Colchester Office Team Building Treasure Hunt Wednesday, 9th March 2016

Colchester office recently held their latest Ingleton Wood funded team building event, a London treasure hunt, ‘Moriarty’s Game’, inspired by the Sherlock Holmes novels, followed by dinner & drinks.

Colchester staff headed to London by train (a steam train as featured in all the best Mystery/ Detective films would have been preferable, however Great Eastern’s finest did the job)!

Following the group briefing, ironically the starting point for the treasure hunt was at the Royal Institute of British Architects HQ! Once gathered, staff were split into 8 groups and after a few false starts (Colchester are a competitive bunch!) they were off, solving the 26 cryptic clues of riddles within riddles. Clues were sent via text message, which led them to a location within walking distance, the teams were to find the answer and text back, if correct, receive the next clue, and so on.

Professor James Moriarty was one crafty fellow, sending them through all manner of twists and turns, seemingly around in circles and doubling back at times! It would be fair to say that some teams clocked up more time in penalties than others, whereas some needed no ‘hints’ at all! The treasure hunt took them through some interesting spots including strolls down cobbled streets, drinks in tucked-away Georgian taverns, a contemporary architecture exhibition and a 15th century Mayfair townhouse.

All teams put in a good effort, taking in those parts of London often overlooked. Once all teams had cracked the final clue to solve the mystery, the group made their way to the Old Bank of England pub, situated in the former Law Courts branch. Built in the 1800’s, a beautifully preserved piece of London’s past, where they feasted on a hearty selection of food, including the famous selection of pies and ales.