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A flour or sawdust treasure trail is a simple activity, and a great way to get kids outdoors and active. Either as a high-energy exercise done at speed with a teenager or at a slower pace with the family as a whole, it is a fantastic way to encourage movement and can be such a good laugh. As with the treasure or scavenger hunt, it can turn into a long full-day undertaking, but it’s also perfect to use up the last of the day’s energy after school, or even in the dark with a torch.

What you need

 A bag of flour or sawdust

What to do

With younger kids who can’t be left alone, set up the trail in advance. It doesn’t have to be long, but again the beauty of this is that it can be done in both urban and rural settings.

1 Every 5 to 10 metres drop a small pile of flour or sawdust to mark a trail for your child to follow. This can be on the edge of a path, on a tree branch, on a wall or piled in any other place that is not immediately obvious.

2 Make sure you mix up the location of the flour or sawdust to keep the difficulty up and interest going. If you discover it’s too easy for them, then next time use bigger gaps between drops so they have to really search and even double back on themselves.

3 Be thoughtful of where other people will walk, so avoid dropping flour or sawdust right in the centre of a busy pavement or anywhere it will look unsightly.

4 Allow yourself a 10-minute head start and make your way off along the route, dropping a small amount of flour or sawdust at regular intervals.

5 Your kids will race after you at top speed following your trail with intent. With the head start, you’ve given yourself time to create false paths and decoys, where you can double back on yourself and continue along the correct route. When you’ve come to the end of the intended route, why not hide and wait for them? Climb high into the branches of a tree and sit watching their progress as they approach the tree you’ve led them to and the trail runs cold. Eventually they’ll think to look up, where you’ll be waiting.

6 This is an active challenge that stimulates thought and observation. Watching your child work out problems, see the next clue, charge after it and on to the next is hugely satisfying and great fun! We always bring the hunt back round in a loop to our house, where dinner will be waiting or where there’s a hidden chocolate prize that can be eaten for dessert.

Challenge

How about creating a trail that finishes at a pub where you can all have dinner together, or ending the trail at a perfect site to start a little fire to cook some marshmallows over? There doesn’t always have to be a prize. The fact that you’re doing something together is the prize – all that kids really want is time with you.