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App\u2011led, self\u2011guided treasure and scavenger hunts have surged across UK towns and cities, becoming a go\u2011to activity for families, hen parties and corporate groups \u2014 but big\u2011prize promotions and platform marketing risk changing a low\u2011stakes pastime into a competitive, commercial market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
If you spot someone in a busy city centre staring up at a drainpipe and muttering to their companions that it looks like an elephant, they are probably not mad but mid\u2011hunt. According to the original Guardian report, an “explosion” in app\u2011led, self\u2011guided treasure and scavenger hunts has turned them into a summer staple across UK towns and cities \u2014 a pastime for families, hen parties and increasingly for corporate groups seeking something livelier than a hotel function room.<\/p>\n
The formats are as varied as the places that stage them. The Guardian described hunts that send players sleuthing after imagined art thieves in Penzance or unravelling an am\u2011dram murder in Inverness, while operators in different cities lean into local colour \u2014 from ghostly folklore in Glasgow to speedboat finales on the Thames in London. Most of the commercial offers are pitched as playful ways to “see the city \u2014 not just the sights,” with prize\u2011free bragging rights the typical reward; only a few, notably one recent campaign, are adding substantial cash incentives.<\/p>\n
The paper joined a hunt in York created by Paul Fawkesley and Ian Drysdale, who run Treasure Hunt Tours. Participants follow a fictional guide \u2014 Captain Bess \u2014 receive maps and instructions on their phones and work through cryptic puzzles that steer them to overlooked corners and photogenic viewpoints. Drysdale told The Guardian that the format is “flexible” and that people like being able to do it in their own time; Fawkesley, speaking to the same paper, observed with a chuckle: “We haven\u2019t lost anyone yet.”<\/p>\n
The pair\u2019s background \u2014 engineering meets arts \u2014 informs the way they design routes: lots of legwork, local research and trial runs to ensure clues work on the ground. Their company website states they now operate in 16 cities and claim more than 65,000 customers, while the Guardian noted that corporate bookings now account for roughly two\u2011thirds of their business, as firms trade stuffy indoor team\u2011building for outdoor collaboration and “netwalking”.<\/p>\n
Not all providers are small local operators. ClueGo markets a high\u2011energy London option that combines on\u2011street clue solving with a private speedboat on the Thames, complete with supplied iPads, GPS hotspots and event staff \u2014 an explicitly corporate, spectacle\u2011first product. In Glasgow, app\u2011based providers promote themed walks such as a ghost quest that blends riddles with local legend and finishes at central landmarks; operators report strong user ratings for routes that can be played day or night.<\/p>\n
At the big end of the marketing spectrum, the navigation app Komoot is staging what it describes as an ambitious Bristol event in August 2025, offering prize pools totalling \u00a332,500 across daily routes. Komoot\u2019s event page frames the campaign as a growth push for its UK user base: participants must log into the app, find QR\u2011coded flyers on route and redeem prizes via the platform, with social referrals yielding in\u2011game hints. The campaign is positioned less as an altruistic community project and more as a promotional drive to convert real\u2011world play into app engagement.<\/p>\n
The rise of treasure hunts dovetails with a strong domestic tourism market. The Guardian cited VisitBritain data suggesting wide public intent to take short, domestic breaks; official government tourism releases underpin that picture by tracking volumes and regional trends in overnight trips and day visits. Industry figures and destination marketers say the attractions are twofold: they prompt visitors to linger and explore neighbourhoods they would otherwise bypass, and they create a packaged, bookable activity that destinations can sell to groups and corporate clients.<\/p>\n
Why now? Creators point to habits formed during the pandemic \u2014 a renewed appetite for outdoor activity, flexible experiences and time\u2011boxed, socially distanced group outings. Emma France, head of marketing for Sheffield, told The Guardian that she has seen operators multiply in recent years and that even long\u2011time residents can discover new corners of their city while taking part. At the same time, platforms and events with large prizes risk nudging what began as low\u2011stakes local play towards a more commercial, competitive model.<\/p>\n
Taken together, the sector looks likely to keep growing, driven by a mix of grassroots creativity and platform marketing. Whether larger promotional campaigns and cash prizes will change the fundamental appeal \u2014 the quiet pleasure of noticing a previously overlooked view or the shared delight of cracking a cryptic clue \u2014 is an open question. For now, though, the city\u2011centre spectacle continues: groups huddled over phones, laughing, arguing and spotting elephants where none were visible yesterday.<\/p>\n