History Hunter

You're a History Hunter! Whether it's rainy days soaking up knowledge in your local museum, exploring medieval market towns or roaming around Roman ruins and Regency halls, to you, an adventure isn’t complete without discovering a little historical nugget along the way. You like to keep your eyes peeled to observe all the sights when you explore and will often stop at plaques along the way. You prefer to ditch devices and see where your journey takes you - the less time spent looking at your phone, the more time you have to spot extraordinary landmarks. At home, you love curling up in a comfy chair with a hot drink and a good book, and you know that winter nights were made for movies (as long as they're historically accurate!).

Your History Hunter Bucket List

Your challenge is to: Step back in Time! We have 15 challenges plus bonus challenges for you to choose from. Will you complete 5, 10 or all 15 along with all three bonus challenges?

1. Museum challenge: Visit one of the UK's brilliant Living History Museums, like the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley or St Fagans National Museum of History near Cardiff.

2. Hidden Gem challenge: Explore 'off the beaten track' in a historical town or city. Photograph any interesting features and find out more about them at home.

3. Railway challenge: Travel in style and take a scenic steam train ride. You could even make a day of it and channel your inner Poirot on a steam train murder mystery evening, like these ones hosted by Dean Forest Railway!

4. Castle challenge: Pick a castle to visit and find out the name of someone who lived, visited or fought there in the past. When you visit, only answer to that name.

5. Fashion challenge: Kick it up a notch and dress for the occasion…in fancy dress! Visit Chester dressed as a Roman, Lindisfarne as a Viking, or London as Boudicca reincarnated. You might get some curious looks, but you’ll have a lot of laughs.

6. Miles challenge: Ask an elderly friend or relative to take you on a tour of their hometown, complete with tales of their life there and what it looked like in their younger days.

7. Antiques challenge: Visit somewhere with plenty of second hand and antique shops, split into teams with a budget (real or hypothetical) and have a Bargain Hunt afternoon searching for the best deals.

8. Food challenge: Research a historical recipe and attempt to recreate it. If you really love cooking, consider hosting a dinner party with a theme (Medieval, Tudor, Ancient Greek, etc.) and serving three courses from that era.

9. Compass challenge: Ditch the devices and explore somewhere new using only paper maps and signposts, plus a compass to get your bearings if you have one!

10. Film or TV challenge: Watch a new period movie or TV show you've had your eye on, then plan a visit to one of the filming locations.

11. Old challenge: Discover where the oldest building in your county is, then go and check it out.

12. Literature challenge: Read that classic novel that's been sat unread on your bookshelf, or choose historical fiction if classics aren't your cup of tea.

13. Historical challenge: Compile a 2022 time capsule full of photographs and keepsakes. When full, write a letter to your future self, put it on the top, then lock and hide the capsule. Avoid the temptation to reopen it for as long as possible! 

14. Dinosaurs challenge: Follow some pretty big footsteps and go fossil hunting - you'll find a list of the best places to seek them here.

15. Royal challenge: Research a monarch that intrigues you and do a fun project on them - it could be a profile, a list of quirky facts about their reign, a report, a collage, or whatever you'd like!

Bonus 1. Embark on a quest to locate a missing artefact on a treasure hunt themed Treasure Trail! Complete your quest and submit your answer to complete this challenge. 

Bonus 2. Become a secret agent for the day and go on a spy themed Treasure Trail. Complete your mission and submit your answer to complete this challenge.

Bonus 3. Search for evidence and crack the case on a detective mystery themed Treasure Trail. Complete your investigations and submit your answer to complete this challenge. 

Adventure changes the way you see the world for the better - something we all need after the last few years! So, tap into your inner historian, step out of the front door with your eyes wide open and make this your year of adventure!

Picking challenges can give you something to aim for, and sprinkling them throughout the year gives you something to look forward to, but pledging them makes you much more likely to succeed! Take a look at the challenges and decide how many you want to pledge to do: 5, 10 or 15.

Make your pledge below to confirm your commitment! We'll then email you a PDF of your challenges to print out and stick on the fridge or other prime spot in your home...

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Worried you might have clicked a wrong option, don’t feel like you’re a History Hunter or just don't fancy tackling any of the tasks on this bucket list? Don’t worry – click here to retake the quiz!