Aylsham - Market Town & Grounds

Navigating The Route

This is a circular Detective Mystery around Aylsham Market Town & Grounds, with Detectives investigating after Ruby Dubidoux, a well-respected dog trainer, has been found collapsed during a morning walk - follow the paw prints, gather evidence around Aylsham and sniff out the culprit before they strike again.

The case covers approximately 2 miles and should take around 2 hours to complete. You'll begin outside the Railway Station, search through this traditional Norfolk market town on the banks of the River Bure, investigate the Market Place and Town Hall, enter the church grounds, and return to the start area near the car park.

The route you'll follow is pretty level, so is wheelchair and pushchair accessible. Ground is generally good underfoot, but there are sections with no pavements, a few roads to cross, a hill to climb, and places where the road narrows and the pavement vanishes. Later in the route there is also a lightly gravelled path and a narrow pavement.

Take extra care around road crossings, no-pavement sections and narrowing roads, especially if you have younger children or sniffer hounds with you.

Getting There

By car: Start your investigation outside the Railway Station (NR11 6HU). Station Road (NR11 6HU) is the recommended parking spot - you may find free parking here, but beware the Railway Station is for railway users only. If no spaces are available at Station Road, use Burgh Road (NR11 6AJ) or The Buttlands (NR11 6DS).

By public transport: Make your way to the start outside the Railway Station (NR11 6HU) to begin the case. The circular route returns to the start area near the car park once the evidence has been gathered.

Need the Loo?

Detectives can find toilets at Clues 07 and 19, and inside the supermarket.

Bring Your Furry Sidekicks

This Trail is dog friendly with possible restrictions, so four-legged Detectives can join the investigation. 🐾

Keep canine colleagues close around road crossings, no-pavement sections, narrowing roads, the narrow pavement and the lightly gravelled path later in the route. Any sniffer hound tempted to follow Ruby Dubidoux's paw prints should stay safely under control.

Food & Drink Stops

Evidence-gathering is hungry work. There are snack shops around the Market Place, various refreshment stops along the way, and a supermarket at the start and end of the Trail route for supplies.

Want to Make a Day of It?

Aylsham Market Place and Town Hall

The Trail passes through Aylsham's Market Place, part of this traditional Norfolk market town on the banks of the River Bure. The Town Hall, town sign and a plaque all form part of the town-centre evidence trail, with snack shops nearby if your Detectives need a refuel.

Black Boys Inn

The Black Boys Inn can be traced back to the 15th century and has welcomed some very famous patrons, including Daniel Defoe, Horatio Nelson and Princess Victoria. In 1814, a ball to celebrate the end of the Napoleonic War was held there - a rather grand clue from Aylsham's past.

Aylsham Church grounds and Humphry Repton's memorial

The investigation enters the church grounds, where the war memorial can be found and where Repton's mortal remains are located. He was the last of the great English garden designers of the 18th century and is often credited with the origin of the phrase 'landscape garden'.

Aylsham's former canal history

Aylsham was once linked to Great Yarmouth by canal. The huge floods of 1912 washed the canal away, and with new rail links removing much of the water-borne trade, it was never dredged and repaired - a watery twist in the town's evidence file.