Bognorama

We decided to do a big co-ordinates cache today that was estimated to take about two hours, so this post will be about just one geocache (plus one extra along the way.) This cache takes you on a walk around Bognor Regis and Felpham, collecting clues and writing the numbers to each clue for one letter of the final co-ordinates. 

We first had to head towards the Town Hall and collect some numbers from a date of birth to death that belonged to Major General Sir Christopher Charles Teesdale. Christopher Teesdale was buried in South Bersted, Bognor in his family tomb. To read more about Christopher Teesdale click here. (During Junior school I happened to be in the house of Teesdale!) 

The next set of co-ordinates took us along the promenade, although it was a very cloudy day it wasn't cold! The walk headed towards Felpham and we had to pick up several clues in the gap between Bognor and reaching Felpham. 

Bognor is home to one of the UK's popular holiday/tourist attractions 'Butlins'. Whenever you need to explain to someone where Bognor is, you always say "You know, where Butlins is!" Or you can just pretend you live in Chichester and that you'd never step foot in the lands of Bognor Regis. 

Reaching Felpham beach has a completely different feel, I can't even place my finger on what's so different about it but if you live local you know when you've "crossed the border". 

We picked up another cache from here "Lobsters For Lunch (Second course)". This is a premium member cache so if you aren't a member you won't be able to see this cache! (Sorry!) It's a sneaky find and quite well hidden, it's a very high muggle area in the summer so luckily today there weren't as many people about. It's also out of the way of the local restaurant so you're just out of sight. 

We had a stop off here for some lunch and attracted the attention of my favourite British bird, The Robin. They're such friendly birds compared to any other in the UK and they'll come up very close if you have something to offer. Although when claiming territory they aren't very nice to their own kind.. 

We ventured in from the coast and visited this house of a famous resistant. This house belonged to the poet, writer, painter and print maker William Blake. It's quite a sweet and cosey house! He did only live here for three years though...

I did slack on pictures from here on I'm afraid, there wasn't really much to photograph. Once we ended up in Hotham park, belonging to Sir Richard Hotham (another famous resistant) we worked out all of the placings of clues and made the final co-ordinates. We got two wrong, we still aren't really sure how but after some guess work we figured out the final location. This part of the cache did annoy me because we'd worked out all of the clues and yet the final co-ordinates weren't even the final location we had to guess 50ft and then find the right "shrub" it was describing. It also annoyed me because the cache co-ordinates on the map are pretty much the final co-ordinates location. I don't know why it annoyed me, it felt like we'd read all these clues (some of which were actually hard to understand what it meant) to find a location that "wasn't the co-ordinates" but then turned out to be the co-ordinates!

Lewis put up with me moaning but I did enjoy the walk! It's a nice walk but I just felt some of the clues were like a puzzle to work out when they weren't supposed to be and if you got one wrong it messed up your whole final outcome. We ended up walking for 1 hour and 23 minutes with a stop time of 56 minutes (including lunch and a slight detour we took). We walked 5.2km - 3.2 miles. 

Various Caches, Burpham - Geocaches

We traveled to Burpham, Arundel along with my mum and partners dad and step-mum. My partner's family introduced us to Geocaching so we've done a few treks with them! They go by the name Kashpop so this would be our first time writing down two names in the logs. Kashpop planned the caches and I took a trackable along in hopes to get rid and move on. (Unsuccessful as the caches were too small.) The caches are a variety of shapes and included co-ordinate caches and traditional, there are some part of a series and some random one offs. The caches we did travel along different types of terrain including some steep, gradual and flat terrain. 

Burpham - Jacobs Ladder

This cache was an easy find, if you looked under the right post. It was quite easy to see from the footpath. The log in this cache was inside an old film pot which was then inside a slightly larger container, making it extra dry! 

Walking along the footpath we discovered at the top of the cliff/hill there was what appeared to be, a cave! Running up was the only way but half way up you needed to grab on to the fallen tree otherwise you'd loose momentum and fall back down!

 Lewis was hoping there'd be something he could take from the cave like a skull or some bones.. sadly for him, there wasn't. Little Poppy made the climb of the hill look like a breeze as she didn't struggle to chase after us. 

Lewis on the other hand made sure to take all of the safe ways down.. very slowly. Whereas I just slid down! On to the next cache!

Burpham - Fateful Farrier

 Another cache that took finding the right tree and post to find the cache. 

Burpham Link - Toxic

This cache could be seen from a distance, you could see the pile of rocks that were suspiciously stacked for the trained Geocachers eye's. 

 It suddenly became a race between Bumble Bean and Kashpop..

Which didn't really matter who won because I had the pen!

 This cache was described as a joke of being in a series of Sewage farms, although stated it was a joke I was not convinced as it smelt bad. I had to take the cache away from the smell, anyone who knows me well knows I'm not good at handling bad strong smells. Ironically the cache is called Toxic and the container is an old Toxic Waste sweet pot. I'm really not convinced the sewage farm was a joke. 

Despite the cave being an unsuccessful bone find for Lewis, this cache was not. Almost as if it was carefully placed next to the cache for Lewis to find was a bird skull. We think it's a crow but Lewis is going to take it into his University to be identified for collections. 

Burpham Link - Help! My House Is Falling Down

A very interestingly placed cache, I'm unsure of the history of the fallen down house but you can clearly see where a fireplace once was and even the beams are still holding up. The cache isn't inside the house but you can't resist going in!

My mother was pretty determined to find the cache as she has yet to find one while out with us, we were all struggling to look for it until she dug her hand into a tree covered in ivy and pulled out the cache with a very proud look on her face. The cache was nicely hidden and slightly tougher to find as you didn't expect it to be strapped to the tree.

