London adventure
Brownies set off on an adventure to help Paddington Bear solve a mystery, with a giant game of Cluedo spread across London.
A crime has been committed in London! We helped Paddington undercover the clues at each location, and through a process of elimination, discover who committed the crime, where it took place, and what they used.
Our game
Playing and travelling together, as a group, 2 cards were revealed at each location starting at Crystal Palace Maze followed by the nearby Dinosaur trail, continuing at the o2, Paddington Station, Little Venice, Buckingham Palace, and Leicester Square. Each card eliminated a suspect, item or place from our enquiry.
Our investigation centred around 7 locations, 5 suspects and 5 items. Mr Curry, Millicent Clyde, Phoenix Buchanan, Judge Gerald Biggleswade, and Andre the Thief, potentially using a Marmalade Sandwich, Suitcase, Steam Train, Pop Up Book or Umbrella.
Before we began, without looking at the 17 cards, 1 location, suspect and item card were placed into an envelop. The remaining 14 cards were then mixed up together and 2 placed in an envelop for each location. It doesn’t matter if this ends up being 2 items, 2 people, or 2 places. This way no one has to know the answer until it is revealed at the end of the game.
As an added twist, we each made predictions ahead of play, to see if anyone successfully guest the person, place and item.
Alternatives
You could play against each other, with each player having a turn to make a suggestion at each location. Check out the Girlguiding LASER Cluedo challenge for more detective fun.
Our adventure
Crystal Palace
Travelling there by train and bus, we visited 2 locations in Crystal Palace park: the maze and the dinosaur trail.
The maze was redesigned and renovated to mark the launch of Girlguiding’s Centenary celebrations in 2009, as the park is considered to be the birthplace of Girlguiding. The dinosaur trail features over 30 Grade-1 listed sculptures, the first ever attempt to model full-scale replicas of extinct animals. Whilst today they are known for they inaccuracies, they were pioneering reconstructions for the mid-nineteenth century.
The o2
Following a trip on the Overground and Jubilee line via Canada Water, we arrived at our third location, the o2. Then it was up and away, over the Thames, with a cable car ride, a quick opportunity to ‘drive’ the DLR train, and then off to Paddington on the Elizabeth line.
Paddington Station and Little Venice
We headed straight to platform 1 where, under the clock, we found Paddington Bear. From the Grand Union Canal exit we walked to Little Venice for lunch.
Girlguiding and Buckingham Palace
A Circle line train brought us down from Paddington Station. Before visiting our 6th location, Buckingham Palace, we stopped off at Girlguiding.
Leicester Square
From Green Park, via the Piccadilly line, to the final stop on our trail, Leicester Square. A chance to sit with Paddington Bear on the bench in front of the Odeon cinema, where the film premieres were held. A walk down to Charing Cross and straight onto a train back to West Wickham…
Transport bingo!
We travelled by national rail, bus, Overground, Underground (Jubilee, Circle and Piccadilly), cable car, DLR, Elizabeth line, and on foot. These Brownies definately earned their London badge!
