It's well known that Roundhay Park is a place of great beauty, with its gardens, wide open spaces, lakes, cafes, woodland and history making it a great day out for all ages. But not everyone knows that there's a secret in the park, or that the fountains are powered by magic! The Little Friends of Roundhay Park group were aware that there was more to the park than meets the eye, so they hired us at Yorkshire Trails to investigate.
When Yorkshire Trails contacted the fairies and tree folk of the park, we discovered all sorts of amazing wonders and mysteriously magical features. We were also asked to pass on two very important pieces of information, so listen up!
Firstly, The forest fairies of Roundhay Park have been keeping a deep,dark secret for hundreds of years. It is kept locked away in the depths of the forest, protected by a lock, a password and a spell. They only share their secret with the very best Adventurers, those that can complete three tricky tasks. To unlock the secret, you will need to identify the key that fits the lock, work out the password to activate the lock and help the forest fairies complete the spell. Only then will the secret of the Castle be revealed...
Secondly, The Roundhay Tree Folk need your help! The fountains in the park have lost their magical powers. Without the magic, the Tree Folk cannot keep the park in tip top condition. The enchanted flowers will not grow, the grass will turn grey and the magical creatures of the park will all disappear, including the Tree Folk! They need young explorers with magical abilities to help them out.
Our job, here at Yorkshire Trails, was to communicate these challenges to any intrepid explorers visiting the park. We did this by creating two adventure trails with mini routes to follow and tasks to complete. As this was no easy feat, we enlisted the help of the Year 5 pupils of nearby Gledhow and Talbot primary schools. After receiving our special clue-writing training, they creating the clues which must be solved in order to get the password to activate the lock to the secret of the castle. These pupils were also the first brave adventures to try out the adventure trails.
In order to get as many people as possible helping out the fairies and tree folk of Roundhay, we've been asked to recruit adventures from far and wide. If you'd like to have a go...
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE:
For younger explorers, choose The Magical Fountains of Roundhay. Explorers aged 6+ may want to give The Secret of Roundhay Castle.
We recommend that you take some respon
sible adults along with you who are prepared to get stuck into your quest and help you out!
WHERE CAN I GET THE TRAILS?
You can pick up copies at The Mansion conservatory, Tropical World or The Lakeside Cafe. You can also download them from the Little FORP website here: forp.org/little-friends-trails/ And the best thing is, they're completely FREE!
WHAT TO DO:
All the information you need to complete the challenges and tasks are in the trail booklets. They are completely self-guided, so you can do them at anytime and take as long as you need! Each adventure consists of three separate mini-routes, so you can complete them over as many visits as you wish.
We hope you enjoy exploring! Let us know how you get on by using the hashtag #littleforptrails on social media and the fairies will pick it up!
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