Everything You Wanted To Know About The New East Grinstead Treasure Hunt

Posted on: 27/04/2021

East Grinstead is in West Sussex, despite being situated in a more easterly position than some places in East Sussex. It is in fact on the borders of East Sussex,Surrey and Kent. Up to 1974 it was actually in East Sussex, but after that time it was re-classified as being in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex! Confused? Care? If it helps, West Grinstead is also in West Sussex.
One thing that is clear and will not change, is that, from today, East Grinstead will be the latest addition to our treasure hunt list of walking treasure hunts across Sussex. Last year it was the turn of Arundel and Bognor Regis and this time East Grinstead gains full recognition.
So what caused East Grinstead`s elevation to the ranks and what can you expect from the route around the town? Well, initial attention was drawn to East Grinstead as a potential treasure hunt venue with a personalised birthday treasure hunt request at the end of 2020. The only problem was that lockdown 3 intervened and I was unable to get over there to check it out. That is until recently with the slight relaxing of rules outside.
The trip over to East Grinstead was pretty smooth for me and in fact on several occasions I saw signage towards my driving treasure hunt that ends in Hartfield. The nearest walking treasure hunts though are probably in Lindfield and Cuckfield, which are still a bit of distance. Having accessed the Queensway car park over the far side (for me) of town, I was ready to explore.
The library provided an early, easy win with an interesting history of East Grinstead noticeboard. From here I soon discovered that the town is actually on the Meridian line, which I didn`t know. I live not too far from Peacehaven which has the same claim to fame, so it would be interesting to find out how any towns in England (or Sussex) this applies to.Getting properly into the town you can see more than remnants of its historical past. It has the longest continuous run of 14th century timber framed buildings in England no less. No spoiler alerts about the questions on route, but there is a church, a museum and a theatre to discover too. Also, when was the last time you saw a massive water tower and discovered it was actually a family home?! Never? Me neither, but you will love this fact when you get to Q18. 
All ages will be able to contribute to answering questions on this route. Children will be looking out for flags,weapons,sweets and sportsmen amongst other things, whilst those of you with a more dark sense of humour/interest(delete where applicable!) will be interested by martyrs and church chaos.
Reviewing this hunt now I realise that East Grinstead has a lot to offer. The McIndoe sculpture is very interesting and relates to a man I had never heard of who performed remarkable plastic surgery on pilots facially disfigured in WWII.
Maybe not quite circular, but you are well on the way to returning to the original car park when you complete the last question. It gives you a chance to have a bite to eat or drink in the pleasant High St before you leave or return home.Before I leave you with one final link to the East Grinstead treasure hunt webpage, here are some fun facts about the town`s popular culture links:

• East Grinstead is mentioned a couple of times in Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was mentioned that several letters come from the "East Grinstead Friday."
• East Grinstead is mentioned and has scenes set in the town in Torchwood: Children of Earth.
• East Grinstead is mentioned in the 2015 Blur song Lonesome Street.
• The cold war spy thriller "The Whistle Blower" (1986) starring Michael Caine mentions East Grinstead as the home of retired spy "Mr X".                                                                                                                  I hope you enjoy your visit to East Grinstead when you get the chance. Check out more information on how to access the treasure hunt here.