Go on a beast hunt around Lancaster

Cat Bleasdale and Louise Matthews from Yarn_caster with some of the beasts to be seen on the trail.

For the past six months, Yarn_caster and other groups have been busy creating ‘Fantastic Lancaster Beasts ‘ for a trail taking place around Lancaster city centre until September 8.

The aim of this trail and accompanying events is to raise a target of £1,000 for local charities, Wolfwood and The Morecambe Bay Foodbank.

The handcrafted beasts, which range from a small pixie to a large wyrm, will be hosted by 24 businesses which will have at least one hidden on their premises.

People wanting to join in the beast hunt can pick up a free trail sheet from Lancaster’s museums as well as the city’s VIC and every participating venue.

There is also a ‘Fantastic Lancaster Beasts’ activity book for sale at selected host businesses for £3, which gives an opportunity to collect stamps and gain a trail completion certificate.

Craft sessions to coincide with the trail will take place at both Lancaster City and Maritime Museums over the summer holidays, along with a few smaller events at other venues. There’s also the chance to win one of the beasts in a raffle.

Yarn_caster hope to produce a souvenir book too, featuring pictures of all the beasts and information on the Lancashire folklore or Lancaster feature that inspired each beast.

Once the trail is over, the majority of the beasts will go into a silent auction as the closing fundraising push. The bidding will close at 3pm on October 19, as part of Yarn_caster’s stall at the Lancaster Slow Fashion event in Lancaster Town Hall.

The 2019 trail follows last summer’s successful Yarnypotter Trail which tied the history of Lancaster to the story of Harry Potter and an exhibition at the City Museum. It raised £250 for the Friends of Lancaster City Museum. The Friends have recently agreed to support this year’s trail with a donation.

Yarn_caster was founded just over five years ago, initially as a yarnbombing group, and have organised a number of local projects since including a yarnbomb trail from the City Museum to the Maritime Museum to celebrate British Wool Week.

For more information on Yarn_caster and the trail, visit https://yarncaster.wordpress.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/FABLancaster/