The annual stroll around Emsworth resumed on the evening of Wednesday, 21st June after a break of several years. A healthy number of teams of young scouts were joined by seniors.
Marching past the Community Centre and St James Church treasure hunters followed a route along North Street and Palmers Road to Brook Meadow. Several trees had been adorned with numbers and pictures by the Brook Meadow Conservation Group for Havant Green Week. This enabled the meadow to be explored using treasure hunt-style questions, possibly for the first time. Along Lillywhite’s Path the participants ventured to Queen and King Streets, Tower Street, the harbour beach, and South Street using clues to search for answers to questions. Perusing plaques and signposts, headstones, and noticeboards they sought out features of local history and geography, local characters and even code-cracking and the tide table. From St Peter’s Square they ambled along the High Street, through the underpass back to North Street and base.
The weather was ideal and the terrain kind to the feet. However, only a few hours before, water in Emsworth Harbour was coated with a fresh covering of thick green algae and seaweed, a hazard the organiser had not anticipated. The less adventurous did not tread the beach! It is anticipated that the Treasure Hunt tradition will continue. Many thanks to everyone who helped this year. It is a lovely outreach event, enjoyed by (most of?) those who attended, competitors and organisers. Please consider coming next year when the route, clues and questions will be different.
