When my boyfriend first heard about this he knew this would be right up my street. I love a trail and are happy to contribute as most of these go towards charities. I downloaded the app before going which was actually free even though I'd be happy to pay.
The trail is called Minerva owls of Bath, this is because her symbol was that of the wise owl. The Roman baths were dedicated to her as the Roman goddess.
The app when first using it gives you the images of the total of 80 owls to find. The majority are in the centre of bath, but some are a lot further afield. Each owl you collect will give you a marker as well as a question where you can gain more points. Other owls when collected give you discounts for places near them or a chance to enter a competition.
We had gotten the bus up to Bath so the first owl we came across was Emma. An owl with a great name to start the trail, I was off to a great start. We then came across one of many great owl puns. In the train station stood isambird kingdom brunowl. Other great puns that stood were JK Owling, Forest stump and Festivowl just to name a few.
As we moved on we discovered more and more owls, the one pictured above was called Cosmo. Linked to this was a selfie competition hence my beautiful close-up. If you know the area it would be easy to plan the route, as I found myself doubling back a fair bit not knowing the area. I would say planning is essential as some owls are indoors and others were taken in at night.
Halfway towards the first day, we found one of the places selling the paper maps. This includes Waterstones, tourist information and Bath Aqua glass. The suggested donation for the map is £2 although you can donate more. Once I'd got the paper map it was much easier to find the owls. As I was staying overnight the paper map meant I could tick off owls I had missed and plan for the next day.
Day 2 then came and I wanted to get as many of the owls as I could. The one pictured above had only just returned as people had damaged it, which is so disrespectful. The eye is a kaleidoscope, making beautiful images of the houses when your turn it. One owl I could not get was Bob, situated in the parade gardens. The cost of these garden when I went in winter were free, but now for adults £2 and £1 for kids. If the money was going to charity I would not if minded, but as it was not I'd just look from above. For an adult doing the trail with several kids, this cost would soon add up. I think next time the owls should be accessible for all if there is a charge it going to the charity.
I ended the trail on 48 owls out of the 80 which I thought was a great achievement over 2 days. The app did have its glitches at times, where I had to walk past it a few times to register. The trail, unfortunately, does end on September 10th. At the end of the month, there is a farewell show where the owls will be displayed. This is on the 29th to the 30th of September on bath recreation grounds. For tickets follow the link below. Eventually, there will be an auction with 100% of the proceeds going to charity.