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!
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
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.
Another short day at work meant I was able to top and tail my trip to London with a bit of caching. First stop of the morning was the South Bank to finally avenge the DNF at Henry’s Lost Letter, which I failed to find a few days ago.
Barges On The Thames
Another hide I was able to revisit was SideTracked – London Marylebone when, on my last visit, it was so muggle-infested I didn’t even try. Today was a different matter, and I located the prize quite quickly.
Marylebone Station Facade
After the working day was done, I headed to Little Venice for a few more caches as dusk began to fall. My first stop was Warwick Avenue SideTracked, which didn’t pose any great problems.
Warwick Avenue Tube
I walked across to Over Troubled Water, a hide on the bridge over the Grand Union Canal. It was a little bit tricky but eventually the muggles thinned out sufficiently for me to have a proper look, and there it was. A nice spot to spend a few minutes watching the world go by.
Over Troubled Water
The last port of call was the SideTracked hide at Royal Oak, which I bagged on my way to the tube station and to make my way home.
Loads more walking today, before and after work. I started close to Liverpool Street by finally locating the elusive puzzle, O Where O Where Can That Little Cache Be? It had been bugging me for ages! The log was pretty full but I managed to cram my name in.
Squeezing My Name In
Another puzzle which had been outstanding for too long was Beck, based around the London Underground map. The other day, I finally made some progress with the solve and was rewarded with the little devil when I searched the correct spot this morning. Very satisfying to have ticked it off, at last!
Beck – The View At GZ
Work took up the majority of the day, but I went for a walk afterwards, firstly around Surrey Row and then to the north bank of the Thames to look for a couple of Swan to Canary series. The Shard and Tower Bridge looked impressively illuminated this evening.
The Shard At NightTower Bridge Goes Purple!
My final success was the Livchurch Street multi, which I had previously DNF’d but luckily had a brainwave about this evening. Then a weary walk back to Liverpool Street to get the train home.
I had been on a night shift in London all night, so what did I do? Yes, go for a caching expedition before heading home to bed! What do you mean, I’m mad?
Strand Lane Roman Baths were my first stop. You can’t have a bath there now, but you can work out where the cache is hidden!
Stagger Down The Steps
Next on my agenda was a trip to Brompton. I didn’t see any folding bikes, but I did spot some wonderful Autumnal colours while I was searching for CM2691 at Holy Trinity Brompton.
Lovely Autumn Colours
One of the many puzzle icons on the London map is Routemaster No. 9. For some reason, I had been putting off attempting this one for ages, probably due to how spread out the waypoints were, but a week or so in the capital had meant I could look for a few on foot each night on the way home from work. By this morning, I had enough info to head for the final destination.
I was rather hoping to spot one of the lovely old Routemaster buses, but I only saw a new “Boris Bus” variant today, as I made my way to GZ.
Routemaster No. 9
I do like it when the final key of a puzzle fits into place. And I was happy to have found the cache at the end point, after all that work.
Who Has The Key?
The TUBE SideTracked hide in Bayswater had a very nosy neighbour which kept looking at my while I was searching for the cache! I hope his bite is not as bad as it looks!
Big Cat Watching Me
By now I was almost dead on my feet, so I hopped on the nearest tube train back to Liverpool Street and made my way home to bed, at last.
Two caches bagged this morning on my way to work. Firstly the time-critical Going Underground (which is only available during office hours on weekdays), and then Church Micro 5919 in Sloane Square.
Another afternoon shift in London meant another morning walk while the sun was shining. My first stop was for Ghost Tube SideTracked Lords. The view from GZ showed the pavilion roof off rather well.
Lords Skyline
Then I made my way to the final of the old Virtual/Multi series, Catastrophe, Calamity, Cataclysm – The Prize! It has been a long while coming, since I’ve been doing the feeder caches in dribs and drabs over several months. Great to finally have this one ticked off the list!
Next was a visit to Regents Canal which was a DNF, and then further along for Stephenson’s Vaults, a cheeky placement which had to have a fave. It was tricky to retrieve between muggles, there was a lot of traffic along the canal today.
This Is Art
After another trad find in Camden it was finally on to my last one of the day, Carreras Cigarette Factory near Mornington Crescent. This was hidden opposite the splendid Art Deco façade of the old factory, guarded by a pair of regal-looking cats!
Carreras Factory
Playtime over, I headed off to Westminster to start my shift.
I was in London again for work this afternoon but had to travel in via Upminster due to engineering works on my usual route. My first was a trad at Upminster Station, then a trip on the District Line into central London. I was early for work, so picked up another trad and a multi around Holborn before heading off to earn a crust.
Red Lion Square
Once my shift was done, I got the tube back to Upminster again but couldn’t resist looking for just one more, despite it being dark. A nighttime Nano to round off the evening, job done.
I’ve been looking at the Earthcache near Westminster Bridge on the London map for months. It’s just around the corner from where I’m working and today the tides were just right – low tide just before I started in the morning and high tide just after I had finished. So I finally pulled my finger out and visited the spot to make my measurements.
Older Than London Itself
Job done, I then headed off to pick up the trad in Ham Yard, another one ticked off the list.
Today’s target was the trad along the Thames at Temple, Carry On Constable. I got there by having a walk on the South Bank which looked rather nice with all the lights on. The trad was quickly spotted in its hiding place.
Another nocturnal walk after work this evening, this time to finish off the Multi in St. James’s Park which I started last week, and pick up a puzzle and a trad in Mayfair.
Wellington Barracks After Dark
The trad was CM7907 Mayfair Grosvenor Chapel, a fine building even after dark.
