with alistair

Tinker’s Trail

Trad: 5 Puzzle: 1
Walked: 2.9 miles

It was a cold but sunny day. Alistair and I fancied a short stroll somewhere, and I found the Tinker’s Trail series near Warley which looked like the ideal candidate for a stretch of the legs.

There were some lovely paths on the walk, with Autumn colours in full view.

Is It Down Here?
Is It Down Here?

We met this rather stylish Elephant in one of the boxes – although we left him there as we didn’t have anything to leave in return.

We Met An Elephant!
We Met An Elephant!

Some of the walk was along paths next to rolling countryside. The blue sky and sunshine made it a lovely area to have a potter.

Rolling Countryside
Rolling Countryside

At the top of the hill we found a cache with a little boat inside. I think Captain Alistair wanted to keep it!

Captain Alistair And His Boat
Captain Alistair And His Boat

Across the bridge for a look at the M25, not so much of a car park today but still pretty noisy. Then we headed back into the countryside and towards the car.

M25 Car Park
M25 Car Park

We had remembered to collect info on the way round for the Bonus cache. Presumably this was the eponymous Tinker, who we found waiting for us in the box!

This Must Be Tinker
This Must Be Tinker

All in all a great little circuit which took just over an hour to walk – not that we were hurrying ourselves on such a nice day.

solo

Rettenden Ramble

Trad: 3
Walked: 1.1 miles

There are a few village signs around the Dengie peninsula and beyond which are not part of the national Village Signs series. Not sure why, but this one, newly published at Rettenden, is one of the renegades! The find was quick enough, however.

Rettenden Village Sign
Rettenden Village Sign

Once that was done and dusted, I picked up a couple more in Hullbridge before heading home.

solo

This Way! Or That Way?

Trad: 1 Puzzle: 1
Walked: 5.1 miles

I was in Hoxton for a two-day conference and needed to get a bit of fresh air this afternoon. So I headed north for a short walk to avenge two DNFs at hides from when I was here last year for the same conference.

The first was This Way! A delightful hide next to a lovely bit of sculpture on a street corner.

This Way!
This Way!

Having been This Way, I went That Way, or at least, a short walk away, to find the puzzle cache Art Loving, which had been missing on a previous visit.

Close To Art Loving
Close To Art Loving

It’s always good to have a DNF turned into a smiley, so two today was particularly pleasing, especially as I’m not in this neck of the woods very often.

solo, with alistair

A White Rabbit & A Village Sign

Trad: 2
Walked: 5.2 miles

I was working in Elstree again today, but arrived a bit early and stopped off in Shenley along the way. I managed to find the recently-replaced White Rabbit which had been missing last time I looked for it.

Butterflies In A White Rabbit
Butterflies In A White Rabbit

After work was done, I headed to St. Albans to stay with Alistair’s parents for the night. We went out in Tyttenhanger for a drinkie in the evening, so Alistair and I were able to bag VS#9 Tyttenhange Green on the way back.

solo

Copford Constitutional

Trad: 26 Puzze: 2
Walked: 11.2 miles

I went for a huge walk today, around the footpaths of Copford and Heckfordbridge, covering a little over 11 miles in total. The 28 finds for today mean I’ve done another day qualifying for a Challenge cache too.

Autumn Oak
Autumn Oak

There was a great variety of hides along the route – not one from a specific series, but I connected a few footpaths to make up a bigger circular walk.

The Copford Chicken
The Copford Chicken

Unfortunately, Postman Pat’s puzzle was rather soggy when I arrived at GZ, but I just about managed to sign the book.

A Soggy Log
A Soggy Log

Moley was happily burrowing at the base of a tree, and soon came out to say hello when I called.

Holey Moley!
Holey Moley!

There was a good view across the gravel pit workings just north of Colchester Zoo. There were certain aromas on the air around here too!

Gravel Pit Workings
Gravel Pit Workings

The light was lovely as I walked around the tracks, with some drama in the sky as well.

A Bridge Too Far
A Bridge Too Far

Quite a few of the boxes were a decent size with plenty of swag inside, and I picked up a couple of trackables to move along soon. All in all, a tiring but enjoyable day out.

