A Chichester Treasure Hunt. How it was Compiled.
Posted on: 20/03/2025By Tim Carter (owner at Black Cat Treasure Hunts)
I am often asked how I put together a treasure hunt and what I look out for when compiling one. Chichester is an ideal example of a place that almost dictates its own perfect route. I recently submitted a blog to Chichester Living, a newly launched online listings/newsletter/events and blog site for the city. Ideal for anyone visiting or living in or near the city. Here is your very own sneak preview of the Chichester treasure hunt blog before it goes live.
I lived in the city for three years in the 1980`s whilst studying at what was then the Bishop Otter site of West Sussex Institute of Higher Education (now Chichester University). When I returned to write treasure hunts in this amazing place, I was delighted to remember that it is a compact city in terms of having a diverse range of intriguing and interesting things to look out for in proximity.
The first thing to decide is, without irony, where the treasure hunt should start. I like to grab the attention of the participants straight away without necessarily `playing my aces`. I walked and re-walked Chichester and concluded that just beyond the Minerva Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre is an ideal spot to begin. A feeling of wellbeing is immediate as the greenery of Oaklands Park extends behind you. No general knowledge is required to answer the questions in my treasure hunts, but I like to pick up quickly on the essence of where I am and what makes it special. Straight away there are three sculptures including Spartacus, Oedipus and Minerva. The hidden Oedipus is great as you have to work a little to locate it.
Looking around and seeing things for the first time sounds a simple objective for a treasure hunt question, but to challenge longer term residents of a particular place it requires a variety of questions and occasionally odd placements of the answer. A good example of this is down North St a short way. There is a metal plate with Noviomagus Reginorum written on it. This was the Roman name for what was to later be called Chichester! This metal plate is actually on the pavement, so you need to look down to see it.
From here, and to maintain the variety of questions whilst building on the Roman theme, it is a neat idea to head left and access Priory Park. There is a druid with a pose resembling Rodin`s `The Thinker, a cage full of budgerigars, the Guildhall with an interesting past and an amusing noticeboard incorporating a Roman soldier and selected items of Chichester history. With Roman walls around the park, it satisfies my requirement to combine quirky questions with historical interest.
On leaving the park, it is worth mentioning that I feel it is important not to go too long without a new question. It is quite acceptable on the other hand to have two close together just to keep people on their toes. The North-East Quadrant features an actual walk on a Roman wall which I think is fun for any first time visitors to the city. However, when returning to Chichester I couldn`t remember too much about this part. I was happy therefore to find a small plaque detailing the fact that gunpowder used to be stored under this particular wall! Definitely a question to surprise a local.
Heading into the bottom of East St and from the corner you can see information about Keats the poet above a nail and hair salon. Humour is an important part of all my treasure hunts and something I look to include every time. Turning down Market St and a short walk without questions presents an opportunity to remind you these are personalised treasure hunts. I include photos and information about the person or people it is for whether it is a birthday or a team building event. I include mini challenges that involve taking photos and video clips on route. These would be connected to the participant(s) as mentioned or reflect Chichester as a great place to visit..
Into the second half of the hunt, I keep away from the shopping areas initially. It also reminds me of my favourite fun Chichester fact: It has a cathedral spire that is the only one in the country you can see from the sea! My own variation on this, especially in these side streets, is that if you can`t see the spire after walking in any direction for five seconds then you probably aren`t in Chichester!
Onward though and the handily placed Pallant House Art Gallery, with some hidden but accessible sculptures in its courtyard, are worth tracking down. Around the corner and you are confronted with two Dodo`s or are they supposed to be Ostriches…that is for you to decide. Returning to East St is the first time this treasure hunt commits to a busier, central part. This could be considered an unusual tactic when compiling a treasure hunt, but Chichester teases you with its wide selection of questions on the edges.
The Market Cross refers to activities past and is a good meeting point and time checker with large clocks on it. With the treasure hunt three quarters complete it is useful to pass it as the teams in the team building treasure hunts are only allowed two hours to complete. A birthday or anniversary hunt for example will most likely be more sedentary and stop on route. By the time you reach the Market Cross you can also no longer deny that Chichester does indeed have an impressive cathedral to go with its spire. A mini circular route around the pleasingly accessible cathedral will have you heading back to the Market Cross. As you walk back you can remember I mentioned that as a treasure hunt compiler I want options on clues. In Chichester there is a real mixture of influences and people with interesting things of note. William Huskisson was an MP for Chichester but was run over and killed by Stephenson’s `Rocket` train on its very first trip in 1825! Talking of rockets..Tim Peake (he of astronaut fame) was born in Chichester. I don`t always mention these bits of general knowledge but it`s useful to have them up your sleeve for personalised treasure hunt challenges.
Turning left from the Market Cross, on North St, you come to the last part of my preferred Chichester route. A relatively recent addition to the city`s sculptures are the life-size ones of Admiral Nelson and Sir George Murray, with the legendary quote, `Murray or None`. This is one possible place to finish and close by is information about the first Roman King of Britain...King Cogidubnus! I don`t know whether he would have been too popular with the local population, but it meant that Chichester is quite nicely laid out and routes within the city walls easy to follow. For those looking to go a bit further and, indeed, teams hoping to be directed to a pub with a spacious beer garden(!), I suggest the following. In fact, when putting together a treasure hunt it always helps to have some alternative or additional routes so that once you get home it is possible to take a deep breath and decide on what is best for a particular group. In this instance turning left on Crane St with the silver sculpted…Cranes provides an opportunity for one last loop around and another walk on a Roman Wall (North Walls) with fantastic views and a return to the top of North St with the pub I hinted at!
I try and allow the personalised treasure hunts as much input as possible as to where they start and finish. This one as you will now realise is only a few minutes walk from the Northgate car park next to the theatres. Accessibility for those driving in is another consideration when writing a treasure hunt.
What would your expectations of a fun, Chichester treasure hunt be? If you would like to know more about my personalised treasure hunts in Chichester and across Sussex, then please email me (Tim) on info@blackcattreasurehunts.co.uk or call (01323) 655346.
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