An escape room complex that was due to close on August 31 has been saved after new owners were found.
The Escapement in Cliftonville’s Northdown Road was created by couple Lewis Hunt and Mica Dougan in 2017.
The pair created two rooms with a combination of clues and puzzle-solving using an ingenious method of Wi-Fi and electronics through an Arduino board.
The venue, which has themed rooms, including a high sea adventure in Polaris and an Ancient Egypt challenge, was considered as breaking new ground when it opened.
It has since been named the UK’s best rated escape room on Tripadvisor, with more than 2000 five star reviews and won multiple awards, including a Bullseye escape room award for best adventure theme.
But Lewis and Mica had announced the closure due to circumstances out of their control.
Now, a new owner has come forward and the doors of The Escapement remain open.
‘Plot twist’
In a social media post the pair said: “ We announced that The Escapement Margate would be closing its doors for the final time on 31st August.
“At the time, that was absolutely the case. We were losing our home, arrangements were being made for the games to leave, and after nearly a decade in Margate, we genuinely thought we were saying goodbye.
“Then came a rather unexpected plot twist… We’re incredibly happy to announce that new owners are taking over The Escapement Margate – and the venue and its games are staying!
“That means The Pit, Pirates of Polaris and Egyptian Exodus aren’t going anywhere.
“Things have moved extraordinarily quickly behind the scenes, but when an opportunity emerged that meant these games could remain in Margate, it simply felt right. We never wanted to leave our venue, but circumstances outside of our control had forced our hand and we had no other choice. Now things have changed.
“The response to our closure announcement was honestly overwhelming. So many of you sent us messages, shared photographs and memories, told us stories about playing over the years, and rushed back to experience the games one final time.
“It reminded us just how much these games mean to people, which makes being able to tell you they’re staying even better.
The pair, who also ran The Escapement in Broadstairs with escape challenges Atlantis, Operation Quartz, and Captcha Code between 2022 and 2024, are due to launch Crowns & Cathedrals – an original live social deduction experience set within The Canterbury Tales.
Some good news for Margate