Nunney Treasure Trail
A new mystery walk around the picturesque village of Nunney and its castle has been launched. The aim is for participants to solve the mystery of who took the legendary Nunney Diamonds and where they are now.
Nunney is a beautiful village steeped in history, just 2 miles outside Frome. The centrepiece is the spectacular moated ruin of medieval Nunney Castle, inspired by French castles seen by Sir John de la Mare on campaign. Managed by English Heritage, entry is free. The walls are largely intact and it is in perfect scale with its surroundings.
Legend has it that during the English Civil Wars (1642-51) Colonel Richard Prater, who held the castle until 1645, kept a large amount of money, named 'diamonds' after the shape of the coins, in order to pay the nine Irish soldiers defending the castle against Fairfax, the commander of Cromwell's forces. The castle was besieged for three days, but capitulated when Cromwell's men used cannon to blast a great hole in the north wall of the castle. The diamonds were never found and local tales say that Prater managed to hide his treasure somewhere in Nunney by using secret tunnels.
The Trail is about 1 1/2 miles long and will take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours to complete. The walk is not organised on any particular date, but can be done at any time of year. During the walk, the booklet gives you fun facts about Nunney's history and points of interest you may otherwise fail to notice. Part of the route is a lovely scenic section on a public footpath across fields and alongside Nunney Brook. An alternative route is available if it has been raining as the path may be muddy. Unfortunately the Trail is not suitable for pushchairs of wheelchairs.
The people behind the Nunney walk are Maria and Mike Maria Norsworthy, who manage Somerset for Treasure Trails Ltd, a gold medal award-winning company that specialises in providing fun, healthy and informative leisure activities. There are currently over 290 Trails available across the UK, including 18 walks in Somerset. Mike says, "We are a family that love the outdoors and enjoy walking and cycling with our 10 year old son Newton. We have completed many Trails ourselves across the country from Cornwall to Scotland and have thoroughly enjoyed them whatever the weather."
The Trails are a fun, healthy, and educational way to get you out and about exploring. Some Trails require you to solve a murder mystery whilst others require you to find the location of hidden treasure, or crack the code to save the world. Great for a family day out or fun with your partner or friends.
Trails can be done in your own time and at your own pace, and, at only £5 per Trail, it's affordable fun. Each Trail is a series of clues that you have to solve whilst you explore your chosen location. The clues are all set on permanent features such as gravestones, signposts, information boards, memorials, drain covers, post boxes etc. The answer to each clue will be a name, word or date.
The Trails are themed and are either Murder Mystery, Treasure Hunt or Spy based, so the answer to each clue eliminates a suspect/weapon or a location, or gives a code letter which you cross-off from your list when you find it. When you have completed the Trail you should be left with only one name, (the whodunnit), the location of the hidden treasure or the code to de-activate the nuclear device. And by this time you have had a good walk (or cycle), lots of fun, and learnt about the local history.
Each copy of the Treasure Trail has a unique reference number. This number is required when you submit your answer to the mystery of the Nunney Diamonds, with each entry being entered into a cash prize draw.
The Nunney Treasure Trail is sponsored by The George at Nunney, an historic country inn opposite Nunney Castle. The George at Nunney decided to sponsor the Nunney Treasure Trail as part of its commitment to local community activities.
Under new ownership for exactly one year this week, The George has become a real hub for the lively village community and donated prizes to the Nunney Community Association (NCA) raffle as well as a recent silent auction that raised nearly £2,000 for the replacement of the roof of Nunney's All Saints Church.
Fraser Carruth, owner of The George at Nunney, says: "We get a lot of visitors who ask for interesting walks around the village - and there are few villages more interesting than Nunney! This Treasure Trail is a fun and healthy way of exploring Nunney and learning about its history for people of all ages."
Fraser and co-owner and Head Chef Wayne Carnegie are celebrating their first year at The George at Nunney with a private party for friends and regulars this week. Fraser and Wayne previously owned The Cross Keys at Corsley.
"Nunney has been an amazing experience for us," says Wayne. "The support we received from local community volunteers with everything from a makeover for the walled garden en four-poster bedrooms to setting up our website has been quite overwhelming. As a local business, we do our best to repay the favour by supporting local activities wherever we can."
The Nunney Treasure Trail booklet is available for £5 from The George at Nunney, Church Street, Nunney BA11 4LW and online at www.treasuretrails.co.uk. If you buy a Trail online, you receive it via e-mail as a download which you then print yourself. If you would prefer to receive the Trail in A5 booklet format please phone Mike and Maria on Tel: 07958 877279; #163;1 P&P will be added.
Main photo: Maria and Mike Norsworthy of Treasure Trails Somerset with Fraser Carruth, owner of The George at Nunney. (Photo: John Webb)
