A community group created at the start of the coronavirus lockdown last March has gone from strength to strength, one of its creators has said.

Barmouth Monster Hunting was started by Susan Cartwright along with Sharon, Alisha and Beccy, after the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. The group paint rocks and then members of the public would find them on their daily walk.

Susan said: “When we started to be unable to meet up and do things, I tried to think of something to be able to do together.

“My Nan, who lives in Aberystwyth, had been on her own since my granddad passed away the year before.

“She went out on her walks and she found painted rocks.

“I then painted 20 rocks and hid them around the Wern. I told my friend to take her children down there to find the monsters I’d painted on the rocks.

“She did and took pictures of them.

“After about three weeks, the rocks went missing.

“That’s when I started to think other people might be interested in taking part in the ‘monster hunt’.”

Susan continued: “My daughter made a sign which read ‘Barmouth Monster Hunt’ and put it on the gate at the Wern.

“My husband suggested putting the hunt on Facebook. Some of our friends said they would run the social media for us. By the summer holidays, we had over 400 members. It was becoming an activity for people to do on their walks.

“At the end of the summer, we received a lovely message. The woman said she enjoyed finding the monsters.

“In 2018 she had been given two years to live. Going to find the monsters was a reason to get up each day.

“Older people were still struggling, so we started the ‘We Love Green Spaces in Barmouth’ group for older generations.

“We made more grown up paintings on the stones.

“We then created stones for each of the events that came along. Halloween, Remembrance Day and at Christmas we made a small outdoor ‘winter wonderland’ and one of our friends who is good with wood made wooden reindeers in a small gated garden on the Wern.”

She added: “We’ve just rolled with things and made sure we can give people something to do when there’s not much else to do.

“When the schools were cancelled the day before they were due to go back after Christmas, we looked on to see what the children were due to be taught. It was weather and shapes.

“We painted rocks with these themes in English and Welsh and spread them out on the promenade for the children to come out and find and to get them out of the house.”