2023 Edinburgh Fringe
Alex Franklin creates cash treasure hunt for Edinburgh 2023
Alex Franklin has hidden over £500 somewhere in Edinburgh, and is now offering up clues to help lead people to the treasure.
It's the second year the comedian has hidden real cash in the city during August, and this year's prize follows on from the success of the 2022 hunt.
Last year the couple of found the prize picked up £500... but this year whoever finds the location will take home £540.15, an amount that takes into account inflation across the last twelve months.
Alex tells BCG: "This hunt is even more devious and death defying than the last. Only the strongest shall survive (/find it). Whoever solves all the clues and finds the treasure will gain the respect of the nation. Good hunting and may the gods be on your side."
Here's the three clues issued so far:
Clue 1
Like the dinosaurs our time will come
We wait like cattle beneath the sun
But will you rise or will you plummet
On your path to reach the summit
Clue 2
Five ghosts watch but two are more
I went at night when no one saw (at least I think)
Clue 3
It'd be weird to presume it's in the same place as last time just cos I put in there last time
Keep an eye on Alex's Twitter and Instagram feeds for future clues... there will be a new hint every two days, until the cash is found.
Maybe there's a pointer in Alex's show too? Check out I Must Reach the Summit, Please God I Must Reach the Summit at Underbelly, Cowgate at 3:55pm.
Update: The winner
Alex reports: "Amazingly, it was found again by the same person as last year (just Erica with her boyfriend Stuart this time, though she brought a sniffer dog [Taika] to help). But she felt bad about winning two years in a row so we did a split: £300 for her, £200 for whoever came second, and £100 for third."
The clues explained
Here is Alex's explanation of the clues...
1) Like the dinosaurs our time will come; We wait like cattle beneath the sun; But will you rise or will you plummet; On your path to reach the summit
So separate from the fact that dinosaurs were in the name of the last show, and summit this one, in theory you could solve where the treasure was from just this clue. It's buried at a summit (hill), cattle = cow = cal, wait = weight = ton... the treasure was buried at Calton Hill.
If you start walking up Calton Hill, you'll find a crossroads where you can either rise (summit), or descend (plummet). Go past it to the main tower, then wait until enough time passes that the shadow of it points towards the National Museum of Scotland (the main dinosaur museum). Underneath the shadow is where the money was buried.
2) Five ghosts watch but two are more
I went at night when no one saw (at least I think).
At Calton Hill there are five main monuments; the National Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the Nelson's Monument, the Robert Burns Monument, and the Political Martyrs' Monument. Two of these (the political martyr's monument and the national monument) are for more than one person.
3) It'd be weird to presume it's in the same place as last time just cos I put in there last time
David Hume is a philosopher famous for the problem of induction - essentially that we can't assume the result of future events based on the past. "That the sun will not rise tomorrow implies no more contradiction than that it will rise." David Hume's tomb can be found on Calton Hill.
4) Don't follow the gun
On Calton Hill, there's a big cannon. Go the opposite direction of the cannon.
5) Rock gap rock gap rock sign rock gap rock gap rock
This accurately describes the layout of rocks (and a sign) a few meters from where the treasure was buried.
6) r/ [4032 x 3024]
If you look up Edinburgh reddit [4032 x 3024] (r/ references a subreddit), one of the links you find is this one - once again, Calton Hill.
7) Pass the holy stump
There's a stump with a hole in it. The treasure was a few meters from it.
8)
This shape is the path right up to where the treasure was buried.
9) Co-op bag in the corner
The treasure was in a Co-op bag in the corner.
10) The place gives to the moon vibes?? at least like to me idk
The place where the treasure was buried looked pretty similar to this image from the video game To The Moon:
11) It's in the bushes/ shrubbery
It was in the bushes/ shrubbery.
12) I think you have to reach through a fence to get it???
You did in fact have to reach through a fence to get it.