Recently Viewed
Southsea Treasure Hunt: Solve the Mystery of the Laughing Sailor
4.7
31 Ratings
Portsmouth
Embark on a thrilling adventure in Southsea to solve the century-old mystery of the Laughing Sailor. Crack clues, uncover hidden messages, and reveal the villain in this unique outdoor escape room experience. Start your journey now!
Embark on a thrilling adventure in Southsea to solve the century-old mystery of the Laughing Sailor. Crack clues, uncover hidden messages, and reveal the villain in this unique outdoor escape room experience. Start your journey now!
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery - Begin an exciting journey at Portsmouth’s City Museum, where you will receive your activity booklet and embark on a quest to uncover the enigmatic Southsea vandal! Take a moment to explore the museum and view the original Laughing Sailor machine, central to this legendary tale, before setting off on your unique…
- Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery - Begin an exciting journey at Portsmouth’s City Museum, where you will receive your activity booklet and embark on a quest to uncover the enigmatic Southsea vandal! Take a moment to explore the museum and view the original Laughing Sailor machine, central to this legendary tale, before setting off on your unique mystery adventure!
-
Southsea Common - After deciphering your first clue at the city museum, your path leads you down the charming and historic Castle Road. Here, you can pause for a drink at Southsea’s CAMRA award-winning hidden gem, ‘The Hole in the Wall’ pub, located just steps from where Arthur Conan Doyle penned his first Sherlock Holmes novels, marking the birthplace of the world-renowned detective!
You will then proceed to Southsea Common, the focal point of the Laughing Sailor mystery and the site of the unfortunate vandalism. Enjoy a leisurely walk among the beautiful trees and expansive green space as you search for your next clue! - The D-Day Story - A brief stroll from Southsea Common brings you to your next clue at the elegant and historic Queens Hotel, where you can enjoy a 20% discount on lunch by presenting the mystery adventure book to the staff (Mon-Thu). From here, continue to the world-renowned D-Day Story, where you can board an original landing craft from the Normandy invasion!
- Southsea Castle - Your subsequent clue is concealed at a Tudor Castle, constructed during the reign of Henry VIII, where Henry himself witnessed the tragic sinking of his prized flagship, the Mary Rose. Enter the castle’s historic gates and relish the view from its ancient ramparts (free entry).
- Palmerston Road - Following your visit to Southsea Castle, consider another optional refreshment stop at the Jolly Sailor pub (10% off food & drink with the mystery booklet), where you can enjoy breathtaking views of Southsea Common from its lovely raised terrace. Your journey then continues to the vibrant shopping and dining street of Palmerston Road, offering a diverse selection of local bars, restaurants, and cafes.
- The Kings Theatre - The final leg of your mystery adventure leads you to Southsea’s renowned Albert Road, home to a wide variety of independent boutiques and hidden shopping treasures. Among these unique shops, you will discover the famous Kings Theatre, a delightful spot for one of your final clues. The adventure concludes at a charming hidden gem of a pub, wrapping up the story and offering a 10% discount on drinks when you present your adventure booklet to the staff. Celebrate your success with a toast as you complete the mystery and experience the ‘wow’ moment when everything falls into place!
What's Included
- Receive 10% off on food & drinks at The Jolly Sailor pub
- Enjoy a comprehensive 40-page colour activity booklet with puzzles, clues, and maps
- Get 10% off on drinks at The Phoenix pub
- Save 20% on lunch at The Queens Hotel (Monday to Thursday)
- Receive 10% off on food & drinks at The Jolly Sailor pub
- Enjoy a comprehensive 40-page colour activity booklet with puzzles, clues, and maps
- Get 10% off on drinks at The Phoenix pub
- Save 20% on lunch at The Queens Hotel (Monday to Thursday)
What's Not Included
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Alcoholic Beverages
Additional Information
The age-old enigma of Southsea…
Puzzling generations for a century…
Has finally met its match.
Embark on this thrilling journey, and the streets of Southsea suddenly transform into a MASSIVE outdoor puzzle game!
✔️ Experience a unique adventure to remember with your pals
✔️ Combine your abilities to solve the riddles & unravel the grand story
✔️ Unveil…
The age-old enigma of Southsea…
Puzzling generations for a century…
Has finally met its match.
Embark on this thrilling journey, and the streets of Southsea suddenly transform into a MASSIVE outdoor puzzle game!
✔️ Experience a unique adventure to remember with your pals
✔️ Combine your abilities to solve the riddles & unravel the grand story
✔️ Unveil Southsea’s fascinating history & secret treasures
In 1910, the crime scene involved Southsea’s symbolic laughing sailor, a devastating act silenced his laughter forever, following an unknown entity breaking the machine.
A deed seeking payback?
No one had a way to tell.
However, the culprit left behind a cluster of hints…
This is where your role starts.
