Monthly Archives: August 2016

solo

A Southwark Selection

Trad: 2 Multi: 1 Puzzle: 1 Earth: 3
Walked: 8 miles

I enjoyed my day off yesterday, and said goodbye to Alistair who was off back home to Newcastle. Not finding a cache was a bit weird, but a relief at the same time!

Today I was back in London for meetings, but started a bit later than normal, so I made the most of the morning by going into Westminster Cathedral to tackle the Earthcache based around the different marbles inside. It’s quite eye-opening!

Westminster Cathedral EC
Westminster Cathedral EC
CM8005 - Southwark St. George
CM8005 – Southwark St. George

After work it was still fairly light, so I took a walk around Southwark and Bermondsey to pick up several caches which have been on my to do list for a while.

First stop was CM8005 St. George. An easy find once I had crunched the numbers. Then onto a solved puzzle and trad CM before heading to the Cathedral for the Earthcache, Southwark Flintstones. I didn’t spot Fred or Wilma, but did gather enough info for the cache!

Selfie At Southwark Cathedral
Selfie At Southwark Cathedral

My last port of call was the SideTracked Earthcache at London Bridge station, which I eventually found when on the right level. More info gathered, ready to fire off emails to the CO’s when I get home. So I’m easing back into it gently after finally breaking my streak!

London Bridge EC SideTracked
London Bridge EC SideTracked
grand day out, with alistair

Day #400 – Enough Is Enough!

Trad: 15
Walked: 6 miles

Well, who would have thought, when I found some caches on 27th July 2015, the first day of Essex Mega Week, that I would still be finding them daily 400 days later? Certainly not me! I would have called you mad. Now I just call myself mad.

But, the strain was beginning to show. I had somehow reached Day #366 but didn’t want to give up then. 500 days would take me back into December and Winter caching, and I really couldn’t face that – so a little while ago, I promised myself I would stop at Day #400, a nice round number. And here we are!

I wanted to have a good walk for my last hurrah, so Alistair and I set off for the Strod & Trod loop and The Saffron Trail (plus extras) just south of Hullbridge. There were some great hides and we had a lot of fun – something which has not always been the case during the last 400 days, and other reason for “doing it when I want”, not “because I have to”.

A Tricky Little Magnetic Devil
A Tricky Little Magnetic Devil
Alistair Climbs A Pointless Stile
Alistair Climbs A Pointless Stile
Fools Along The Way
Fools Along The Way
Look What He's Got!
Look What He’s Got!
Smiley!
Smiley!
Phew! Made It To Day 400, Somehow!
Phew! Made It To Day 400, Somehow!

From now on, I will still be caching (but NOT tomorrow!) and writing about my most interesting adventures here, just not every day. Thanks for all my geo-friends’ support along the way, it’s been a blast!

events, with alistair

Day #399 – Blustery In Burnham

Trad: 2 Multi: 1 Puzzle: 1 Event: 1
Walked: 4 miles

Sunday, and that can only mean one thing – another Beastie Meet along the coast.

Blustery Beastie-Meet In Burnham
Blustery Beastie-Meet In Burnham

This time it was a Burnham-on-Crouch, and although the sun was out, it was also very windy! We nearly got blown off the sea wall. I went along with Alistair who is staying for a few days, and we took Geoffrey The Geocacher with us for a walk.

Alistair & Geoffrey The Geocacher
Alistair & Geoffrey The Geocacher
Flags A' Flapping
Flags A’ Flapping

Afterwards, we found a few more around the town, but eventually we were so cold and windswept we decided to come home for tea and cake!

solo

Day #398 – Dusk Desperation!

Trad: 1
Walked: 3 miles

It was the Geek Steam BBQ in Colney Heath today, so I set off a little earlier and tried two different options for a cache before I arrived. But it was a DNF at both! Very frustrating.

Eventually, after the festivities had ended and friends were heading to the pub at dusk, I managed to locate Quackers #5 along  an old railway line, now a cycle track. Phew. This streak is still stressful! I’m glad I have decided to give up when I reach Day 400 – only two days to go!

solo

Day #397 – A Trio Around Terling

Trad: 3
Walked: 1 mile

Today’s finds were a trio around Terling. First up was the elusive Gone For A Six! – which I’ve looked for in two different places before, both times it was missing and was subsequently moved. So third time lucky and I bowl up today (geddit?) to make a quick find! Hurrah.

Gone For A Six!
Gone For A Six!

Next were a couple of drive-bys, from the Escape Adversity series. I think I’ve nearly got them all now. Sunset happened at the first one:

Escape Adversity Sunset
Escape Adversity Sunset

But the farmer was still hard at work in the fields after it had gone down. Time for me to head home too.

Farmers Still Hard At Work
Farmers Still Hard At Work
first to find, solo

Day #396 – Beano In Essex 3

Trad: 3 FTF: No. 28
Walked: 3 miles

I had a meeting in Colchester this afternoon, but had time to pick up a couple of trads nearby beforehand. They were easy enough finds. Then I headed to a muggle friend’s in Ingatestone for dinner and a chat. I thought my caching was done for the day.

