The Big Egg Hunt (Part One)

You can probably remember, a couple of posts back, how I mentioned Faberge's Big Egg Hunt and how excited we all were at the prospect of traipsing around London looking for the elusive ova.  Well last Sunday was the day that our hunt was to begin.  We had printed out some of the twelve zone maps from the website, packed a picnic and ensured that we were all wearing comfortable footwear.  If I'm honest, despite the fact that the children had been begging to go on this egg hunt since before it had even begun, I was dubious as to how long their interest would hold out and was expecting the usual cries of 'Our feet hurt', and 'Can we stop now?' to begin after the first hour.  But I was to be pleasantly surprised.

We'd decided to opt for the Convent Garden zone first, thinking that we could combine a bit of egg hunting with some street entertainment.  Walking up from the Strand and entering the piazza, we were immediately confronted with our first egg.  I cannot describe the thrill of pure pleasure that seized us when we saw that decorated oval of loveliness.  The hunt had begun in earnest.  The children were almost hysterical as they darted around Convent Garden ticking off the eggs on the map and duly having their photograph taken.  

Once the Convent Garden zone was completed, we decided to walk down to St. James' Park for our picnic and for some further egg hunting.  The park is beautiful on a sunny Spring-like day and there really is nothing nicer than having a picnic whilst partaking in a bit of people watching and squirrel counting.  The park is itself a zone in the egg hunt, so we took a slow stroll around the area before visiting the small children's playground at the end nearest Buckingham Palace.  The playground has a nice assortment of see-saws, swings, slide and a landscaped sandpit and there is a small kiosk next door for drinks and snacks.  

Once we had rested our feet and filled our stomachs we resumed the hunt with gusto.  Green Park, Picadilly and finally Trafalgar Square were the zones we crossed through.  I had not expected the children to be quite so enthralled with the egg hunting and we were eventually forced to go 'off-map' as  I hadn't printed off enough to sate their eggy appetite.  The eggs themselves are really quite breathtaking; the designs are intricate, clever and often quite humorous, so there is always an element of novelty even when it's your thirtieth egg that day.  The hunt is also made more interesting by the assortment of locations the eggs are hidden in; shop windows, parks, suspended above walkways and marooned on islands in a lake, were some of the places we discovered eggs.  For the hardcore egg hunters there is the 'Wally egg'.  This is an egg decorated like the character from the popular children's book series 'Where's Wally?' who moves location on a daily basis and for whom you must check the Facebook page to get a clue as to his whereabouts.  What more could an egg hunter ask for?

The zones are much larger than I expected and the precise location of each egg is not identified on the map, although there is a street reference for each one.  As a result, there really is an element of difficulty in finding some of the eggs and you may want to consult the cheatsheet (available online) if your intrepid egg hunters are starting to feel disillusioned.  There is however a crossover element between the zones, meaning that you are always relatively close to an egg and don't have to wander for miles in between each one.

We started our hunt at 11am and we eventually called it a day at 5.30pm.  The children did not complain once about being bored or tired, despite the fact that we had been on the move almost constantly.  When the sun had almost disappeared behind the skyline and we finally called an end to the day's hunting, the children were on the verge of tears that there would be no more eggs to be found that day and as we half-dragged, half-carried our tired children back to the car they declared that it had been 'the best day of their lives.'  Even as we pulled away, they were still craning their necks out of the car window to see if they could spy one final egg.  What more recommendation do you need?


Zone maps and all other information regarding The Big Egg Hunt can be found at:
http://thebigegghunt.co.uk/