{Edinburgh} Murder Mystery Trail around The Meadows

Four years ago, I wrote a Murder Mystery Trail around the Hermitage of Braid Nature Reserve here in Edinburgh, for my older son’s lockdown birthday. This year, my younger son requested a murder mystery for his birthday too. I thought I could get away with reusing his brother’s trail, but no, he wanted one written just for him. Fair enough. We settled on The Meadows as it’s central, and we were able to book a nearby church hall to retreat to for party food after the trail. It all went well, my son loved it, and the party guests enjoyed themselves. Anyway, back to the trail. Now it’s finished and tested, I can share it with you!

How does the trail work?

The trail follows a circular route around the west side of The Meadows. After setting the scene, you follow the trail clue by clue, with each clue giving you a name or a number. The names help you eliminate suspects from a list, but it’s not always straight forward (can’t make it too easy!) for example there might be nicknames used, a surname appearing as a first name, or part of a word matching part of a name. Cross of the names one by one, and the last name left is the killer!

For the numbers, there is a code grid, with each number corresponding to a letter. For example, if the answer is ’65’ the letter would be ‘Y’. At the end of the trail, unscramble all the letters you have collected to find out how the murder took place.

What will you need?

You will need to print off the trail sheets, and bring something to write with. We discovered that a clipboard to lean on is also helpful. If you want to save on paper/ printing, you could just print off the last page – which has the suspect list and code grid to record your answers – and read the clues on a mobile device. There’s an answer sheet included too, and some certificates to print out and hand out at the end if that’s your kind of thing. If you get lost, there’s a Google map available which has all the points of the route marked out.

• Murder Mystery Trail (PDF)
• Answer Sheet (PDF)
• Trail Route (Google Maps)
• Super Sleuth Certificate (PDF) – SINGLE // DOUBLE*

* The SINGLE has one certificate in size A4, and the DOUBLE has two to a page so will give you two A5 certificates.

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What are the start and end points?

The trail starts at the corner of Melville Drive and Lonsdale Terrace (Edinburgh EH3 9HN), on the very west end of The Meadows. I had intentionally chosen this when deciding on the order of the questions, as it’s diagonally opposite the playground in Bruntsfield Links. We used the playground as a meeting point, so the kids could have a wee play while we waited for everyone to arrive. The trail ends at the Pavilion Cafe, next to Jawbone Walk. Again, I intentionally chose this as the end point as you could combine it with a visit to the cafe at the end (though in this case we were heading to church for part two of the party, as mentioned above).

How long will it take?

When my husband and I walked the final trail before the party, it took us about half an hour, but of course we already knew the answers at that point. I thought it would take much longer with the kids, but they raced through it – I made the mistake of splitting them in to two groups, so then they were racing each other to see who could finish first – so it only took us about 40 minutes.

What age is it for?

Although it’s a murder mystery, and it does mention death, there is nothing gruesome about the trail and its story. It was written for my younger son’s 10th birthday, but when we did the same kind of thing four years ago for his brother, my younger son was 6 and still able to join in as long as someone helped read out the clues. There is a lot of spotting things and counting things, and only two questions with slightly more advanced maths. So I’d say 6+ for a mixed age group.

Is there a prize?

There’s no prize included, unless you want to print off and hand out the certificates. It’s just a trail I wrote for personal use, which I am sharing here for other families to benefit from. You could take along some chocolate or other treat to hand out at the end, or visit the Pavilion Cafe (where the trail ends) as a ‘reward’.

Is the trail free?

Yes, the trail is free for you to download for personal use. There is no sign ups or anything needed, just click on the download links and save to your computer. I want it to be accessible to as many people as possible. However – and this is entirely optional – if you enjoy the trail and would like to support me with a small donation on Ko-fi, it would be much appreciated. Just hit the support button. Thank you x