The Great Leadenhall Goose Chase

Leadenhall Market’s annual Great Goose Chase returns for Easter with Old Tom’s Golden Egg trophy and £500 Market spending money up for grabs.

Leadenhall Market’s popular Great Goose Chase is back this Easter, with a series of eggstraordinary challenges in and around the Victorian market, giving participants the chance to win legendary Market gander, Old Tom’s trophy and £500 to spend in Leadenhall Market’s boutique shops and restaurants.  

The annual team event returns to the Market for the month of April with brand new tasks, which range from performing a song on the Market’s famous cobbled lanes, locating specific items in shops to recreating the famous Harry Potter scene that was filmed in the Market.  

Running from 1st – 30th April 2024, The Great Leadenhall Goose Chase is free to enter and open to all ages. Like a scavenger hunt, teams will compete to see who can complete the most tasks, with some worth more points than others. After four weeks the team with the most points will not only get their hands on the coveted Old Tom’s trophy, but will also receive £500 to spend at a selection of Leadenhall Market’s shops and restaurants.   

Those visiting the market over the Easter period should also keep an eye out for a beautiful window display of Old Tom’s legendary golden egg. The tale goes that a 19th century goose from Ostend came to England in pursuit of female members of his flock. He arrived at Leadenhall – when the Market was a centre for poultry trade – but escaped slaughter and became a Market celebrity! He lived for 38 years and was often found being fed at The Lamb Tavern. After dying in 1835, he lay in state in the market and was buried on site. His legend lives on to this day, punters can enjoy a drink at the Lamb Tavern’s Old Tom’s Bar, and the Golden Goose pub. 

Today’s Great Leadenhall Goose Chase is inspired by the treasure hunts hosted by the Bright Young Things* – socialites in the 1920s – which saw sisters Zita and Teresa ‘Baby’ Jungman set the craze for the scavenger hunts. Participants were tasked with racing across London in motorcars to hunt for clues, the most outlandish of which were baked into Hovis loaves and printed in fake Evening Standard stories. The mischievous socialites attracted huge media attention and posed constantly, often in costume, wanting to get their portraits in such magazines as Tatler, Bystander and Vogue. Similarly, today’s Leadenhall Market Wild Goose Chase participants are encouraged to show their hunt successes on social media, with points available for specific posts.  

The Great Leadenhall Goose Chase is free to enter and open to all ages. To take part, sign up to register your team and receive details on the different challenges via https://leadenhallmarket.co.uk/easter-at-leadenhall-market/.  Participant numbers are limited and availability is on a first come, first served basis. Teams can sign up from 25th March. 

How to take part: 

Sign-ups open on 25th March and tasks will go live 8am on 1st April with submissions closing on 30th April at 10pm. Organisers reserve the right to remove teams that have been inactive for 7 days or more from the start of the competition, to allow new entrants to compete. 

Participants can join in the game by following these simple steps: 

1. Download the GooseChase iOS or Android app.

2. Choose to play as a guest or register for a personal account with a username & password.

3. Search for The Great Leadenhall Goose Chase.

4. Follow the prompts to create or select a team.

Those visiting the iconic Victorian market during the Easter holidays can also enjoy the boutique shops, restaurants and bars (including Old Tom’s Bar) among the cobbled alleyways, set under a beautiful wrought iron ceiling.