The 2022 ULSCR Treasure Hunt took place on Saturday 28th May and the day was split in to three separate sections to be completed in a set amount of time. Despite COVID hitting part of the organising team, the hunt started at approximately 1015am at Trafalgar Square after everyone participating had been split in to 4 teams.
The first part of the hunt was on the north side of the river and involved heading down Whitehall to Parliament Square where two of the groups copied the pose of Jan Christian Smuts and Peter posed probably as only Peter would besides the Suffragettes in order to answer one of the questions. The route continued past Westminster Abbey down towards St James Park Tube station where a debate over what the sculpture on the outside of the building looked like commenced (I will add I did say Pharoah albeit another answer was given).
Halfway through this section the Southwark wedding ringers departed. Despite the Queens Jubilee Trooping of the Colour rehearsals impacting on the accessibility to some areas, the very helpful security did allow us to see Clive the statue in all its glory although it didn’t really help us much. After a quick rush to take in the Golden Jubilee sundial where typically the sun only came out as we were departing, a run/ fast walk up Whitehall via the gift shop to get to the pub by the 12pm deadline was required where we made it with a minute to spare.
After a break for lunch at the Princess of Wales pub near Charing Cross station and with the wedding ringers now back with the group, the second section commenced. This involved going to the south side of the river with a difference in opinion as to whether the tube or walking over the bridge was quicker. Part of the task was to take photos of animals seen on route whilst answering the questions in and around the Waterloo area as we headed East to the second pub destination The Thirsty Bear.
Once refreshed the third section of the tour consisted of heading back North of the River again and involved answering questions in an around the City of London area. A difference in approach was taken to get around this section with the ‘ Stedman Triples’ group using bikes to get around whilst at this point I hobbled around the last section trying to keep up with the remainder of my group as best as I could ( a valuable lesson of making sure adequate footwear is chosen has been learnt). The end location was the Candlemaker pub opposite Cannon Street station where Chris, Peter, John and Harry were crowned the winners receiving the bottles of Champagne and cake to celebrate their success.
The evening involved visiting the Hydrant Bar and in typical student style the Goodman’s Field Wetherspoons after failing to get a space anywhere else because of the football going on that evening
I would like to thank the organising team of Rosemary, Martin, Kate and Asher who did a fantastic job of putting together the event which was enjoyed by everyone who took part . It will be a tough act to follow for whoever organises the event next year.