Following the Clues: Legends, Lore, and a Very Unreliable Treasure Map:

One of my favorite parts of writing Sophie’s hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure was letting England itself take the lead.

Not the England of tidy guidebooks and postcard villages—but the older one. The England that hums with half-forgotten stories, whispered warnings, and places where people have been saying something happened here for centuries.

From the very first clue, Sophie is pulled forward by the promise of riches and answers—gold enough to change her fortunes, and truths that might finally set her free. Each stop along the way offers both: the hope of wealth and a deeper understanding of the people who left the trail behind.

Before we begin, a small but important reassurance: there is no known pirate treasure buried at any of these sites—at least none I’m aware of. Please don’t bring a shovel. Or if you do, make sure it’s metaphorical. What is buried there are legends, and those were more than enough to send Sophie onward.

Think of this not as a map to guaranteed riches, but as a journey guided by folklore, faith, and just enough greed to keep a sensible young woman moving north.

Redcliffe Caves:

Redcliffe Caves mark Sophie’s first real step into the hunt—and the first place where the promise of treasure feels tangible.

Carved into the sandstone near the Avon Gorge, these caves have long been linked to smugglers and hidden stores, the sort of places where valuables could vanish for generations. For Sophie, they offer hope: proof that Lady Emily meant for the treasure to be found, and that cleverness—not brute force—will be required.

She finds no gold here, but she leaves with something nearly as valuable: confirmation that the trail is real.

Rollright Stones:

If riches alone could guide Sophie, the Rollright Stones might have stopped her cold.

This ancient stone circle brims with legends—kings turned to stone, witches’ spells, and stones that refuse to be counted the same way twice. It is a place that resists certainty, where answers come wrapped in riddles.

Here, Sophie learns that the promise of treasure is inseparable from the promise of understanding. Lady Emily’s clues are not simply pointing toward gold; they are teaching Sophie how to think, how to look beyond the obvious, and how to listen to what a place is trying to say.

Swarkstone Bridge:

Long, low, and quietly steadfast, Swarkstone Bridge is a crossing that has mattered for centuries.

Bridges are symbols of passage—of leaving one thing behind and committing to what lies ahead—and Sophie feels that keenly here. The clue she finds is carefully placed, hidden where only someone attentive would notice.

There is no chest of coins waiting at the water’s edge. But the bridge offers assurance that the treasure is being guarded by intention, not chance. Each answer brings Sophie closer to the riches she seeks—and to the truth Lady Emily wanted her to uncover.

Holy Head of Halifax:

By the time Sophie reaches the Holy Head of Halifax, the hunt has grown heavier.

This old execution site carries a grim reputation, bound up in justice, punishment, and the darker corners of history. It is not a place one visits lightly, and it marks a shift in the trail. The promise of riches remains—but so does the realization that answers often come at a cost.

Here, Sophie understands that the treasure is not merely something to be claimed. It is something that must be earned.

Hell Kettles:

If ever a place seemed made for a pirate’s final secret, Hell Kettles would be it.

These sulfurous, bubbling pools have inspired centuries of stories—collapsed towers, swallowed ground, and the earth itself rebelling. They are unsettling, dramatic, and impossible to ignore.

It is here that the promise of riches and answers finally converges. Not because gold gleams beneath the surface (again—no shovels), but because everything Lady Emily believed in—love, symbolism, devotion—comes into focus. The land tells a story of loss and reunion, and Sophie at last understands what the treasure truly represents.

A Final Word (and a Friendly Warning):

I stitched these places together like a winding map, guided by folklore, geography, and the irresistible pull of wealth and truth. Sophie follows the trail because it offers her both: the chance to change her fate and the answers she has been denied.

To the best of my knowledge, none of these sites contain pirate treasure. What they do contain are stories—and those have a way of rewarding the curious far more reliably than gold.

So if you ever find yourself near one of these places, pause a moment. Listen. England has been promising riches and answers for centuries—and she never gives them up without asking something in return.