TREASURE HUNT
Armed with a slightly wobbly pictorial map and a list of cryptic questions, groups of U3A day walkers could be seen in October standing on street corners of Wallingford, looking sometimes puzzled, sometimes exultant as they studied the answers to questions such as; “who was the daughter of John and Lydia Warren?”
As a change from the usual walk across country they were tackling a treasure hunt which led them to hidden corners of the historic town; exciting, attractive corners they never knew existed. It is not often you can stand on town walls built 1500 years ago long before the Normans came, nor walk down Mousey Lane (looking nervously round you) nor find the memorial to a man who gave £20 for poor and aged folk.
At the finish everyone gathered in a warm and friendly pub-The Dolphin Inn (Can anyone remember when they last saw a dolphin in the Thames?) for the compiler to discover what sharp eyes the walkers had and how well they could map read – no one got lost . Luckily for the organiser no one got the questions all correct, but people spotted even the most obscure clues and results were very close.
Enormously valuable prizes were awarded but everyone agreed that chiefly they had all enjoyed themselves and had particularly liked discovering hidden Wallingford.
J.Kendal See `[Activity - Day Walks]` page