(AD) The Mackem Monster Hunt has returned to Sunderland City Centre, for Halloween 2021 and we were one of the first families to try it out.
The interactive trail, which is sponsored by Great Annual Savings, uses a combination of huge, inflatable monsters that are hard to miss and the latest update of the Sunderland Experience app, allowing you to find hidden monsters, dotted around the city centre.
There is a map that shows the location of all the monsters, both inflatable and AR. The map is numbered, but you can feel free to complete the trail in any order you like. As you find each of the monsters, they pop up on the in app map, which is great, as it makes finding them all so much easier! You can also share your pictures, directly from the app. Once you have taken some pictures, you can enter them into the photography competition, details of which can be found on the Sunderland Experience It Here Facebook page.
In addition to the Monster Hunt trail, the app also gives you some amazing offers and discounts from various local businesses, including;
Harry's Game Shack
Sunderland Bowl
Empire Cinema
Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens
We found the app easy to download and use and some of the augmented reality monsters were great fun to find and interact with. We had our 2 youngest sons with us (9 & 13) and they both enjoyed it. Some of the AR monsters can be a little tricky to find, but that just adds to the experience. You can download the app from the IOS app store or Google Play Store. Unfortunately, not all smart phones are compatible with AR technology. I would advise checking the weather forecast, as some of the inflatable monsters might not be inflated, if there is particularly strong wind.
There are plenty of options available for travelling into the city centre, to take part in the trail.
Nexus are offering free Metro travel for kids under 11. Up to four kids travel free of charge with each fare paying adult.
Sunderland council car parks are FREE to park in after 3pm.
Loads of options for buses to and from all areas, stopping at either Park Lane Interchange or Fawcett Street/John Street.
If you fancy making a day of it, you could always check out the Spooky Museum Trail at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens. £2.50 per trail sheet, available from reception, or maybe pop into Harry's game Shack or Sunderland Bowl.
The trail is part of Lights Out in Sunderland, which also features the Community Halloween Parade, on Friday 29th October, which looks like loads of fun. Hundreds of ghouls, ghosts and goblins will fill the streets of Sunderland with terror.
The parade will leave the Museum and Winter Gardens and move through the city centre, before ending up at the Crowtree Site opposite New Look. You can find more details here.
The Mackem Monster Hunt is brought to you by Sunderland BID. Find out more about them and what they do here