The Cotswold Lions Tour

The Cotswold Lions Tour, 6 caches + 2 more en-route, 7 miles, Cold Aston. 

Hello,

Let me start by saying today's series, goes down as one of the best I've ever done. No huge amount of caches, just a stunning walk - which I do not regret choosing. Save this one for a nice day, bring a picnic, and enjoy. This series is probably the unsung best in The Cotswold's, a hidden gem.

Started a little late, due to unforeseen family issues, but as soon as we arrived in the village, we knew this series was going to be special. As an added bonus, the sun was at it's best, lightening up the pretty area, and the temperature was perfect for walking - warm, but with a little breeze in the air!

Just how I like it - out of the car, and on the trail for the rest of the time. Simples. And, it was like that from the very first step we took along the byway. Some very pretty houses around, trees in blossom now, and daffodils everywhere - wish they looked like that in our garden!

Stunning far reaching views on the way to #1, and we were walking to the song of the birds, managed to pin point out a skylark, and a woodpecker! However, spirits became low at #1 itself, as we spent ages searching for the cache, and didn't have any luck. Reckon it has sadly been muggled, what a shame, as it was a fab spot!

Anyway, we then walked up the first hill of the day! The series was really starting to look good here, such a peaceful, secluded area, the only sign of civilization was the Fosseway in the distance! Thankfully a quick find in the likely spot for #2, really like these large spaces between caches - saves you stopping every 500 meters, and are more of a pleasure to find, being hidden sensibly, and in nice spots at the same time. Good, classic Wrighty walk this is [:D] .

Next, it was along the path offering more fabulous views, before we arrived in the very pretty Cotswold village of Turkdean. Not a person in sight, again, flowers in full bloom, and an amazing tree dominating the village!

Once we left the village, and were back on the bridleway, it was the start to one of my favorite parts of the walk - a stunning valley, well, what else can I say? Just amazing. Found #3 alright just before walking down into the valley, glad that our bad luck is over from #1! Still not a single Cotswold Lion to be seen, but plenty of other wildlife! The birds were still at song here, and as we walked through the valley, we could here the woodpeckers more than ever! Amazing!

By now, the series was turning into something more than special. It had been so long since we'd had a PROPER walk like this! The temperature was rising here, but that lovely, cool breeze was still about, so it was fine! As you may have gathered, spirits were very high now, but things began to get worse at #4, even though we had just finished our 0.6 mile walk through the valley. I searched for ages, and there had been walling work taking place, after it collapsed. However, smiles were put back on our faces when we realised we were on the wrong side - a quick back track, and the cache was in hand! I was glad that I was remembering to check for the values for the bonus FINALE to the tour, what would I have done if I'd forgotten? 

Along the route, one of the caches we passed was "Another Bloomin Hill" - a piece of history in CacheWalker jargon! I was glad to finally bag this historic find, and the location was amazing, 360 degree views, and as the name suggests, it is on a hill! Really enjoyed finding this cache, and then it was back on the trail for the last Lion cache! How quickly time went? By now, my dad and I were labeling this series as "one of the best ever". The last Lion cache (#5) was a quick easy find, and the sort of 'different' container I like to find - and so, I was armed with the coordinates for the final cache! It was then a 1.5 mile walk to the bonus, and we really enjoyed it! Just before reaching Notgrove, we walked through a field of Cotswold Lions at last! Took some amazing photos of them, and the views from here were amazing!

It was then into the idyllic village of Notgrove, where we could have done a multi cache, but decided to carry on with what we were here for, the series. Had a nice walk up through a field of mature trees, before the end was insight, unfortunately. Now we realised that this walk had everything terrain -wise - fields, byways, grassland, tarmac roads and now a forest. Not any old forest, but a forest of stunning beech trees! Well, I call it a forest, but it was more like an avenue!

Before too long we were at GZ! And, seconds later the final cache of the superb series was in my hands! 

And so was the end of possibly the best series we've done! It had everything, a variation in terrain, easy caches to find (other than #1) and most of all, the location was top notch - just the feeling of being so secluded, and out in the open, enjoying stunning views all the way round. Top class! Highly recommended! 

Griff Grof

1000 Finds, and a walk on Bredon Hill

Hello,

Well, aren't I a happy bunny? I hit 1000 at last, after two enjoyable years, on a stunning 7 mile walk on, and around Bredon Hill, which dominates the villages nestling below. In this post I will be telling you everything that happened, a look back on the 1000 that I have found, and information on the walk we did picking up more superb caches.

