Congratulations on finding this page - this is the first step in taking part in our Techno-Treasure Hunt! The treasure hunt takes place around Birmingham on Saturday 9 July from 11am to 4pm and will require you to use your Sat Nav, other GPS device or mobile internet to find four secret historic locations.
How It Works
At each location, you'll meet a costumed character, who will explain to you why they are in that particular site, and give you the co-ordinates for the next stage of your hunt. You'll also log your details with them.
When you have found all four re-enactors, you will be entered into a prize draw to win family tickets to English Heritage's Festival of History, which takes place on 16 & 17 July at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire. Tickets are worth £52 so it is well-worth persevering with the hunt!
Your starting location is: 52.479433, -1.906933
Or in analogue: N 52 degrees, 28 minutes 45.5658 seconds, W 1 degree, 54 minutes 24.9192 seconds
If you need a hint, think back to 1914-18 - a soldier awaits your recollections!
Hints and Tips
If you are an experienced 'geocacher' who is used to using GPS positions to find locations, you probably don't need any further instructions - just get started! However, if you have never done this before, here are some hints and tips to get you going:
- The co-ordinates are presented as decimal numbers in Longitude and Latitude. For example, 52.47777 -1.89885 is the GPS location of New Street Station in Birmingham (don't get them the wrong way around, or you'll end up somewhere in the Indian Ocean!)
To use these co-ordinates to find a location, either:
- Put them into Google Maps (http://maps.google.co.uk) making sure you leave a space between the first one and the minus sign. The green arrow points to the spot you are looking for, and the re-enactor might be within a few metres of this spot.
- Use your GPS device (a hand-held Sat Nav or mobile phone sat nav). When you search for a location, most sat navs will allow you to put in GPS co-ordinates and then translate this into a street location.
What if you have not got a GPS device?
Don't worry - there will also be traditional treasure trail clues for those who do not have smart phones or GPS devices, so you'll still be able to join in!
Top Tips
- Make sure you register with the historical character at each point - if you don't, you won't be eligible for the prize draw
- Test that your technology works with our GPS positions by testing the example above
- As our trail uses real people, rather than objects to find, there is a slim chance that they might be answering a call of nature when you are looking for them! In this case, a member of the Festival of History team will be standing in for them - look for the person in a Festival of History t-shirt.
- Make sure your GPS device is fully charged: although the trail only takes around an hour to go from the starting point to the end, you don't want your battery to die halfway round!
If you've completed the trail - congratulations, you have just completed your first Geocache! Geocaching is the official name for this kind of techno-treasure hunt, and is a popular pursuit for families around the globe.
