Treasure Quest

Clue One: Not entirely tiring, chugging up the Grand Union.

A nice easy one to start '08 with. The listeners correctly identified that the word "tiring" without the first "i" spells Tring.

Additionally, the Grand Union canal flows through the town. Cookie was sent up the A41 as Clue 2 was opened...

Clue Two: Board at this former fiscal seat.

Next stop was the Tring Arts Educational School in the heart of the town. Housed in the former Tring Park mansion, boarders stay here and learn how to sing, act and dance.

Formerly a seat of the Rothschild banking dynasty, the house acted as head office of the bank during the Second World War.

Clue Three: Blondes have all the fun, including Fanny Ebbs and Lady Lemon.

Really rattling through the clues, this week's contestants identified that what was needed was some good old-fashioned English real ale... at the Tring Brewery!

Cookie struggled to find the building in the labyrinthine business park, before beer barrels were spied. Fanny Ebbs and Lady Lemon are not only products from the brewery, but take their names from local myths and legends. Let's raise a glass to our contestants: they're making great progress!

Clue Four: Is it time to arrange letters? Sad portents for the Quest to come!

Clue four stumped both those in the studio and those listening at home.

Eventually Producer Phil had to hint at the presence of an anagram, and our letter-busting beavers came up trumps with the translation: Two anagrams - “Sad portents” becomes Startops End, “arrange letters” reads Anglers Retreat. To the pub!!

Clue Five: Reach the apex of productive upwards water at the smithy of locks, both past and present.

Another easy one, with our intrepid listeners cracking the clue in no time. Cookie was sent back in time to the Hammer & Tongs Blacksmiths, by the canal in Bulbourne. The owner, Paul Elliot, took our Quester up to the top of his water tower, where steam escapes the forge. The old building used to house manufacturers of locks... for the canal!

Blimey, we're not far away from the treasure....

Clue Six: Nimby in MK, not back in the day.

A real toughy, prompting some to question the morality of the clue writer. Still, with patience, diligence and a lucky break or two, some Buckinghamshire residents cracked it. Head to nearby Pitstone Windmill, they said. Nimbyism in the New City had been in Three Counties' headlines this week, as some residents protest against a new electricity-providing wind turbine system.

Cookie set off apace, with time fast running out. With ninety seconds left she arrived at the entrance to the windmill; it was hundreds of yards away down an exposed boggy track. Off she sprints... closer and closer... and reaches the Treasure with seconds of the show to spare!! Success for Cookie! Success for the contestants! We've found the Treasure!