Kathy Brown - Gold Trail Writing Partner

Kathy tells us about how she got hooked into Treasure Trails and how they now form the basis of busman's holidays!

After several years studying and working in IT, I had already decided it was time for a change when, in 2010 I came across Treasure Trails' Amanda Ingham on Twitter. Having always loved treasure hunts and puzzles - and involved to quite a degree over the years with various international ‘armchair treasure hunting’ communities - I was intrigued. I went and tried the Odiham Treasure Trail, the closest one to home, with my family. We all loved the concept and the easy blend of something fun and educational, and then I saw that Treasure Trails were looking for new Trail Writers. At that time, Surrey and London were still available. I couldn't resist the opportunity to write Trails for London, a city that I love and wanted to explore even more, so I took the plunge!

That was the start of a whole new adventure for me. In late 2010 I learned the secrets of Trail-writing 'fairy dust' and set about creating a set of memorable and enjoyable Treasure Trails across London. Later on, I was lucky enough to add several other regions into my portfolio. I now manage the Trails in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, Essex, Kent, East Sussex and the Isle of Wight as well as my home town of Farnham. In addition I run Discovery Games UK, which complements my Treasure Trails work but focuses on larger group dynamics. This means providing educational trails and games for school trips and students visiting the UK, for team building events and private parties. I have also been commissioned to create games and trails for commercial clients, including housebuilders, trade associations and children's toy companies.

My other passion is parkrun. My husband Geoff and I are committed parkrunners, volunteers and tourists. We have a travel blog, Running + Exploring which recounts our tales of weekend trips to visit different parkruns around the UK and overseas, and our exploration of nearby cities, towns and villages which follows on, often with a Treasure Trail in hand! Busman's holiday? Who can blame me?

We're also slightly famous from having appeared on the BBC quiz show ‘Pointless’ in 2015. Well, our mums think so! We won trophies, but sadly, not the cash!