Bristol Old City Murder Mystery Trail
The Curse of Calico’s Compass
£12.99 – £14.99
Only one purchase required for a group of
up to 6 people
Discover historic landmarks & hidden gems
Find clues & solve escape room-like puzzles
Self-guided tour – do whenever you like & at your own pace
Plenty of historic pubs along the route
Instant download. Print & go now!
Would you like to explore the historic streets of Bristol’s Old City while solving a swashbuckling murder mystery? 🏴☠️🦜🏝️
Well, you’ve come to the right place, detective! The Curse of Calico’s Compass is a puzzle-filled immersive treasure hunt with a buccaneering adventure theme, and of course, a whodunit twist. Embark on a thrilling journey through Bristol’s Old City on this self-guided city tour experience. Along the way, you’ll discover a trove of hidden gems and solve escape room-like puzzles to ultimately deduce which wannabe-pirate is the culprit. Are you ready to get your sleuth on?!
Sending as a gift? Add a FREE Christmas greetings card to your order! 🎁🎅
Average Tripadvisor rating (across all trails) is 4.9/5. Read reviews.
Special offer! Purchase the Harbourside & Redcliffe AND Old City Murder Mystery Trails together and save £5.98 with the discount code “BRISTOLEXPLORER”.
About this thrilling trail
This puzzle-filled Bristol treasure hunt with a whodunit twist has the perfect route plotted out to ensure you see an abundance of highlights in the city centre!
The Curse of Calico’s Compass – Bristol Murder Mystery Trail is a self-guided walking tour that navigates you past historic architecture and must-see landmarks including:
- St. Peter’s Church (a ruined church in Castle Park)
- Everard’s Printing Works
- St. John on the Wall (the last remaining medieval city gateway)
- Christmas Steps
- Bristol’s Cenotaph
- The Exchange (AKA The Corn Exchange)
- St. Nicholas Market
- The cobbled 17th century King Street
- Plenty of historic pubs ideal for a pitstop
- And many more hidden gems
This Bristol treasure hunt navigates through the historic Old City, which starts outside, St. Peter’s Church, a ruined church in Castle Park, and ends on the cobbled 17th century King Street, the perfect spot for a celebratory drink! For the steadfast mystery solvers, our Harbourside and Redcliffe trail begins on King St, so after a pitstop in a historic pub to celebrate completing this trail, you could carry on the adventure from here with the other one! As our puzzle trails are self-guided, you can even complete them over a couple of days if you wish.
The Old City trail route is slightly hilly and there is one large set of steps to ascend up Christmas Steps near the start of the trail, but it’s downhill from there! The total length is approx. 2.5km. Allow 2-2.5 hours to appreciate your surroundings, and complete the trail at a leisurely pace. There are plenty of refreshment stops and photo opportunities along the way! Check out our ‘pints of interest‘ section for historic pub suggestions along the trail.
The cryptic puzzles and immersive whodunit story make this trail feel more like an outdoor escape room at times. This Bristol Murder Mystery Trail makes a great day out for tourists and locals alike. Available for instant download. So, what are you waiting for?!
Note: We recommend printing this trail out (or ordering a printed copy) rather than following it on your phone, as one puzzle, in particular, functions using the physical paper sheets. Also, please print this trail single-sided (not double-sided).
Bristol trail statistics:
- Start location: St Peter’s Church, Castle Park, BS1 3XB (view on Google Maps)
- End location: On King Street, the perfect spot for a celebratory drink in a historic pub!
- Clue difficulty: 3.5/5
- Duration: ~2-2.5 hours
- Distance: 2.5km
- Terrain: Moderate steps
- Wheelchair/buggy accessible: No*
The case synopsis:
Embark on a treacherous adventure to unearth the truth behind the death of an esteemed Archaeology Professor. Armed with a truth-seeking mystical compass discovered in the victim’s secret stash, you must follow a trail of enigmatic clues to unravel the mystery and deduce which member of a buccaneering LARP society is the culprit! Prepare for a perilous yo-ho-homicide!
