Many of us have been in this situation before; you arrive in a foreign country only to find that your mobile phone roaming isn’t working, you have no map and feel completely disorientated. You need to find your way to somewhere, somehow. This is exactly what that the Scouts faced in their (non) Local Knowledge challenge in Salisbury.
They were instructed to gather at the train station, where they were split into teams. Their mobile phones were sealed and stowed into their bags for safekeeping and to avoid cheating. Each team was assigned two adults, who were there for safety but were under strict instructions not to help their team with the challenge. As ‘tourists’ with no phone or map, their first task was to find their hotel, The Red Lion Inn and check-in. They had to use their wits and teamwork with some asking shopkeepers for directions.
Once checked in at the hotel, the receptionist then issued their main challenge, which was mainly to find a range of key places and landmarks scattered around the city. Whenever a place was found, the adults were to take a photo of them there and share with the other adults as evidence.
There were three different categories of places to find along with some more unusual things to seek out. The first category which were worth the most points were ‘Essentials’, the sorts of places you would need to find in emergencies, personal health, transport, etc. Some of these, such as public toilets and defibrillators took them to unusual locations such as shopping centre car parks.
The second category which earned medium points were the ‘Tourist Attractions’. These are of course the main reasons why you might travel to a city on holiday. Fortunately, Salisbury is not short of these, so there were plenty for the Scouts to hunt. Aside from the famous Cathedral, the Scouts had to explore landmarks and museums.
The third category with the fewest points were ‘Other’ places of interest. These included some which might be found in any town like the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker, along with some very specific places unique to the area such as Salisbury Arts Centre and the ‘Upside Down’ Barber Shop. There were lots of places in this category, so many teams didn’t focus on it but rather looked out for such places while walking between higher value locations.
Finally, there were some fun ways they could get extra points. These included getting photographed with someone wearing an interesting hat, a photo with someone with ginger hair, getting shared on a business’ social media and collecting free samples of products being offered by businesses! It came as a surprise to everyone involved quite how successful the Scouts were at achieving these tasks.
For many who took part, it was an experience like no other. The Scouts showed amazing tenacity achieving far more than anyone expected and by the end were excited to tell their parents all the stories of what they had done in the day. Most were asking when they can do it again! Aside from the fun, it helped them develop many skills including teamwork, communication, problem-solving, navigation and built their confidence. They left probably knowing enough to be amateur tour-guides for the city and earning their Local Knowledge badge. It also helped them work towards their Teamwork Challenge, Creative Challenge and World Challenge badges.
Many thanks to all the parents and businesses who helped to make this a memorable event
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