Smartphone treasure hunt for Tour de Yorkshire day

Media students at East Riding College have developed a treasure hunt for the digital age as part of Beverley’s Tour de Yorkshire celebrations.

The fun family activity takes participants on a journey through the town centre, completing a digital jigsaw by using their smartphone or tablet device to navigate and QR code scanner to download the pieces.

It has been developed by degree students in association with Beverley Chamber of Trade, which is encouraging businesses to brighten up the town centre with colourful bikes and other decorations ahead of the tour passing through the town.

Ben Richardson, 22, of Beverley said: “This was a really fun and interesting project to work on and we hope people enjoy taking part in the treasure hunt.

“A great part of studying on the degree is working on apps, websites and other projects like this which will be used by real customers, which is valuable experience.”

Lecturer Adam Corkett said: “The students have done an excellent job of this, bringing the traditional treasure hunt right up to date by using smartphone technology.

“The students have been working under the badge of Enterprise Solutions, which is the college’s digital services enterprise.
“We’re hoping that lots of people of all ages take part and it really adds to the buzz around Beverley on the day the Tour de Yorkshire passes through.”

Stage two of the tour will go through Beverley at lunchtime on Saturday May 2, with the route coming into Beverley from Walkington before passing the Minster.

It will then follow Eastgate, Wednesday Market, Champney Road, Lairgate and Molescroft Road on its way out of the town towards Malton.

The digital treasure hunt will be live for entries from 9am on the Saturday and there are 16 pieces to collect, with small commemorative prizes on offer for the first five completed jigsaws to be submitted online via the treasure map web page. The jigsaw will remain available until the end of bank holiday Monday.

Chamber of trade chairman Julian Minshall said: “It’s fantastic the way Beverley has pulled together to present the town to a worldwide audience and this treasure hunt is a great addition to our activities. “You can see the bikes being put up across the town already and by Saturday I’m sure it’s going to look fantastic!”

The chamber has been supported in its Tour de Yorkshire activities by a grant from the High Street Fund through East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

For instructions on following the treasure hunt, go to http://ercsol.co.uk/tourjigsaw/ and for more information about East Riding College, go to www.eastridingcollege.ac.uk