Trail overview:
- A murder mystery-themed self-guided walking tour around Bristol Old City
- A unique blend of walking tour, treasure hunt and escape room-like elements
- Discover historical landmarks and hidden gems as you follow the route
- Solve clues to uncover evidence, eliminate suspects and other implicated elements, and ultimately deduce whodunit
- Self-guided tour – do whenever you like and at your own pace
- Instantly downloadable. Print onto A4 paper, and you're ready to go
- Alternatively, you can follow the trail using any smartphone or tablet device (see below)
- Ideal for groups of 2-6 people. Only one purchase required per group, so it makes for an affordable day out
- Whether a local or visiting somewhere new, our trails are the best way to explore and learn about your surroundings.
- Solve correctly, and you'll receive a certificate and a voucher towards your next trail!
& hidden gems
solve puzzles
to crack the case!
- Discover landmarks & hidden gems
- Find clues & solve puzzles
- Deduce whodunit to crack the case!
Download, print & go!
Our trails are self-guided walking tours, allowing you to sleuth around at your own pace and take as many detours and pit stops as you wish. We’ve investigated all the highlights each location offers, carefully crafting them into each trail. There are plenty of must-see landmarks, selfie opportunities, traditional pubs, and refreshment stops along each route. So, get ready to unlock a whole new world of adventure, as city breaks will never be the same again!
Simply download and print the trail in colour onto A4 paper, and you’re ready to go. No access to a printer? No worries. Alternatively, you can view the PDF trail using any tablet or smartphone device. Make sure to bring along a pen and paper to sketch out occasional clues and note down your answers to complete the finale metapuzzle with a celebratory refreshment. Learn more...
Who is the trail aimed at?
Prepare for a journey filled with hidden gems, fascinating factoids, cryptic puzzles, and intriguing mysteries — perfect for anyone who loves adventure! Our puzzle-filled trails make for a thrilling city break or day out with spouses, friends, colleagues and the whole family. If you enjoy escape rooms, puzzles, scavenger hunts, ghost and historical tours, murder mysteries or board games, you’re in for a killer time. Before you’ve even solved your first Murder Mystery Trail, you’ll be dying to do another!
If you're looking for a stag party or hen-do treasure hunt, then our Murder Mystery Trails are great entertainment and an ideal ice-breaker. Everyone will get to know each other while solving clues and exploring the local area. Plus, there are plenty of traditional pubs and refreshment stops en route! As our trails are self-guided, you can take as many pitstops and detours as you wish. For larger groups, please purchase an additional copy for every six people. For example, ten people require two purchases of a trail. Here are some tips for larger groups.
Plot a killer day out in Bristol
Bristol: A Treasure Trove of History, Art, and Adventure.
Bristol is a vibrant city with a magnetic charm and offers a mosaic of experiences.
A bounty of historical landmarks
Once Bristol’s bustling central shopping district, Castle Park endured severe damage during the 1940 Blitz. St Peter’s Church (the starting point of this trail) is a ruined church in Castle Park, gutted during the bombing, and its exterior walls are preserved as a memorial. Thankfully, the area west of Castle Park, encompassing Broad Street, Corn Street and St. Nicholas Street, largely survived. This thriving area of the Old City stands as a testament to Bristol’s enduring heritage and contains many stunning historic buildings and architectural wonders to admire along this trail route.
Pirate and Maritime heritage
For those fascinated by tales of daring buccaneers, Bristol has a boatload of maritime history and pirate legacies to discover. Stroll along Princes Wharf and step aboard The Matthew (free entry), a replica of John Cabot’s ship on which he discovered North America (our Harbourside & Redcliffe Trail ends outside here). Visit The SS Great Britain, the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853, to relive the golden age of travel. And discover historic pubs frequented by pirates centuries ago, inspiring some of the greatest adventure novels ever written.
Museums, Galleries & Street Art
Bristol is home to world-class museums and galleries where you can journey through its cultural and historical tapestry, notably The Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, M Shed, and Arnolfini, boasting diverse exhibitions that are all free entry! Bristol is proudly the hometown of the elusive street artist Banksy. You can spot two of his thought-provoking and whimsical street art pieces along our Bristol Harbourside & Redcliffe Murder Mystery Trail.