Today was my first time up on Bredon. Let me start by saying, it is one of the most pleasant places to walk that I've ever been to - friendly bridleways and paths suitable for all! 1000 is such a big number, and such an achievement, and I could have followed in the footsteps of many and found an extreme 5/5 cache... but, at the end of the day, all I really wanted was a good cache, in a good spot - this = a Wrighty cache. But which one? 169 left to find by him, which do I choose? I had been reading many good things about it, and it was recommended to me by Wrighty himself, and so I finally decided on Topofthehill - which did fit the bill perfectly. I had a look at other caches on the hill, and noticed 7 more, which I knew I could make into a neat little 7 mile walk - the boots were on, the plan was set, and we were off!

Arrived in the village of Overbury, where we parked the car, to begin our hike to the top - as the cache name suggests, it is at the top of the hill, and so involved a lovely two mile hike to the summit - just under 1000ft above sea level. The walk was set around Overbury estate. The weather at the start was very cold (and I only brought one glove - doh) and there was a slight breeze in the air - not the best of starts. By the time we were up on the first footpath "junction" my right hand (the one with no glove) was absolutely frozen! At this point, the GPS read 1.09 miles to the summit. The views behind us were simply stunning, although a little hazy due to the mist [:(]

When we got out in the open, we had to turn left, with the wind turning even stronger, and it even started to drizzle, and later rain. Hands still frozen, but we were still going, with 0.7 miles to go to the top. At this point, I could see the old folly, so I knew the end was in sight, and within the end was my 1000th find nestling. Walked through an interesting field, still a little bit of drizzle coming down, but all was made worthwhile, after seeing the STUNNING views over the brow of the hill - amazing. At this point, my dad began to congratulate me on choosing such a fine walk for my 1000th, which I was glad with, as I felt a bit odd doing a simple cache for the milestone - but then again, it's good to be different!

Seconds after, we arrived at the Toposcope, and I quickly solved the puzzle with FROZEN hands, before we decided to kick off celebrations at this one, I was literally jumping for joy that my 1000th cache coords were now at hand! Before leaving, we were approached by a muggle, who thought we were doing an ancient ritual - how odd!

Had to *backtrack* a little from the summit, after admiring the views (which were still hazy) but at least the drizzle had stopped by now! And the wind had also dyed down! But my cold (well - frozen) right hand still hadn't warmed up.

The GPS pointed us to somewhere which didn't look right. But, after a bit of a wander bingo there was the sheer, steep slope on everyone's lips in their logs - now I knew my puzzle skills were finally improving!!! I slid down the steep slope, while my dad took the hard way down - gripping to the fence and slipping on the mud - he made it though!

Stunning panoramic views at GZ, and I could almost see myself uncovering the cache as I followed my GPS to GZ. Spent ages looking in lots of places matching the hint, before I finally spotted the cache. I got my dad to film me uncovering it - the best type of container! Had a good rummage through the cache, and left a travel bug, a geocoin, and a set of five rubbers! Also took a photo with the disposable camera inside. My hand was so cold though, I couldn't even coordinate myself to write! So dictated what I wanted written, and my dad kindly wrote it down. Took some nice photos with the cache, and my 1000 finds Geocoin!

After putting the cache back, the celebrations began! My dad enjoyed a cup of tea, and I began the "party" by firing some party poppers into the air, and cleaning them up after, and doing it all again - aren't I sad? Anyway, here's a photo of part of my 1000 finds "party", can you see the party poppers product? 

After all of it was cleared up, it was a walk back up the bank to decide what to do next. We decided that, who cares about the weather, let's just go for a good old walk! Glad we did, as soon after the sun came out, my hand warmed up, and we were enjoying walking on Bredon more than ever, and I began to venture further into four figures by finding some more caches on the hill. Got a DNF on "High and Dry" which was disabled, then enabled after being found yesterday, but got to 0ft and a spot that matched the hint exactly and nothing. After that, they came in thick and fast, picking up more caches by the un-beatable Wrighty, and taking in more stunning views! I loved the cache "Animal Subway", clever name, and fab spot! Loved the hole in the wall...

Continued our walk on the hill, taking in "Rabbit Warren Place", "A rock and a hard place",  "Kings and Queen's Stones", "Sundial" and "Bredon Hill 1" - before a descent to another Wrighty cache - "Bell's Loot"- Please remember to read my official logs for more on each of these caches.

