Mystery is afoot after unusual gold food items have appeared across Cumbria.
Dozens of gold custard creams have been spotted around Carlisle since Christmas and now half-eaten golden pies are being found around Whitehaven and Cleator Moor.
The unique objects have delighted locals who’ve found them so far – but it’s left everyone asking the same question, who is behind the trails of biscuits and pies?
If you’re lucky enough to spot one of the custard creams in Carlisle, you’ll also find a cryptic QR code stuck down next to it.
The code takes users to a website called Cumberland Objects, which shares location clues for 50 custard creams hidden around the city as well as seven pies hidden around Whitehaven and Cleator Moor on the Coast to Coast cycle path.
It encourages people to embark on scavenger hunts to find them all and explains that The Great Biscuit Breakout and The West Cumbrian Pie Hunt are part of a wider project to celebrate the obscure and uncelebrated anecdotal heritage of Cumbria.
The custard creams in Carlisle pay homage to McVitie’s which produces 6.5 million of the biscuits in Carlisle every 24 hours while the pies represent Bennett’s, a popular old pie shop from days gone by in Cleator Moor.
But in true Banksy fashion, the guerrilla art collective behind the project remain a mystery. So naturally, we decided to reach out to them in an attempt to find out more.
We made contact with the group, who explained they would probably not be able to talk, but would be happy to answer some questions.
But after we asked our questions, we were left with even more.
The collective told us that that they didn’t know many of the answers – as they said they do not feel they technically exist.
However, they they did tell us that they wanted the focus to be on people’s enjoyment of the finding the objects, rather than themselves.
As part of the wider project, the group is also collecting hyper-local stories, tales and urban legends to share on its website.
The location of three signs related to these stories can also be found on the website. One of which we found in Cleator Moor, referencing the town’s old Co-Op building.
If that wasn’t enough – the collective today announced it is putting up flyers around Whitehaven calling for history buffs and dog owners to take part in a re-enactment of the 1778 John Paul Jones invasion of Whitehaven (but this time, with dogs).
Nautical fancy dress is encouraged, but a date is yet to be announced.
The collective has also set up a Cumberland Objectors group on Facebook for people to share pictures of the biscuits and pies they’ve found so far.
We’d love to see your biscuit, pie and sign pictures and hear your thoughts on the Cumberland Objects mystery. Email us at [email protected]
Are you part of Cumberland Objects? If you’re reading this, we’d still love to hear more. Email us at [email protected]