So, if you’re searching for an immersive, puzzle-filled way to discover Bristol, call off the search! Both of our Bristol treasure hunts leave you with a clear understanding of what each area has to offer and a big smile on your face.
Inspect all of our murder mystery-themed trails in South West England.
*Buggy/wheelchair accessibility: The route passes up a large set of steps on Christmas Steps (Clues 3 and 4 are solved at each end) and down Market Steps in Direction 13.1. See our suggested detours to avoid these. Please note that some road crossing points may not have dropped kerbs, and some of the route has cobbled streets. Head to Visit Bristol’s Accessible page and Euan’s Guide for more local information.
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What our trail detectives say...
Fantastic! 5*”
Received this as part of my birthday present and what a fantastic present it was! We had so much fun following the trail and solving the riddles and clues. We enjoyed stopping off at the “pints of interest” and finding out the history of places. I’d never been to Chester before and this trail made sure we got to see and explore everything. The effort put into these trails is incredible – from the trail itself to the riddles, illustrations and thought put into it. I would definitely recommend anyone and everyone to do the Chester murder mystery trail, it was great! I’m looking forward to doing another murder mystery trail in another city very soon! 🕵🏻♀️👻
An absolute MUST if you like adventures!”
The most fun we’ve had in a while! Literally the best self-guided tour/activity that’s super exciting and engaging, while also being informative. Absolute bargain for the price and it’s excited us to complete all of the other Killer Trails!! It’s easy for all age groups to solve and you can take as long as you want to solve it – we definitely took our time, taking in all the beauty of our surroundings and looking at things we normally wouldn’t have looked at. Getting to the end of it and solving the murder was definitely a bonus and super satisfying and rewarding!
Fun way to explore”
We wanted to try something new during our valentine’s day trip away and honestly we are hooked – already planning our next trips around where these trails are located! a fun and easy way to explore the city, we cannot recommend enough!
Fantastic way to see the city and have fun!”
I took my mum for Mothers Day in a day trip to Winchester, we wanted to see all the sites and have some fun and this was the best way to do it. The trail leads you all around the historic sites and gives you a great chance to find interesting things you wouldn’t normally see.
100% recommend
Great fun”
Previously did the Chester trail which was great fun and a brilliant way to explore a city I didn’t know all that well. Manchester on the other hand I wasn’t sure what to expect as already knew the place very well and thought some of the magic exploring new unseen places might be missing however it was just as fun in its own different way.
I’d highly recommend this to those visiting for the first time and equally those like me who’ve seen the place more than they care to remember!
Oh and bonus points for a spooky experience in one of the pints of interest along the way 👻
Brilliant way to see the city!”
What a brilliant way to see the city! It was so well done. The clues were perfectly hard enough for us to find and work out as a group of mid-20s adults. So reasonably priced! We loved working out what all the clues meant back at our accommodation at the end of the day! I will be doing this again in every new city I can!
A great way to explore!”
Such a great way to explore Oxford! The tour was so fun and engaging, which takes you to lots of key Oxford landmarks! The format also means you can take breaks when you need and keeps it very relaxed! So you can tailor it to your group! Definitely recommend and will be doing another one again!
Perfect activity for my group and me!”
This was the perfect activity for my group and me! One in the group had never been to London before, and the rest of us had been several times. But this trail certainly made sure that we all got to see something we’d never seen before! It was so much fun and the clues were a perfect mix of difficulty! I would highly recommend this activity to anyone interested in experiencing London in a different way.
Fun times for all the family”
Friends and I completed this at the weekend. I’ve lived in Manchester for 8 years now and I still found new things. Great story, would say it’s a medium level in terms of how challenging it was. Highly recommended. Even better with adults having a couple of drinks at key locations.
