Treasure in the Southern Upland Way

In remote places in the Southern Uplands of Scotland sculpted containers can be found. Within these “kists” lies a new treasure.

Each kist contains a minted coin or token called a 13th. Along the 212 mile length of the Southern Upland Way, 13 different designs can be found. They show beautifully drawn images generated by young local artists – of history, nature, architecture and technology. Each coin is a thirteenth part of the whole – the whole being The Hoard. Find a kist, take a 13th away with you. It is a memento of your expedition to the hills.

Southern Upland Way Ranger Tom Whitty explains: “The New Hoard is a development of an original treasure hunt called Waymerks which proved massively successful for the Southern Upland Way.” Spending much of his time out working on the long distance footpath he is in a good position to meet walkers of all kinds. “Once Waymerks kicked off, almost everyone I met was hunting coins. Short walkers out for the day or long distance walkers from all over the world, it made no difference, everyone loves a treasure hunt.”

Since Waymerks came to an end, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Ranger Service have been working on its successor. An art competition between schools along the line of the Southern Upland Way produced a multitude of fabulous drawings, the winners being turned into the tails side of the coins. The heads side shows the participating school. These coins are now hidden out in the hills, re-using the kists originally sculptured for Waymerks.

The Vital Clue

“You don’t have to walk the whole 212 miles of the Way with your nose to the ground,” Tom advises. “Keep an eye out for anything unusual – something which stands out from the surrounding scenery. Even more important, pay attention to the wooden waymarker posts. Either side of a kist the waymarkers will have the addition of a small metal badge, saying the word Ultreia, meaning ‘On with your quest’. These Ultreia badges narrow down the search considerably. Somewhere between those two posts lies the treasure.”

The Gold

Supported by EnergySolutions and to mark the start of The New Hoard project a treasure hunt with £1,300 worth of prizes has been launched and walkers of all abilities are being encouraged to get out onto the Southern Upland Way to claim a share of the treasure.

Once a kist is discovered, the finder should look carefully at the 13th they’ve taken from it. Either it’s a standard 13th, showing one of a collection of drawings, or it’s a winning 13th. “The winning 13ths are extremely rare,” Tom Whitty points out. “But they are also gold in colour – you won’t be in any doubt.” Finders of winning 13ths can send them to the Council Ranger service by recorded delivery. Each will be rewarded with vouchers for outdoors equipment worth £100. Leaflets about The New Hoard can be found in leaflet dispensers along the Southern Upland Way and further information and competition rules are available on the Way’s official website at www.southernuplandway.gov.uk

Filed under: Community Submitted News

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