ABOUT THIS CHALLENGE
£1 for every copy of the London - Bloomsbury and Holborn Challenges sold will be donated to Urban Squirrels. Urban Squirrels is HMRC-recognised as a charity, but is not yet registered with the Charity Commission.
The intellectual beating heart of London, Bloomsbury and Holborn blend academia, culture, history, eclecticism, and allure. Bloomsbury is synonymous with bookish charm, leafy garden squares, and the ghosts of literary giants lingering in the air. Holborn, on the other hand, buzzes with legal institutions, ancient pubs, and hidden cultural gems. Both boast world-famous universities, museums, and libraries, and just about every street corner hides a fascinating story.
Your Challenge... It has come to light that Charles Dickens, one of the world’s most celebrated authors and a former Bloomsbury resident, embedded an illuminating cryptic message in one of his many works. Your task is to discover which novel Dickens’ revelation is hidden in by finding and solving 18 clues.
The Walking version will provide you with a great overview of Bloomsbury and Holborn, and lots of interesting facts to store away for future use. It is around four miles long and will take up to three hours to complete. Allow longer for refreshment stops, picnics, and/or taking in points of interest along the way. As with all Challenges, you can start and finish at any clue, and may split it over a couple of days if you wish. NOTE: The route is very flat.
Wishing to start at Clue 1? The nearest Underground stations to Clue 1 are Warren Street (on the Northern and Victoria lines) and Euston Square (on the Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines). Both of these stations are wtihin three minutes walk of Clue 1. The nearest Underground station to the end of the Challenge, Clue 18, is Temple (on the Circle and District lines).
You will pass through numerous gardens squares/parks along the way, so we recommend that you invest in a bag of mixed nuts from the supermarket/corner store to treat the squirrels and other wildlife along the way. Most are quite shy, athough we know of at least one squirrel in Tavistock Square that may climb your leg hoping to be fed a nut or two. Very cute!
You will pass cafes, restaurants and gorgeous pubs in abundance along your way, and both Bloomsbury and Holborn offer numerous fascinating museums, including The British Museum; the largest museum in the world! If you have time to squeeze in a visit to a museum, here are just a few to choose from:
The British Museum
Dickens Museum
Grant Museum of Zoology
Wellcome Collection
The Foundling Museum
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
Sir John Soane's Museum
Huntarian Museum
The Virtual version will take up to two hours to complete, although you can, of course, start and stop whenever you wish. You never know where you will pop up next to find and solve a clue!
Clues, facts and solutions for the two versions are completely different, so if you live near or are visiting London, why not buy both Walking and Virtual versions to discover so much more and enhance your chances of winning the prize draw?
Remember that £1 from each and every Challenge we sell is donated to an animal or environmental chairity. Thank you for joining us in supporting animals and the environment!
London - Bloomsbury and Holborn
Please note that in order to ensure that our customers' Challenge Unique Reference Numbers (URNs) cannot be compromised, only one copy per Challenge version may be purchased in any one order. You may purchase one copy of both versions in a given order, or one copy of different versions of any number of Challenges, but not two or more of the same Challenge version in one order.