Alphabet Dating | E is for... Escape room

Escape, Milton Keynes, Sabotage, 1920s Train,
Escape, Milton Keynes, Sabotage, 1920s Train,
Time flies when you’re having fun a parent and just like that, it was time for our fifth month of dates – or E to be more precise. Looking back, I can’t think of many ideas that we could have gone for, which is just as well neither of us had done an escape room before. There are quite a few different ones in MK and while I’ve always wanted to do one, the thought of being locked in a room does terrify me somewhat – I envisaged it being dark, claustrophobic and it’s not like that at all.

We booked Escape in Wolverton. They have two rooms: Witchcraft & Wizardry and Sabotage. We went for the latter. The name doesn’t give too much away, but we were first class guests on the MK Express. There were two issues: no other passengers and no train driver. We had to figure out how to escape the first class carriage, before moving on to the engine room in a bid to flee the train. It was a bit like being on the British Pullman, not that I’ve been on that, but it had that 1920s glamorous vibe.

With an abundance of clues and a number of locked number-combination padlocks, we began methodically, trying various numbers in the hope of landing one. In the end we just ransacked the room and lay everything out on a table. There were suitcases with flags, tickets, receipts, books, all sorts of different clues. Luckily, on-screen hints managed to guide us when we spent too long trying to decipher something specific. Some of the clues were easier than others, while some really made you think. I don’t think the way my brain works is suited to escape rooms, but I had fun nonetheless.

I look back with some frustration at some of the points we really struggled, but there was one point that I excelled – cocktails. There was a cocktail list with a receipt for a round of drinks and funnily enough, I breezed through that challenge – I know how to make a Bellini and a cosmopolitan! Thankfully, with 20 minutes (ish) to spare, we made it through to the engine room.

This was a dark and pokey room and the clues were certainly more taxing. We spent ages working out the symbols for the pressure gauges and unfortunately as we were on the final clue, our host entered with the news we hadn’t escaped! When he saw that all we needed to do was pull three levers down, he let us and the door opened... so close but yet so far! He allowed us to have our photos taken with the cards above, but obviously we didn’t technically get out in time, and thus, our time wasn’t recorded.

Our host was brilliant, so friendly and he set the scene well. He informed us he would be outside watching on a monitor and on-hand to help when we needed it – we definitely needed help!

We’ve decided we’d love to go and do another escape room, maybe even trying the witchcraft & wizardry one even though we aren’t fantasy/Harry Potter fans. One thing I’ll quickly mention is the difficulty most people have finding the building. It’s not really signposted and down a side street which isn’t well lit up. While we found the building okay, parking was a bit of a nightmare as the forecourt only has space for four cars to park 2x2 – and it’s incredibly tight! As I don’t know the area that well, I’m not sure what the alternative is.

After escaping, we ventured to our local pub, where I gorged on ribs, cheesecake and wine – bliss. In all, a good Friday night.

Love, Lucy xx

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Love, Lucy xx

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