The CREATORS of Cumbria’s premier live escape room complex have created a new challenge.

John and Carol Watson, owners of Lakes Escapes, in Workington, have made use of lockdown to create the new Diamond Mine themed challenge at the centre on Stanley Street.

The complex already has five different escape rooms, set around themes varying from casinos to shipwrecks, in which participants are challenged to complete a series of tasks and puzzles.

The Diamond Mine consists of six themed areas, such as pirate or western, in a similar vein to TV show The Crystal Maze. The challenges can involve one or two players and take anywhere from 25 seconds to five minutes. There is then a 20-minute escape game at the end.

Carol said: “We’ve probably been working on Diamond Mine for about two years now, but we were able to finish just as we came out of lockdown. Obviously, it’s been frustrating to have to keep closing and reopening so much over the last 18 months but we’re just glad to be welcoming customers back and to be able to offer them a new experience.”

John and Carol first launched the business in 2017 but expanded into their current premises in February 2019 due to growing demand.

Before starting the business John, who devises, designs and builds all of the rooms and features himself, worked as an area manager for a finance business, while Carol Worked as a mystery shopper.

However, they were both ardent fans of escape rooms and have poured their knowledge into making the experience as exciting for customers as possible.

Carol said: “To make a good escape room you really need to have a bit of imagination, a sense of humour and a bit of a mischievous streak as well. It’s a fine balance of making it challenging, but also fun.