I just wanted to mention the "Sundia" cache, there was a great surprise at GZ - and a cool container. This was the surprise, look away if you want to go find it, and enjoy the views:

Never expected to see that! Also liked how it was used to hide the cache....

All in all, a great walk for my 1000th cache walk - really enjoyed the variation in terrain, the variety of good quality caches (hidden by various people, but mostly Wrighty) and, of course, the views! It was a great walk, I made it 7 miles, and that included the climb up to the summit, BEFORE the circular descend back down to Overbury. This was one of the best walks I've done in a while, left some caches to find when we come back to Bredon for a summer picnic, after we realised what wonderful walks roam on, around, and below it. 

So, that's #1000 found! It's been an amazing journey from #1 to where I am now, and I've enjoyed every step of the way - thank you to all who have hidden, found and came out caching with me - Geocaching really changed my life, for many reasons, and it felt like such an accomplishment to have hit such a HUGE milestone - but I'm not going to stop here, I'm going to try and get a spurt on to be nearing 2000 at this point next year - can I do it? I just know I can't wait another two years! 

I take away happy memories from this walk, and I am glad I picked TopoftheHill for the milestone in the end! 

Griff Grof

Planning ahead....

Hello,

This weekend, by the look of things, I'll be finding my 1000th, so make sure you check out my post for that, Sunday, should I get round to finding it...

But I've been planning even further ahead!

If you didn't know, I've been busy coding the NEW CacheWalker forums - please visit them, and join in here - we had to move due to server issues.

Talking about CacheWalker, the NEXT event is now up and running, and we're on tour! Where? Only the tallest mountain in the country of Wales! Yep, the event will be held on the SUMMIT at 12:00 noon, after a group CacheWalker walk up to the top - along one of the well known routes. The date is Monday 11th June 2012 - it's a Monday because apparently it's too busy during weekends and holidays! So, yes, I'm planning ahead for that event, as on 11th June CacheWalker goes Welsh.

But, no, I'm literally PLANNING further ahead - planning being for the September CacheWalker Fifth Birthday event - being in charge, I am currently arranging a field for what could be a great picnic - and should it be that venue, it will be suitable for all - watch this space.

Anyway, time to sign out from having hundreds of caches found, and now to start a new chapter of having 1000+ caches found - all that, and looking back on my FIRST (of many, hopefully) 1000 caches. Check back then!

Griff Grof

PS - What do you think about the new look?

Byway to Railway Series

BAR (Byway to railway) Series 28 caches, 8 miles. Chiseldon, Wiltshire. 


Hello,

I was back out caching today [:)]

Series Summery
I spotted this 28 cache series, which I thought was perfect, as it would take me to 999 finds, in time for me to hike to my 1000th next weekend. The series was much better than I had anticipated, and was a mostly flat walk, to get me back into the swing of things. Pleasant views of the surrounding hills to be enjoyed, and most of it is bike able. Not a variation in hides, or terrain, but still a very enjoyable walk, today in the company of my dad and flyhiy. Interesting history in the area, and the warm, sunny weather made it all the better [:D]

My day 
The walk started in the lovely town of Chiseldon, and had a pleasant walk for the first few caches... but on #6, we dropped our  OS map - but where? Yep, we had to retrace our steps searching for it - like looking for a needle in a haystack - adding on an extra 2 miles to the 8 mile walk.

The series doesn't have much of a variation in terrain, but what it does offer are rich examples of wildlife. We saw two deer in the middle of a field, who then ran away, before we saw another six deer sprinting around the field - we took stunning photos! There's also tons of plants and other variation along the route, all of which are interesting to look at.

Was very glad that shooting season is over, wouldn't like to be completing it during the winter months - you can see that lots of shooting takes place, lots of clay pigeons dotted across various fields!

My favorite part of the walk was between #10 and #17, lovely stretch with good views, before following an old railway (now a cycle path - bring your bikes!) which was nice, but it followed a busy road, and so the noise kinda ruined our "peace".

At this point, while signing a log, the first muggle of the day passed by - oh no! But wait, "Are you Geocaching?" she and her granddaughter ask - they told us that her son (the girls uncle) also Geocaches, I wonder who it is? Other than that, we only saw a few other cyclists, but otherwise a fairly quiet route.

All in all, a very good day, and walk, and with 999 caches found, I'm getting ready for #1000 next weekend - watch this space for that blog entry!

~Griff Grof~