Your mission is to locate concealed items, interpret symbols, and reveal hidden codes, as you rule out suspects & gradually untangle the crime.
And a surprising turn of events lies ahead..
Reach the conclusion and you’ll be met with an astonishing ‘aha’ moment as the mystery unravelled and the culprit stands unmasked in front of you!
Don’t let the wrongdoer slip through your fingers.. Get started right now!
Location
Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery
Museum Road
This is a self-guided treasure hunt which begins at Portsmouth's City Museum, Museum Rd, Portsmouth PO1 2LJ. Simply show the staff a copy of your payment receipt, and they will issue you with your booklet(s).
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(31 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Stefan
Oct 28, 2024
great mystery solving experience - plenty of puzzles to solve in a great location. even had time to fit in some learning about the history of Southsea. my girlfriend and I really enjoyed it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Martynr254
Aug 21, 2023
We’re going on a cake hunt - Had a wonderful time, the journey is flat with great access. The route snd clues were just right. Starting at the Portsmouth Museum it is tempting to have coffee and cake there, but wait a couple of blues and you’ll come across the parade tea rooms with the best cake it Portsmouth. This is the third adventure we’ve completed this year and loved every one
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A5241zekerryh
Jul 5, 2023
Mystery Guides Fan! - We love the 3for2 offer and ordered three most local to us, we have completed Southsea and Southampton (we gifted the third to family). We enjoyed it so much, we’ve now got Portsmouth, Brighton and Winchester to complete. Great fun, gets you thinking and lovely to learn more about the history of the cities around you. We like to take photos at the final stop to keep a memory of each guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Juliegm704gc
Jun 19, 2023
Southsea - Great day out. Lovely day out solving the clues in and around Southsea. Saw some places we didn’t know were there
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelle
Jun 5, 2023
Another great experience - What an amazing experience, totally blown away by the clue writing that’s goes into these books. This is the second one we have done and have a couple more planned. So clever, and it’s great that you can go at your own pace
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patsybell
Feb 25, 2024
A great mystery, lots of fun - back on the walks again...mystery number six in Southsea.
It was very easy to find the start, as always the clues were easy to follow, although one or two seemed well hidden, ( either look up or down!!!).
we enjoyed solving all of it and ended up at the Phoenix Pub.
we were by now quite tired and worked out it would take us another 35 minutes to get back to Portsmouth Harbour station. So we walked back along Duncan Road, turned left and got the number 2 bus (Gunwharf Keys) to take us back to the station. on the way back to the station we realised we were passing Southsea Station so we got off there and caught the train home from there.
We think keep all the clues , but maybe re gig the route so you are not so far away from the beginning if this place is unfamiliar to you?
but otherwise, still a very good experience and lots of new things learned!!
Chester, next , soon.........!!!! :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nigel
Oct 9, 2023
An interesting and fun little walk. - Having done the Southampton Mystery Guide, which was excellent. We thought that we would do the Southsea one. In all honesty the story (the Laughing Sailer) behind the treasure hunt wasn't quite as good as the Southampton (the missing Titanic millions) one, but it was very good. We loved doing it, the clue searching was very easy on this one, and the puzzle was very easily answered. But, the walk was made interesting by the little facts about Southsea that without the booklet we would never have known. This is the second of four that we have planned and I highly recommend them to do as a "you know what, we've got a spare afternoon... Let go for an interesting and fun little walk."
Again congratulations to who ever came up with this idea, just great. Thank you
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennyde2016uk
Sep 15, 2023
Treasure Hunting - Directions/maps easy to follow. We spent a lovely Sunday afternoon completing the treasure hunt. Learnt a few things about some of the places we visited that we did not know before.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Puffinreviewer
Jul 26, 2023
Southsea is a linear trail not circular - Did the Southsea treasure trail recently. Enjoyed it in that it took you around lots of pubs, shops and to the seafront. ...some places you'd never have thought to explore. However, it would have been better if it had not ended in the middle of a residential street with no directions of how to return to the start. It just left us feeling .."what now?" "How do we get back to where we parked?" This is a "linear" treasure trail rather than a circular route so bear in mind it's at least 20 minutes walk ( that's if you can use google maps) back to the start. Without google maps it will definitely take you longer !
Maybe the trails could be updated to advise routes back to the start in addition to the average length and time it may take to complete (should you not stop anywhere)?
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristinabw9586th
May 4, 2023
Check when it starts - We thought this would be a good way of walking around the area and stop off at a few pubs along the way. We got to the museum around 10.30 got our programme of clues. Had a look around the museum, which was good before getting started on the clues.
Got to the first pub...closed!! Ok...Got to the 2nd pub ....closed!!! Every pub was closed. Nothing opened until 4pm!!!! Even the shops were shut.
Nothing/nobody told us this and I checked the website again and again. If we had been told this we would have started at 4pm because it was good fun, if the pubs had been open it would have been great.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
More activities from this operator
