Exmoor/Minehead - Geocache

Oh boy are you in for a treat this blog, I must say that this is probably one of the best series I have yet to do. As well as one of the most rewarding ends. We were away on holiday with Lewis' family in Minehead and planned a couple of cache walks; nearby our cottage was a series in a town called Luxborough, near the Exmoor National Park. This is a generous journey offering 16 caches, all of which will not disappoint with caches from Micro to Large, very large indeed!

1 Slowley Does It

First cache in the series is right besides the bay where you park to start the journey, the first is a simple Micro hidden well behind a sign post.

2 Slowley Does It

 Slightly up off the path, this cache requires I climb up a bank. The log (literally) isn't what it seems. Picking it up revealed that the cache was hidden inside.

3 Slowley Does It

Took a little rummage but still an easy find!

4 Slowley Does It

This cache earned a favourite point from me, with a hint of "Field of Eden"; I knew the trees were suspicious. Hanging in one tree was an apple, the cache hidden inside. Luckily we had done this series in Autumn and no leaves were on this tree. Having done this series in Spring perhaps this cache would be a much harder challenge to spot!

5 Slowley Does It

 A good old, under the stone cache.

The series takes you a long a footpath that provides you with some amazing views, although the journey can be tiring with a slow incline up the hill to the top. Very glad I wore my walking mud boots as the field was slightly wet and full of cow poop. 

6 Slowley Does It

Something magical about this tree, it seems to grow a special kind of fruit. 

7 Slowley Does It

Some of the containers on this series are so charming, this being one of them. It makes the journey seem that bit more fun when you have playful caches rather than just micro or small tubs. 

8 Slowley Does It

 I spotted this before Paul said we were approaching, the pile of sticks inside a tree were very suspicious. 

9 Slowley Does It

 A lovely hint of "Ho Ho Ho", a Christmas tree hiding away a little bauble. A bit of a prickle arms reach away but still great. I like that it's green so it blends away!

10 Slowley Does It

 This cache is actually quite large and if you were walking from the other side of the tree you'd definitely not miss it. It makes it hard to believe more muggles haven't found this.

11 Slowley Does It

Again this is a cache that would seem suspicious to passers by, it's like a fairy has nested up in the tree and has put little doors to hide all the holes. Can you find the right hole with the hidden cache?

12 Slowley Does It

 I've seen a rock cache like this before, I also believe it was when we were journeying with Kashpop. It's a hollowed out rock with a micro inside.

13 Slowley Does It

 This cache took us a few tree searches to find, we couldn't seem to locate the correct tree stump but eventually found we kept going up the wrong path. I think we were trying to avoid going up hill again but the caches took us that way..

14 Slowley Does It

Guarded by a rat!

15 Slowley Does It

 Another cache that took a little exploring to find the correct spot, with Paul's GPS it doesn't tell you how many meters away you are so you end up going either side of the path until you find the cache. 

16 Slowley Does It

 Now this is a multi-cache, it is the final cache in the series and it leads you to probably the biggest cache I've found so far, perhaps ever will find! It does take you slightly off path and we were stumbling around in the woods for ages trying to find this location. Being in the trees makes your GPS jump around proving even more difficult to find the cache.

Once you have found this cache it only provides co-ordinates to the final cache.

 Lewis found the final cache and look at the size of it! It is a massive box big enough for anything you could possibly want to swap. Sadly no trackables inside but if you have one you want to get rid of, then this would be the best place! You have to have the patience to do the series though (or cheat and do just 16.) 

This series is great for any age, children would love the cache containers while it gives adults a break from the same micro caches you find daily. It does take a while to walk, especially if it's windy like it was for us. The view is great as you reach the top of the hill and it's overall a really great walk. It's about 4.5 miles and we were out for about 3.5 hours but that includes a lot of stopping for photos.. I would recommend this series to anyone and will definitely be giving lots of favourite points away!

Cambridge - Geocache

So me and Lewis have moved up to Bedford (which means a whole new area of caches to explore!) I haven't done a blog post for quite sometime although me and Lewis have done some caches here and there. 

We decided to travel to Cambridge for the day and explore the local area!

Belt tightening

This cache was very unique and very different, it's located on the corner of Christ's Pieces park. You have to really think open minded and take the title of the cache into mind. We did spend quite a while standing there staring into space wondering where this cache could be. Once you notice it, it is very out of place!

 

Although this does require quite a bit of stealth as people would probably wonder why you're removing some black belt off of a lamp post! 

1496 And All That

We did attempt this cache but were sadly unsuccessful, after wondering around the location trying to get to the co-ordinates it was quite frustrating not being able to find the cache. I could even borderline say that's quite a silly cache yet clever.

Cambridge Central Library

Now this is probably one of the best caches me and Lewis have yet discovered. It's a mystery cache but it's actually quite easy compared to some of the riddles we've encountered on Mystery caches. 

You have to answer several questions in which the answers are actually located in the library. This then gives you co-ordinates outside of the library. Outside of the library you will find part 1 of the cache which then tells you where to find the cache inside the actual library. 

