car with at least two people in it and give them a number of clues - some cryptic, some anagram and some pictorial. Solve the clues, and if correct, the answers lead to a variety of locations. Extra bonus points could be earned for correctly identifying the locations, signs and logos etc. The winners were determined not only from the team with the most correct answers, but also on the time taken to complete the course - combined with the number of miles This years’s event started at Thorpe Wood police station on, thankfully, a warm and sunny morning. I set the teams off at regular intervals on a route that took them to the edge of Peterborough city centre and then to the outlying villages. In addition to having fun, teams also discovered things like what a wash dyke was used for many years ago and the location of a spring which reputedly once had an ancient sword found in it. The teams then continued en route to the grand 16th century Burghley House. This location gave the perfect opportunity for the judges, my wife Mandy and I, to check on their progress. More importantly it allowed us to check that the teams were still following driven. Only when all this had been calculated were the winners decided.

Towards the finish the route took the teams on a quick visit to Stamford, past the house lived in at one time by Sir Malcolm Sargent an English conductor, organist and composer.

“ I counted them all out and I counted them all back. ”

By now, Mandy and I were waiting in the garden of a local inn for the first to arrive. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. In fact it got to the point where I did actually start to worry that everyone was lost! But then, one by one, the teams arrived - all

The winning team, ‘Clutching at Straws’, being presented with their prize by Holding Manager Dominic Flynn

Police World Vol 58 No.4 2013

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