Affordable, fun, and something different”
The murder mystery trail was so fun and such a unique and engaging way to look at things you wouldn’t normally see, and learn things about York you might miss at other attractions. It’s affordable, fun, and something different. Easy to follow, simple instructions and the perfect level of clue difficulty for all!
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FAQs
What time does the trail start?
What time does the trail start?
- You can start the trail whenever you like! Our trails are self-guided walking tours. This means you can sleuth around at your own pace, taking as many detours and pit-stops as you wish. Just download it, print it out, and you're ready to go!
Is the price per person or group?
Is the price per person or group?
Only one purchase is required for a group of up to six people. So from just £12.99, our Murder Mystery Trails make for an affordable day out.
Please note: One trail purchase is required for every six people participating. For example, ten people must purchase two copies of a trail.
Can a large group do a trail?
Can a large group do a trail?
Yes! If you’re looking for an activity for a large family outing, work-do, club get-together, or stag/hen party ice-breaker, then our Murder Mystery Trails are great entertainment. Everyone will get to know each other while solving clues and exploring the local area. Plus, there are plenty of traditional pubs and refreshment stops along each route.
Any tips for larger groups?
Any tips for larger groups?
-
All you need is one printed copy of a trail per group. If there are more than six people in your party, simply split your group into smaller teams, stagger the start times, and compete against each other! Each trail has roughly 14-20 clues to solve. Once you’ve cracked the case, you can see all the clue answers on our website. For scoring, you could compare each team’s clue scores, and why not add in some additional tie-breaking challenges of your own, e.g. the best team photo on the trail. If you'd like to have the answers and certificates ready before you set off, send us a message.
As our trails are self-guided, you can take as many pitstops and detours as you wish. Although challenging at times, all teams should crack the case. The main point of our trails is to bring everyone together for a fun and affordable day out. The trail routes are full of breathtaking landmarks, hidden gems, selfie opportunities, and plenty of refreshment stops.
How difficult is it?
How difficult is it?
- Our trails have a ‘clue difficulty’ rating of 1-5 stars. They are easy to follow, and all should be solvable with some contemplation and logical thinking. A five-star puzzle difficulty would be challenging but totally achievable. Exercise your little grey cells, or else they’ll grow rust! All trails also come with a hints and answers section if you ever get stuck.
Can kids do this trail too?
Can kids do this trail too?
- Our Murder Mystery-themed trails are cryptic treasure hunts with a whodunit twist. They're designed for adults, but kids will enjoy helping to find and solve the clues, too! They just might need a hand with some of the more challenging ones. The stories for each Murder Mystery Trail are lighthearted and full of amusing characters, pop culture references and plot twists that will keep you guessing.
Can I do the trail on a phone?
Can I do the trail on a phone?
- Although we recommend printing out the trail, you can view the PDF and follow the route using a tablet or smartphone. Make sure to bring a pen and paper to note down your answers. The culprit is revealed with a final metapuzzle. So, you could draw this out to fill in as you go or complete this bit when back at home with a warm cuppa! Other occasional clues may also need sketching out.
Where can I get the trail printed?
Where can I get the trail printed?
- If you’re away from home but would prefer a printed version, here are a few ideas:
- If you’re staying in a hotel, politely ask if the front desk could print your trail.
- Libraries aren’t just for books, you know! Find a local library using this Google search and use their printing facilities.
- Office supply stores often provide a printing service. Find a local office supply store with this Google search.
Are there any pubs on the route?
Are there any pubs on the route?
- Yes! Killer Trails and old spooky pubs go hand in hand. There are plenty of refreshment stops along each route. We make every trail navigate past as many notable and historic pubs as possible. So keep your eyes peeled!
Is the entire trail outside?
Is the entire trail outside?
- In short, yes. Our Murder Mystery Trails take you on a journey past historical landmarks and points of interest, offering a unique way to explore touristy hotspots around the UK. To complete the trail, you don't need to enter any paid tourist attractions. But of course, you are welcome to take a break from the trail to visit any attraction or make any stops you like.
Thrilling trail
or your money back
We know you’ll have a great time on the trail.
But if you don’t (which you won’t), we’ll give you a full refund.
