Harrogate Lego Trail Proves A Hit With Families And Local Businesses
More than 40,000 QR code scans and hundreds of thousands of social media views highlight the success of this summer’s Harrogate LEGO Trail
This summer’s Harrogate LEGO Trail has proved a huge hit with families, businesses and visitors, with more than 40,000 individual QR code scans recorded across the trail.
Organised by Harrogate BID in partnership with Fairy Bricks and sponsored by The Crown Hotel, the Dinky Dinosaurs LEGO Trail ran throughout August, encouraging families to explore Harrogate town centre while visiting participating businesses and attractions along the way.
The trail featured LEGO dinosaur models at locations across the town, with participants following the trail, scanning QR codes and solving the clues to discover the secret word. There was also a prize draw for a £50 Harrogate Gift Card.
The campaign generated significant interest online, with 197,842 combined views on LEGO trail content.
But the impact was not just online. Businesses taking part reported increased interest and footfall, with families visiting shops, cafés, restaurants and other town-centre businesses as they completed the trail.
Sara from Otto Café said:
“The Lego Trail increased footfall for us, with people coming in for lunch as a result of the trail.”
Liz, CEO of Artizan International, said the trail had made a significant difference to the charity during the summer months:
“We LOVE the Lego trail! It annually helps to boost our summer takings, which means the world to our charity. With so many of our trainees on holidays, we struggle over summer, and this Lego trail really helps, so THANK YOU!”
Liz also highlighted the wider impact of bringing families into the café:
“It’s also a wonderful opportunity for that gentle transformation of attitudes that we talk about, having families visit our café and see our trainees and the work we do in action.”
She added that a Christmas trail would be welcome in the future.
The trail was also warmly received by participating businesses. Will, manager of Wetherspoons, said:
“It was the best thing we've done in the pub for years!! Fantastic job. Customers, staff and my bosses loved it. We really do appreciate being given a chance to take part.”
Lynn, manager of Jespers of Harrogate, said:
“At Jespers, we found the Lego trail to gain a lot of interest and would definitely be interested in taking part in the next one.”
The trail also generated plenty of positive feedback from the public, with comments highlighting its role in making the town centre more appealing to families.
One Facebook user described it as:
“A fantastic way to encourage families into the town centre while supporting local businesses.”
Another commented:
“This must take quite some time to organise but also be quite fun! Thanks for making the town fun and vibrant.”
There was also recognition from further afield, with Christchurch BID in Dorset commenting: “This is incredible.”
Another visitor commented:
“Love the LEGO trail. Brilliant ideas! Been the last 2 years.”
Harrogate BID Operations Manager, Bethany Allen, said:
“The response to this year’s LEGO Trail has been fantastic. More than 40,000 QR code scans is a brilliant result, but what’s particularly encouraging is the feedback we’ve had from the businesses involved and the families who took part.
“The trail was designed to give families a reason to explore different parts of the town centre and discover businesses they might not otherwise visit, and it’s great to hear directly from businesses that they saw the benefit.
“A huge thank you to everyone who took part, from our participating businesses and partners to the families who followed the trail and shared it with others. We’re already seeing people asking what we might do next, which is a great sign.”
The Harrogate LEGO Trail was delivered by Harrogate BID in partnership with Fairy Bricks, with support from participating town-centre businesses and The Crown Hotel as headline sponsor.
