If you’re looking for fun and affordable treasure hunts in the UK, you’ve come to the right place! This post features my top 10 murder-mystery style treasure hunts (AKA Murder Mystery Trails) created by us, Killer Trails.
What is a Murder Mystery Trail?
Our Murder Mystery Trails are imaginative treasure hunts with a whodunit twist. Solve cryptic clues as you follow the route to eliminate suspected characters and weapons and deduce who the culprit is. These immersive self-guided walking tours take you on a thrilling journey past historical landmarks and points of interest, offering a unique way to explore touristy hotspots around the UK.
Killer Trails has devised compelling narratives for each treasure hunt full of pop-culture parodies for the eagle-eyed detective. You’ll get a kick out of our Murder Mystery Trails if you enjoy escape rooms, puzzles, scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, ghost and historical tours, murder mysteries, and board games.
Top 10 Murder Mystery Treasure Hunts In The UK
It was tough to pick our favourite babies, but I’ve given it a go. Below are my top 10 treasure hunts in the UK 2022, created by Killer Trails (that’s us!).
- Nottingham City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
- Liverpool City Centre & Pier Head Murder Mystery Trail
- Manchester City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
- Bath City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
- London West End Murder Mystery Trail
- City of London Murder Mystery Trail
- Oxford City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
- Cambridge City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
- York Murder Mystery Trail
- Edinburgh Old Town Murder Mystery Trail
1. Nottingham City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
I have a soft spot for this treasure hunt, as it was the first-ever Murder Mystery Trail we created. It’s a fun and affordable tour of Nottingham that takes you past plenty of historic buildings, landmarks, and spooky old pubs. This Nottingham treasure hunt ends outside Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem – an ancient pub built into the stone caves. This trail paired with a celebratory refreshment at Ye Olde Trip and a tour of Nottingham Castle makes for a perfect day out!
2. Liverpool City Centre & Pier Head Murder Mystery Trail
The Liverpool Murder Mystery Trail is great fun for tourists and locals alike. You cover a surprising amount of ground on this treasure hunt, taking you on a tour past many cultural landmarks including Liverpool Town Hall, the Three Graces, Pier Head, Albert Dock, Cavern Club, and ends in St George’s Quarter near the Central Library and World Museum. It makes a great way to discover a good chunk of Liverpool in just a few hours.
3. Manchester City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
Even if you’ve lived in Manchester your whole life, you should still discover something new on this murder-mystery themed treasure hunt in Manchester. That’s one of the great things about them – they get you to notice small details around your city that you might never have seen before. This Murder Mystery Trail is great to do with friends and family and takes you past many great refreshment stops along the route.
4. Bath City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
The Bath Murder Mystery Trail uses a variety of novel mechanics for solving the clues, and is probably our most immersive and difficult treasure hunt yet! So, if you’re looking for something more challenging, this Bath scavenger hunt is for you. This 4km trail takes you past all the highlights which Bath has to offer, including Bath Abbey, the Roman Baths, Pulteney Weir, Pulteney Bridge, The Royal Crescent, The Circus, and much more.
5. London West End Murder Mystery Trail
If you’re in London for a short city break, then both of our London Murder Mystery Trails are a great way to discover the city in a short period of time. The West End Murder Mystery Trail is packed with selfie opportunities. The trail guides you past landmarks such as Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery, Somerset House, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, China Town, Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace, to name a few. This novel London treasure hunt goes in a loop, starting and ending in Trafalgar Square. The trail has a good mix of clue difficulties and is perfect for experiencing London in a different way.
6. City of London Murder Mystery Trail
Once you’ve done the West End area, why not take on our City of London Murder Mystery Trail? This one was great fun to create. I’m a massive fan of all things 80s, and this trail full of pop-culture references for the eagle-eyed detective. This London treasure hunt takes you past some incredible landmarks, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. This is probably one of the cheapest and most fun days out you can have in the City of London.
7. Oxford City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
The Oxford Murder Mystery Trail is a great way to explore the city. The trail is fun and engaging and takes you past lots of Oxford’s key landmarks, including The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford Castle & Prison, Radcliffe Camera/ Bodleian Library, Christ Church, and many more. There is so much beautiful architecture to take in on this Oxford scavenger hunt, with plenty of old pubs and refreshment stops along the route. Take your time, and enjoy your surroundings on this one!
8. Cambridge City Centre Murder Mystery Trail
The Cambridge Murder Mystery Trail sums up everything you want out of a treasure hunt – incredible surroundings, an immersive storyline, and challenging clues to test your collective minds. This 2km Murder Mystery Trail is a great way to take in Cambridge city centre from a new perspective. If you’re searching for fun things to do in Cambridge while on a short city break, this Murder Mystery themed treasure hunt captures the essence of the city, leaving you with a clear understanding of what the area has to offer, and a big smile on your face.
9. York Murder Mystery Trail
It’s hard to pick one product as your flagship. But if I had to it would probably be the York Murder Mystery Trail. The streets and snickelways of York are such an incredible place to wander around. Within the castle walls, York is packed full of incredibly preserved architecture and spooky old pubs. This York treasure hunt with a murder-mystery theme offers a unique and engaging way spot things you wouldn’t normally notice around the city. The trail includes a variety of puzzles that it’s suitable for both young and old.
10. Edinburgh Old Town Murder Mystery Trail
The Edinburgh Murder Mystery Trail is our latest treasure hunt, and it’s quickly becoming of my my favourites. I love Edinburgh for many of the same reasons why I love York. The city centre is bursting with gruesome history and old spooky pubs in such a concentrated area. As you walk through the wynds and closes (narrow passageways), there are so many hidden gems to discover. This self-guided walking tour navigates you past the best points (and pints!) of interest that Edinburgh has to offer, including Edinburgh Castle, St Giles’ Cathedral, Greyfriars Kirkyard, The Royal Mile, Grassmarket and much more. I hope you enjoy the puzzles in this treasure hunt as much as I enjoyed creating them!
What does TripAdvisor think of these treasure hunts?
Don’t just take our word for it. Below are a few reviews from our happy trail detectives.
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!
Our mission is to create immersive trails that get you outside, put a smile on your face, and don’t cost a fortune. We strive for quality over quantity and meticulously craft every trail from scratch, ensuring each one is to die for.
So, what is your favourite one of our Murder Mystery Trails?
See all of our murder-mystery treasure hunts around the UK.