Swag In a Box
Swag In a Box
with friends

Hello, Sailor!

Trad: 1
Walked: 4.5 miles

Another rainy start to the day meant we stayed indoors until it had cleared up a bit. But the temporary dog needed a walk and once the precipitation had ceased, we all headed out along the seafront for a stroll.

It was rather blustery but pleasant enough. The old Regent cinema is always worth a photo or two – and then I remembered there was a cache next door, Hello, Sailor!

The Old Cinema
The Old Cinema
with friends

Get To The Point

Trad: 1
Walked: 5.3 miles

I’m staying in Deal with a friend for a few days, and once the overnight storms had passed we headed to St. Margaret’s Bay for a nice lunch in the Pines Café. My friend was dog-sitting for another friend, so after our lunch we took the hound for a walk on the cliffs.

We just happened to be passing the hide at the Lighthouse, Get To The Point, so it would have been rude not to stop and find it!

South Foreland Lighthouse
South Foreland Lighthouse
road trip, solo

Birchington Bimble

Trad: 4 Puzzle: 1
Walked: 1.0 mile

I went to stay with a semi-muggle friend in Deal today, but first I had a client meeting in Birchington this afternoon. You never know what the traffic will be like, so I left plenty of time for my journey and arrived with a couple of hours to spare. What to do? Well, find a few caches, of course!

Over The Edge?
Over The Edge?

The chalk cliffs are quite impressive around here, and one or two caches had a great view from their GZ.

Big Cliffs
Big Cliffs

Birchington Bay has a good view across the water to Westgate-on-Sea, too.

View Across The Bay
View Across The Bay

With my caching done, and my meeting finished, I headed to Deal to my overnight destination.

solo

Theydon Bois Wander

Trad: 16 Event: 1
Walked: 7.0 miles

Theydon Bois is not a place I’ve explored before. There were a good few green boxes taunting me on the map, clustered around the M25/M11 junction, so I took to the back roads and ended up at this pretty church in Theydon Garnon, just up the road.

Theydon Garnon Church
Theydon Garnon Church

Perhaps I started in the wrong order, as I embarked on the Another Footpath Wander first, a mostly linear walk with a little loop at the end, comprising 8 caches.

Turning Leaf I
Turning Leaf I

There was plenty of Autumnal colour about, as I wandered along the track.

Turning Leaf II
Turning Leaf II

Some scenes make better pictures as mono, as I thought this section would…

A Mono View
A Mono View

But in the end, I resorted back to colour once more…

Autumn Colours Again
Autumn Colours Again

Then I moved the car to Theydon Bois proper, to embark on the Theydon Bois Footpath Wander series, with another 10 caches up for grabs. Unfortunately, I had a handful of DNFs here, but I did spot some interesting graffiti.

Under The M25
Under The M25

The last few caches were situated in quite a wild area, right next to the M25! It was rather odd, but the footpaths weren’t very well marked either. Eventually I made it back to Theydon Bois station where I was able to find the start of the series as dusk was falling – I had been unable to look on my outward walk due to muggles lurking.

Theydon Bois Station
Theydon Bois Station

I went home for some dinner, but then headed out again to round off the day at Essex Meet 42 in Little Braxted. Another great turn out for our bi-monthly meetup.

solo

Cold, Colder, Coldest

Trad: 5
Walked: 1.8 miles

A set of five new “Cold” caches by nathanjhunt have recently been published near Cold Norton, so today I thought I would head over there for a walk. First up was Cold Shoulder.

Cold Shoulder
Cold Shoulder

Next it was Cold Feet. But luckily not for me, although the lane was muddy I had wellies and thick socks on, so the only cold feet was the name of the cache.

Cold Feet
Cold Feet

Cold Blood was the alarming name of the next hide, but nothing gruesome came to light, just more mud!

Cold Blood
Cold Blood

If I had had enough of caching, I would have gone Cold Turkey. But I hadn’t and I did.

Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey

Last in the line, with the longest name, was Cold Enough To Freeze The Balls Off A Brass Monkey. Thankfully no monkeys were harmed in the finding of this cache!

Cold Enough To Freeze The Balls Off A Brass Monkey
Cold Enough To Freeze The Balls Off A Brass Monkey