About 8pm my phone pinged with a notification that a new cache had been published very close to home, Beano In Essex 3. Drat. I bet the FTF-hounds will be on it like a shot, I thought. Never mind.

I didn’t hurry my dinner engagement (and I wasn’t about to forgo pudding!) But once I had left, I did a quick check online and noticed nobody else had logged it yet. I would be driving right past the thing, so I thought I might as well stop off for a quick look-see.

It was now dark, and I’m a bit rubbish at night caching, but I had a torch and blundered about for a few minutes before spotting the bison! Yay! And a blank log sheet too, that’s FTF No. 28.

FTF No. 28
FTF No. 28
solo

Day #395 – Golden Encounter

Trad: 4
Walked: 2 miles

I spent much of the day lurking inside as it was too hot to go out. I’m a wallflower which wilts when it gets above 25C!

Having solved the riddle for Stumped! 48 Wickham Bishops, my plan was to look for that one this evening, once it got a bit cooler. On arrival, this plan was thwarted by the world and his muggle dog lurking around GZ. So I gave up and went to Tiptree to pick up a few others instead.

The last find of the day, at EH – Pink/Purple/Gold, I had a brilliant encounter with the muggle home-owner nearby. It went like this…

I parked a little way up the road so as not to look too obvious outside the property. Having retrieved the pot quickly and walked along a bit further to sign it so I wasn’t lurking around GZ, disaster struck – I was muggled by the home owner who had appeared from nowhere, in full ninja-stealth-mode, to water his plants!

“Are you looking for Pokémon?” he asked…

Hmmm. Tell the truth or go with the lie? As I know next to nothing about Pokémon and he might have started asking which ones I’d already found and how many eggs I was hatching, or whatever, I decided to come clean.

“Actually, I’m looking for a geocache” I replied.

“Oh, I’ve heard of them!” he says. “It must be a good place for a geocache, it’s not like you can miss the house, is it?”

“Um, yes, you certainly have a unique property!” I blethered.

Anyway, he seemed delighted by the fact that there’s a cache opposite his house, so all is good! He even gave me a cheery wave as I drove past on my way home. Best muggle encounter I’ve had in ages, I had to give it a fave. My only regret was not taking a photo of the purple palace.

solo

Day #394 – A Westminster Walk

Trad: 3 Earth: 1
Walked: 6 miles

I had another word day in London today but found three trads and an earthcache around Westminster after I left the office.

Stonicles is an odd Earthcache, around the back of Victoria Station, where you can see a curious collection of stalactites which seem to be far too long for their age…

Stonicles, At The Back Of Victoria Station
Stonicles, At The Back Of Victoria Station

Walk Into A Painting is at a nice colourful bit of sculpture, thankfully not very muggly this evening!

Walk Into A Painting
Walk Into A Painting
by bike, solo

Day #393 – Tiptree On Two Wheels

Trad: 10
Cycled: 2 miles

Mr Crow is most renowned for setting fiendishly difficult puzzles, only some of which I’ve been able to crack. But he recently published a series of trads in Coneyfield Wood, which I decided to tackle today.

I drove to Tiptree and then unfolded my Get Thi’ Sen There GeoBike and took a ride around the lanes, picking up a few others before heading into the woods.

The hides all had great containers, but these were some of my favourites:

Film Pot In A Camera!
Film Pot In A Camera!
Oink! Oink!
Oink! Oink!
The Golden Duck
The Golden Duck

A fun outing, and 10 trads in the bag today.

challenge cache, road trip, solo

Day #392 – Wiltshire Wanderings

Trad: 6 Challenge: 3 Letterbox: 1 Virtual: 3
Walked: 8 miles

Today was the last day of my road trip to the Berkshire/Wilstshire borders. First on the menu were a couple of Challenge caches, which I’ve already qualified to find. I realise I put the wrong date on the 100 Days Challenge logbook. Oops.

100 Days Challenge
100 Days Challenge

The 200 Days Challenge was a nice ammo can found in the woods.

200 Days Challenge
200 Days Challenge

After those two, and a few more nearby trads along the way, I headed back to Silbury Hill and Avebury to pick up two more Virtuals and a couple of trads on my route. My walk started off sunny as I climbed Waden Hill, overlooking Silbury’s mound.

Sunny Silbury Hill Today
Sunny Silbury Hill Today

Having gone over the top and back down the other side, I was at Avebury Stone Circle and found the info for the Virtual quickly. Then I set off south for West Kennet Long Barrwo…

Avebury Stone Circle
Avebury Stone Circle

… just as the heavens opened. It was a long walk to the barrow and after stopping for a nearby trad, I eventually got to the top, rather soggy. Info collected and soggy selfie completed, I trudged back to the car and had to endure a damp drive home! All good fun in the end.

Soggy At West Kennet Long Barrow
Soggy At West Kennet Long Barrow