Summer side quest for young adventurers launched across Horsham district

The new set of activities for younger adventurers in Billingshurst, Henfield, Horsham, Pulborough, Southwater, Steyning and Storrington is set to start from today (Friday July 22).

The Mystery Trails series was launched in April 2022 in seven towns and villages across the district to encourage locals and visitors to head back to the high street.

The project has been enabled with government funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The council has worked with Horsham-based business Whistlestop Arts to create the trails.

Each trail is free to get involved in and invites participants (Secret Seekers) to follow clues around each town to solve a puzzle involving a cast of colourful characters specifically created for the project. The new Summer Side Quest has been developed especially with school aged children in mind.

As the trails take place in and around our high streets there are plenty of opportunities to take a break in any one of the fabulous selection of tea rooms, cafes and eateries on route. Many serve locally produced food and beverages giving you a greater taste of what Sussex has to offer visitors.

The main aim is to create an exciting experience that brings people together socially, connecting them to our stunning towns and villages across the Horsham district.

Jonathan Chowen, HDC’s leader and cabinet member for the local economy, said: “Having high quality, free activities, particularly during the school holidays, offers a fantastic opportunity for families to get active and enjoy the fresh air and all the facilities our towns and villages have on offer whilst having some family fun.”

Those taking part will enjoy an immersive experience where they follow the story of different characters created specifically for this project. The Mystery Trails characters have set a series of puzzles for players to solve. The story's main character is Answare Gladwish, assisted by seven others, including Adwin Inkwell, the writer from Horsham, Sybil, the Oracle of Southwater and Royd Ellwood, Storrington's Woodland Gatekeeper amongst others.

The Summer Side Quest is aimed at children aged five to 11 and links to the main story of the Mystery Trails.

Luna Russell, from Whistlestop Arts, said “We’ve had a great response to the Horsham District Mystery Trails so far, with families, adults and groups getting involved and we wanted to introduce something for younger players.

"Having funding to ensure that this project is free to access is fantastic and we hope that along with the Summer Reading Challenge that the libraries run each year, children will be keen to pick up a Summer Side Quest sheet and explore the towns with their families and friends.”

In each town/village there is an alternative collection point for the Mystery Trails so that you can pick up your pack and play seven days a week, visit the Curator’s workspace in the library window for details or alternatively download the trails from the website.

Visit https://www.whistlestoparts.org/mysterytrails for more information.