Hi all,
So we are back again with another instalment of V I in the City. As lock down is easing we are all starting to get out a little more. Although life is returning to some normality it is still all a little strange. As we haven’t seen members of my family for a while we thought it was okay now to spend the day with my wonderful auntie and uncle. We wanted to do something fun and different with Dylan as he has been stuck in doors for so long and apart from walks in the park we haven’t done anything else really.
Dylan is a big fan of the Titanic and loves the history and learning all about the boat and what happened. He wanted to visit the titanic museum in Liverpool. We were all very excited about this notion as my uncle is a big boat lover too. Unfortunately the museum is closed till further notice. The weather forecast did not look good. Either Which is really quite rubbish for this time of year but I guess we do live in Manchester, we should be used to it. We had to get our thinking caps on!
We needed somewhere dry, accessible and fun! My uncle wanted to walk around Hollingsworth lake, my auntie and I did not want to get soaked so we decided to do a little research. In doing this we came across Escape Rooms. I have heard of these before but only of the horror rooms and I didn’t really fancy being chased by zombies let alone Dylan. I mean I know I wouldn’t be able to see their gruesome faces but I know I would still sense them lurking. Not for Me!
We found an escape rooms in Manchester it is called Escape Hunt. This was suitable for children and a little less gory. Their room themes were, pirate, wild west, samurai, Alice in wonderland, Dr Who, Vikings and more. Escape Hunt sounded like the perfect day out, inside, challenging for the mind and body and a little bit of fun. The only thing we were concerned about was if I could take part. So we contacted Escape Hunt prior to booking and they were so helpful. They were very pleasant and supportive. They offer a carers ticket and said there would be staff on hand to help. We were all set and ready to go!
When we arrived a gentleman greeted us with a very cheery welcome. They were very thorough with Covid preparations. They gave us a mask and gloves each and reassured us that the rooms were cleaned after each use. We decided on the pirate room as our Cornwall visits meant we were used to a pirate or two! When we entered the room it was all a little overwhelming for Dylan and we had to exit. I am not sure if it was the skeletons or the fact we were quite abruptly locked in a room that panicked him but we managed to calm the situation and the staff were amazing. They were so helpful and understanding, they luckily had the samurai room free and as this was a lot lighter and no skeletons we decided on this room. We had a whale of a time. It was great we all pitched in even me in solving the puzzles and escaping the room with still 15 minutes before the evil samurai returned. Some of the tasks were not accessible but there were ones that with support from the family I managed to take part and relaxed into myself and was happy Dylan was enjoying it.
All in all we had a fab day and were so grateful to the staff at Escape Hunt Manchester. They made the experience so much more enjoyable. If there were one suggestion to Escape Hunt it would be that they have an escape room based around a tactile experience. Perhaps something like crystal maze where there is one person stood outside a door giving instructions to another member inside wearing a blindfold. Telling them where to go and what to pick up and describing tactile props. This would be a definite team building exercise. It would also challenge the persons ability to use other senses and giving an insight to those with sight loss. I think an all round winner!
I was a little nervous at first and yes I did have that doubt when booking, how can I do this? Surely I can’t! As I didn’t want to let Dylan down and I know I can do anything I put my mind to, even if it is challenging with no sight I will do it. I am so glad I did and next time we are going back with Steve (dad/hubby) and we are going to try the wild west room as the lovely lady staff member suggested that this maybe more inclusive for me as it is more about finding items, which I have developed a skill for now, after getting used to dropping things and having to search for them. See my blindness will ultimately give me an edge over others!
Just before I finish up here I just want to say a big thank you again to the staff at Escape Hunt for being so lovely and understanding and making our experience a fantastic one. It really does make a difference when people are just nice. I really do recommend the experience blind or sighted. If you do go leave a comment below and let us know how it went.
Take care everyone
Nina xx
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