The 14 Best Treasure Hunts & Outdoor Games in England

1.Fun, Flexible Treasure Hunt Around Manchester with Cryptic Clues & Hidden Gems

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 253 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $20Our pick

Start at Manchester Piccadilly and follow Captain Bess through St Peter’s Square, Castlefield, St John’s Gardens, the John Rylands Library, and Chinatown. You’ll solve phone-based clues, hear city stories, and explore at your own pace. The private hunt lasts about 2.5 hours, costs $20.80 per person, and needs no app, paper, or printed ticket.

“Didn’t expect to learn so much in such a fun way and get 15K steps without realising it into the bargain”

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2.Fun, Flexible Treasure Hunt Around York with Cryptic Clues & Hidden Gems

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 248 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $20

Use your smartphone to join Captain Bess on a self-guided treasure hunt through York. Solve clues at Museum Gardens, York Minster, the Shambles, and lesser-known lanes. Start any time from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, follow the route at your own pace, and ask for hints when a clue has you stumped.

“Quite good, bit tricky finding some of the locations especially when the city is really busy , missed some clues because big groups were in the way.”

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3.Fun, Flexible Treasure Hunt Around Bath with Cryptic Clues & Hidden Gems

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 208 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $20

Explore Bath with Captain Bess guiding your private group by smartphone. Follow maps, solve cryptic clues, and hear short stories at eight city sights, from Bath Abbey and Pulteney Bridge to the Roman Baths. Start anytime from Abbey Churchyard, pause for shops or a drink, and complete the hunt in about two and a half hours.

“Super fun and flexible. We had a great time. Make sure to wear your walking shoes. Highly recommend.”

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4.Fun, Flexible Treasure Hunt Around Oxford with Cryptic Clues & Hidden Gems

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 202 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $20

Captain Bess guides your private group around Oxford by phone, sending maps, cryptic clues, hints, and short stories. Begin at Oxford Castle, then reach Radcliffe Camera, The Turf, the Sheldonian Theatre, Bodleian Library, and Carfax Tower. Allow about two and a half hours, but pause whenever you like.

“We found it fun to look for the answers, thought the duration was a good length, and discovered things about oxford that we didn’t know about, and we have visited oxford a few times now.”

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5.Shepton Mallet Prison Escape Room – The Cell

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 187 reviews · 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $38

Spend 60 minutes solving puzzles, handling darkness and handcuffs, and escaping a real former prison cell at Shepton Mallet Prison. Your group of up to five has private use of the room, plus time to explore the historic jail before or after. The experience is in English and may include a guard such as Tia.

“Great fun. The dark and handcuffs added an additional element of complexity! Tia was an excellent guard. All in all a lot of fun and a legit location for an escape room”

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6.Fun, Flexible Treasure Hunt Around Chester with Cryptic Clues & Hidden Gems

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 162 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $20

Captain Bess sends your group maps and cryptic clues by phone around Chester. Follow a route from Town Hall Square to the cathedral, Roman sites, River Dee, Storyhouse, and Chester Rows. Take about two hours, pause for lunch, or finish over several days. Hints help when a clue proves stubborn.

“Loved this. The clues were challenging but manageable. We had a good wander around. Chester and saw things were probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. You have the flexibility to take your time & we stopped several times and ended up finishing on a second day. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely look to do another one in a different city.”

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7.Fun, Flexible Treasure Hunt Around Brighton with Cryptic Clues & Hidden Gems

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 154 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $20

You and your private group follow treasure maps and cryptic clues on your phones with help from Captain Bess. The roughly 2.5-hour route links the Royal Pavilion, North Laine, the piers, Theatre Royal, and The Lanes. Start when you like, ask for hints, pause for shops or pubs, and finish back at India Gate.

“The whole experience was absolutely wonderful! My boyfriend and I had a blast during the treasure hunt. The hunt summarized all the major places in Brighton. It was a perfect thing to do during one day trip.”