I didn't show any images of the answers to the questions or what you find at part 1 purely because I don't want to spoil this cache and make it an easy find for anyone. It is definitely worth the time and was a great unique cache hidden in plain sight!

We do plan to do several more caches soon and get back into the caching game, but for now we added these unique finds to out collection!

Walberton - Geocache

We headed out to Walberton at lunch time so that we could try out the local pub. We had planned a lot of caches today so needed to fill our bellies! Walberton is a village in West Sussex; it only contains three Traditional caches and one Mystery. The only pub in the village is The Holly Tree. 

The outside is very charming and if you plan on stopping for something to eat while caching here (despite there not being many) this is well worth a visit. 

 I actually remembered to take a picture of the food this time! My pie was FULL of steak and not just small pieces of beef; these were big chunks cooked so nicely. Lewis' burger was pretty big and you could tell it was handmade fresh purely because of the shape and size. Really nice food and average pub pricing. My Steak and Ale pie was £11 and I think the fish and chips were the same price. Lewis burger was around £11 too. Staff were very friendly so I recommend stopping by for lunch or dinner.

On to caching! 

Piggy Cache

We parked in the village community hall's car park, free to do. The first cache was about 650 meters away from the car park located in some fields. The day was quite warm for a British Winter but quite muddy too. The first cache was very easy to spot, it's a larger ammo box full of all sorts! Great cache for kids.

 Doesn't Lew look lovely? 😎

Roman Villa - Walberton

Of course Lewis would pick a cache that was Roman related, you can see that the site of the Villa is very open; with a view far and wide all the way round. With Roman buildings the idea was to be on open plain or a site where you had a vantage point to the surrounding area. if I have Listened to Lewis correctly it was key that you could see all around you in case of attack, they couldn't sneak up on you!

You can see a lot of flint as you walk along the field as well as newer grass were recent trenches for excavating had been. Walking towards the cache Lewis picked up a piece of Roman tile (most likely roof); you can tell it's Roman because the clay isn't baked red all the way through. 

Upon approaching the tree you had to explore it to find the cache, It's attached to some string so it's required to dig your hand inside and pull it out. Favourite point for sure.

Church Micro 871 St. Mary's, Binsted.

Continuing along the path you reach a nice steep hill with a church at the top! The cache is located just outside the church grounds, and is the smallest cache in this village. It was a easy find and surprisingly nice and dry. This cache does take you through a golf course so keep your eyes open for an over head balls!

After this cache you can head back the same way and easily follow the roads back to the car park. I once again forgot to reset the GPS but we were most likely walking for 1.5-2 hours. I calculated 2.08 miles but that's with straight lines unlike the paths actually traveled being quite windy and around fields. By this time my FitBit was around 6400 steps at a guess. 

We did then travel to Firmile Bottom in Arundel which we planned to collect 2 series but as it was getting dark we collected 2 caches of one series that were far out and plan on the rest of the series another Saturday!

One Creepy Cache in Eartham!

Lewis was browsing for a cache to do quite a few weeks ago until he found "Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler ?" It's a mystery cache and usually we avoid them because we can never seem to work out the ridiculous riddles. I wasn't involved in the process of working out where the cache was, Lewis worked that out with Kashpop. Although I don't think it's difficult! We waited a few weeks until everyone was available to go along as we assumed it would be a great group cache (also the cache actually recommends traveling in more than two).

Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler ?

Starting off in the suggested parking place we headed off into the woods, it probably took about 10-15 minutes to locate the correct pile of sticks with a huge hole underneath. It was a group effort between me, Lewis and Matt; Lewis showed us a picture, I recognised the location and Matt found the correct stick pile. 

Looking down the hole was definitely creepy and unsettling, if you didn't do caching and were unaware of this strange hole you'd definitely be creeped out!

Climbing down...

The view from just arriving down the hole, not too spacious but not too small either! Definitely need torches otherwise you wouldn't see anything down there.

Flash on, the view of inside the bunker.

The way in, constructed of boxes piled up and pulling on roots and metal to hoist yourself up and down, not the safest cache which is why it's recommended to do at your own risk. 

When we finally remembered that we we're there to actually find a cache it was easy to locate with a decent log book inside. Did manage to forget a pen though luckily there was a pencil inside the cache! Not much inside the cache a few little swaps that seem to have been placed in bulk (plastic spider rings etc..)

Down the hole you'll find a lot of bones, animals (has been confirmed by Lewis that none are human..) Assumed to be from animals that fell down and couldn't get out. Even this mysterious "bear" paw print?! You can see where the animals claw at the walls to try and escape and luckily they are all quite, well, dead I suppose. Not any down there that we had to save or smelt..

Leaving the hole wasn't too hard, just have to make sure you re-cover the hole otherwise more animals may find a similar fate to those down there. It is really best to travel with as many people as you can, although you can't really get stuck down there it can slippery and dangerous. It has many favourite points and also suggests other similar caches. I would recommend anyone local or travelling near by to try this out for sure!