Burpham Link - A Salt Near Peppering Farm

An easy spot at the end of a footpath, the metal looked too suspicious to me! An interesting container for the log to be hidden inside. Wonder where the pepper pot is? Hope it isn't missing it's salt companion too much. 

Church Micro 4282…Burpham

A co-ordinates cache that required working out some answers after locating the correct headstone. The co-ordinates lead you out of the church yard and to some telegraph poles, the cache is quite hard to spot as you'd assume it was part of the wire. It was also, for some reason, open to wind and rain, there didn't seem to be a lid or container to screw the pot into so the log was slightly delicate. 

Burpham – School’s Out

Placed on a red telephone box, a very hard to spot cache. I couldn't even see it and was convinced it wasn't there as I assumed that what I was looking at was a bolt or part of the box. Very cleverly camouflaged! Of course I went inside, it's very hard not too even if I am British.  

A Fine Pair # 14 ~ Burpham 

Last cache we did today, a co-ordinates cache that lead us back along the path we just came. Sitting behind a sign was a little pot. Nice and easy! 

We ended up walking 2.7 miles which isn't as much as previous cache hunts but the change in terrain made the pace slower. Kashpop's GPS didn't tell us how long we'd been walking for but it was around 2 and a half hours. It was a nice walk and we did complete one series among random caches. Me and Lewis will possibly head back one day to complete some other series that we started or maybe even start a new one!

The Highleigh Speedy Hike 1 - Geocache

Sadly I forgot the battery to my camera this trip, so smart. So the pictures are taken on my phone and will be slightly poorer than usual (also means no video of the trip.) We drove to Almondington in Selsey to do a 17 series, this series involves three types of caches: Tradtional, Co-ordinates and Letterbox. 

HS1 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 1

The first one was simple and easy but we did have to do this last on the way back because a dog walker just stood, and what seemed like, watching us while we waited for her to pass. She didn't pass so we had to carry on, luckily she didn't go the same footpath otherwise it would have gotten awkward. 

HS2 Letterbox The Highleigh Speedy Hike 2

This was our first Letterbox cache and was quite fun to do. I took a little note book with me to add the stamps to! We read on previous logs that the pacing was quite small for counting steps so we made sure to do smaller paces and were successful, pretty much perfect. It also helped with the trick of seeing where previous people had trodden! It was a little box of treasures! The log was too wet to write on as it was breaking down into little pieces.

HS3 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 3

Out into the windy field, nestled into a nook of the tree! 

HS5 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 5

One of the few driest logs on this trip, a nice little reindeer ring inside! Did have to climb over a ditch as we weren't sure which side of a footpath to take.. we obviously chose the wrong side. This was a co-ordinates cache and wasn't hard to work out. 

HS6 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 6

Again we had to cross back over the ditch, which would be fine if it wasn't so steep and had water at the bottom. Lewis stayed on one side to save us from both risking the jump across. The bottom was very soft clay and trying to jump off from it was difficult. Had we known the path met up further down at the next cache we could of just doubled back on ourselves but I like a bit of adventure and risk! I wouldn't of liked it had I gotten we tor muddy though. In the picture the ditch doesn't seem a problem but actually standing on one side is very steep and just too large to jump.

HS7 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 7

Another Letterbox cache that required 254 paces to be counted! Counting to 254 in your head isn't as easy as it sounds. Luckily Lewis kept quiet while I counted and didn't try to put me off! Unfortunately there was no stamp inside, someone must have taken it or misplaced it. Even if you don't count the paces exactly you can easily see the caches from the path if you keep your eye's open!

HS8 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 8

Another co-ordinates cache, again not difficult to work out except for the fact the sign that has an answer on is broken and you have to guess the correct answer. The hint did tell the answer but I didn't have the cache on my GPS updated since the sign broke! The cache was in the hole of a tree with lots of little snails hiding inside. Luckily none were on the box.

HS10 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 10

Another co-ordinates cache, hidden away in a little hole covered by sticks and twigs! One of the questions in the cache was confusing as we couldn't find a carved shape in the bridge but we tried out all the answers and eventually found the right co-ordinates for the cache.

HS11 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 11

A Letterbox cache that had an actual stamp and ink pad! Unfortunately the cache was quite wet inside and the ink pad didn't work very well, the log was damp too but still managed to write on it! 

HS12 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 12

Having to wear gloves for this little cache as it's protected by nettles we found it after having to get on our knees! Inside we found a little friend whom we have taken into our care. He's very cute but must be rather cold in no clothes so we're planning on taking this little fellow with us on holiday and will put him in a cache there so he can be nice and warm!

HS13 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 13

Can you see the little box? 

HS15 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 15

So there is some confusion with this cache to whether me and Lewis actually did this.. it's a co-ordinates cache but we didn't even work out any co-ordinates and managed to find a cache. The GPS took us straight to it. I have a picture of Lewis finding the cache and there's no other cache that it could be so.. we must have done it. Shows how easy the cache must be I suppose!

HS16 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 16

Last two traditional caches that link back to the road to the start. This cache hides inside the pole and is attached by transparent string that reveals it's hiding spot. Was tricky to get out as the previous person really shoved the log all the way down and in. 

HS17 The Highleigh Speedy Hike 17

Last cache on our biggest series yet, (in one go) a little magnetic behind a duck sign. 

These caches are a lovely walk, a nice loop round. Unlike the canal where you have to walk all the way back, this takes you back to the start. It isn't too long of a walk and it has a range of ranges both in style, size and type. Most of the logs were damaged, nearly full or wet and the stamps only worked at 2 out of the 4 for Letterboxes. We enjoyed the day out and saw some deer and geese along the way!

Travelling time: 1:37

Stopped time : 1:12

Distance: 5.86km - 3.6miles