The Armchair Treasure Hunt Club
Pearl Hunt: Charlie's Summer Spell

Charlie's Summer Spell was published in the October 2003 newsletter and was written by Sandra Young. The hunt is based around Ordnance Survey Landranger sheet 179: Canterbury & East Kent, Dover & Margate. Edition D1 Copyright 2003.

The hunt offered a genuine cultured pearl to the first finder and a clue to a further hunt to the first and all subsequent finders. This hunt is one of four English regional Pearl Hunts.

Each regional hunt works independently but every club member who solved a regional hunt was able to visit the location and dig up a clue to the master hunt: The Gold Pearl Hunt - which offered a gold pearl buried somewhere in mainland Britain. Each of the four regional locations hid a different clue.

The first person to solve each regional hunt and visit the relevant location found a white container buried in the ground. They could keep the cultured pearl but had to leave the Master Hunt clue and container for others to find.

courtesy Matt Edwards
Within only a couple of weeks of publication, Paul Harkin discussed his proposed solution to this hunt with Martin Dennett who visited the suggested site on 2 November 2003, but found nothing. After further discussion Martin headed for a second spot nearby and found the container with the cultured pearl and clue to the Master hunt.

An artificial pearl and crystal oyster was also offered to the next club member to find the container. Matt Edwards claimed his second club runners-up 'victory' by finding the container and clue on Sunday 22 February 2003.

The full solution was published in issue 81 (October 2005) of the club newsletter.

Club members can follow online discussions on this hunt on the club bulletin board.

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