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8.Fun, Flexible Treasure Hunt Around Sheffield with Cryptic Clues & Hidden Gems

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 61 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $20

You and your private group follow maps and cryptic clues from Tudor Square, with Captain Bess sending hints, facts, and stories to your phones. The roughly three-hour route visits Sheffield Cathedral, Kelham Island Museum, the Crucible, Peace Gardens, City Hall, and more. Stop for food, coffee, or a pub along the way.

“Had a really good time! We stopped for lunch and coffees along the way and really explored the city. The treasure hunt focuses on general observation and you don't need to have knowledge of the city to do it as it tells you snippets along the way. We really enjoyed it, thank you!”

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9.Immersive Murder Mystery in York, A City Treasure Hunt Experience

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 54 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $20

Start near Clifford’s Tower and follow a 4-kilometre trail through York using Telegram on your phone. Solve 19 riddles tied to a 1491 murder, visit tucked-away streets and optional pub stops, and race your friends on a leaderboard. The private game takes about 2.5 to 3.5 hours and finishes back near the starting point.

“We got to see streets of York that we would never have seen without the experience. The riddles were really fun to try and decipher, very cleverly thought up! We would have enjoyed having a few more pub stops if we were to do it again”

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10.moviESCAPE Stockport SAWtopsy horror themed escape room game

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 42 reviews · 1 hour (approx.)

Enter moviESCAPE Stockport’s SAWtopsy room for a one-hour, English-language horror escape game built around murder, torture, film props and timed puzzles. Hosts such as Amber and Matt guide you with hints when needed. Expect strobe lighting, a 12+ age rule, and a wheelchair-friendly layout in SAWtopsy.

“Thanks so much to Amber for hosting our experience. We had a fantastic time!”

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11.moviESCAPE Stockport Merlin’s Magic Academy Escape Room Game

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 33 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)

At moviESCAPE’s former Victorian cotton mill in Stockport, you and your private group become apprentice witches and wizards. Over about 90 minutes, you’ll solve mystical puzzles, make enchanted potions, use real wands, and search for a mythical beast. English only, with free lockers and a team photo sent by email.

“Went as a party of 8 with family and friends. Really fun time and challenging but not too hard. Teenage children enjoyed it too and had to switch on their brains.”

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12.The Treasures of Bloodaxe – A Fun Viking Treasure Hunt in York

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 21 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $8Best value

Meet Eric Bloodaxe, York’s last Viking King, through a chat on your phone. He sends you around the city from Exhibition Square with riddles tied to objects along the route. Solve each answer to uncover the treasure. The private game lasts about 90 minutes and suits families, couples, and small groups.

“Fun, different way to visit a city, follow the clues make the time.pass quickly, easy information, but made you think to solve the clues”

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13.Immersive Treasure Hunt Adventure in York – Outdoor Escape Room

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 6 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $20

This private CityDays adventure sends you around central York from the Constantine the Great meeting point. Use cryptic phone messages to solve 19 clues, uncover landmarks and lesser-known corners, and help stop York becoming modern-day Atlantis. The 5-kilometre route takes about 2.5 to 3.5 hours, with optional pub or cafe breaks.

“Sadly, having done similar outdoor city escape rooms before, this one was a bit of a let down. The "plot" (trying to avoid the flooding of the city of York by the Kraken) was a little convoluted and introduced part way through the process. It therefore didn't have much impact. There were some texts that explained locations and their history but these needed to be formatted differently to the clue/instruction type texts. A couple of clues were really annoying. One coukld have been better worded so as to avoid going down a wrong path only to find an totally plausible (but totally wrong answer). Also, following "white walls" lead to…”

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14.Oxford Tour App, Hidden Gems Game and Big Britain Quiz (1 Day Pass) UK

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 4 reviews

Use your phone to explore Oxford at your own pace with GPS map pins, Oxford quiz questions, riddles, and treasure-hunt tasks. The one-day pass covers one device for a group of up to 10 people. Expect independent exploring, plenty of walking, and a playful route through famous sights and lesser-known corners.

“It was good fun racing around trying to collect as many points as we could. Think we walked about 8 miles and didn't manage to get everything but saw a lot of the city in passing (lots of it several times when going around in circles).”

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