It was the 18th January, 2020. Mo and I woke up to a day of celebration as exactly 10 years ago, we met for the very first time on our blind date. Now I’m sure most couple would have planned a really romantic getaway, tried to re-enact the moment, gaze into each others eyes over a candle lit dinner…
Well I’m pretty sure you know me well enough by now to know that pfft that was never going to happen! We couldn’t re-enact the moment because the place we met has actually shut down (not because of us I should add) and Mo and I have realised over the years that there’s always time for romantic moments, and that we should make them happen in our every day lives, not necessarily keep them just for one day.
So in that spirit I planned a jam-packed morning for us. First – we were to meet our double date duo to test our friendship-relationship skills in Stockports newest escape room, Trappd. And then – as my special anniversary treat to my husband – we had 30 minutes to let loose together – in a rage room.
Ah yes, the romance is very much alive for my husband and I 😉
Now I’m no stranger to an escape room. In fact I’ve reviewed a number of them in Manchester here on my site and have done a LOT of them over the years. For someone who grew up loving challenges, games and things like the crystal maze (tried that too – give it a go if you haven’t already!) so an escape room really is a fun day out for me. I love the thrill of being given a deadline. Being with friends and screaming at each other to just ‘GO FASTER’ ‘WHY ARE YOU READING IT WRONG?!?’ ‘GIVE IT TO ME I’LL SOLVE IT!!’
This was our first escape room with the Savages and the room we had been given was called ‘The Motel’ can’t be that bad surely? My mind was being cast back to a movie I watched last year with Mo, Bad times at the El Royale, which if you’ve seen the film you’ll know, yea it can be quite bad.
Before we entered we were walked through the usual health and safety but then a spanner was well and truly thrown into the works – our lovely hosts Mel and Helen needed to make us aware – This room will at some point feature a live actor as part of the experience. Please refrain from attacking said live actor they will not harm you.
Hmm… I mean I’m not one to pretend I’m the ‘tough girl’ in every situation… but I also wasn’t sure if I was ready to show our double dates that if push came to shove I may just have to sacrifice them to save my own life. I mean, I have a fur-baby to think about who really needs me at home.
(FYI Savages if you read this – I’m just kidding btw, I would never do that. I don’t think.)
Anyways so this bombshell was dropped and without further due bang we were in the room.
Now as an escape room expert I don’t need to tell you that I won’t be telling you what went on in the motel room. That is very much for you to discover.
What I WILL say is that I screamed A LOT. I hid. A LOT. It was challenging, very different to others I’ve been too. Some really great techniques had been thrown in – we struggled with a couple of areas and needed some guidance – but that happens in most escape rooms. The live actor really helped with the drama (we all survived with my protection) and most importantly… WE BROKE OUT!!
Judging by this room, we would all definitely return to experience some of the other rooms Trappd had to offer. It was the kind of challenge where we really couldn’t predict where it was heading and that is for sure the best kind!
Escape room completed, everyone survived (with my help) and it was time for Mo and I to spend some quality time together. Celebrate 10 years of having met and being inseparable. Celebrating all the wonderful moments we’ve had together and our ever lasting love.
We put on our protective clothing. Secured our helmets. Tightened our gloves. Pumped on our music of choice (S Club 7 if you’re wondering). Grabbed our mallet and headed over to the rage room.
Inside lay a number of items that were there ready for us to just smash. Kick it, throw it, hit it… I mean there was a printer in there and as Mo and I have never ever EVER had a printer that has done what we’ve asked it to do it did feel pretty good to break one up.
Now I’ve toyed back and forth with whether I think we should have things like rage rooms, I mean should we be harnessing these feelings of rage? is it healthy to take them out on smashing something up? Should I be encouraging my husband to break things?
Turns out I was totally over thinking it – this isn’t some form of alternative therapy, or addressing any deep dark issues, let’s be honest here, it’s just a bit of fun! It’s a laugh and we did laugh a lot.
All in all we had a really great time at Trappd, Helen and Mel were perfect hosts and they really made the experience a lot of fun for us all. The only time we had any form of issue was trying to find a car park spot when we arrived! However, that was down to our lack of Stockport town experience, definitely no fault of Trappd.
FYI if you do visit, just head over to the Red Rock car park, it’s the closest and easiest one to use.
Looking forward to returning again and trying out some of the other rooms, I may need to brush up on my code cracking skills and try to be a bit more useful next time!
*** Thank you to Trappd Stockport for inviting us to test out their fabulous escape rooms. Of course all opinions, images and views on here are my own ***
