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
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