2013's caching in review

So, another year over; but it wouldn't be complete without my annual 'Caching In Review' post. This year, I set myself the goal to get 2000 finds, grab 100 more Wrighty caches and find more than 510 caches throughout the year, all whilst beating stats records along the way. How did I do? Quite frankly, not well. Firstly, though, let's take a look back on the caching year as a whole... 

It all started with an epic hike up two peaks in the Brecon Beacons, and finished with  a cracking CacheWalker. In between, I can firmly say that we did not complete a single poor series this year: each one was only selected if the series had a considerable amount of favourite points and/or I could see evidence of positive reviews. Consequently, I have thoroughly enjoyed every caching trip this year... Therefore, this year has been more quality-focussed, rather than quantity-focussed. I've found some very memorable caches, and the highlight, for me, was finding five 5/5s in a single day - previously, I had embarrassingly found none. No surprise, I can confirm that my Cache of the Year for 2013 is "Below Above - Fallen Monarch" ( GC2GAMT ) - It was difficult choosing just one of these caches, but I chose this one as there was more to see (workmen's tools, interesting graffiti, a crane etc) in comparison to the other caches. Also, your first 5/5 is always going to remain more memorable than those which follow after, this was also my reasoning behind selecting it. 

Now, back to those goals: I reached 1555 finds, meaning I found 229 caches throughout the year. I doubt I found even 20 Wrighty caches, let alone 100. I would say that the only stat-related thing I achieved was filling in more squares in my D/T grid thanks to more unique caches, such as the Below Above's. But don't think for one second that I'm disappointed! I've had a blast, and I feel even more welcome in the caching community as I've continued to help CacheWalker grow, and joined several other groups/forums, and attended their respective events. I have even been out in to the field with caching friends on several occasions, which, always, adds to the enjoyment. 

So, what does 2014 hold caching-wise for Griff Grof? Well, I'm going to push forward to 2000 as fast as I can (will probably kick off the year with a series of 46 caches,) and I might even push myself to find 1000 throughout year - it's been an ambition from mine from the start... little and often might to the trick - thankfully, I've got plenty of unfound local caches! However, I will NOT compromise on quality for quantity - choosing destinations by favourite points and positive reviews will continue - not sure how good the series of 46 is, though - it's only new! I'm also hoping to beat my current Geofrenzy by finding 100+ caches in a day, fill in more of my D/T grid and calendar and beat any other stats-related records set. Finally, I hope to attend as much events as I can... I haven't been to many this year! 

So, watch out! Griff is back, and he's here to stay - 2014 will be a good one. 

Happy New Year to you all!

Griff Grof

CacheWalker Twixmas Bash 2013

Adlestrop Amble,  4 miles, 11 caches. Adlestrop, Gloucestershire. 

Well, it certainly isn't very encouraging waking up to howling wind and rain smashing against your window, when you know there's a CacheWalker event to attend. The Twixmas event has become somewhat of an annual tradition, and we've braved the weather before (at least this time it's not a picnic!) - last year's event was memorable, and it was looking like this year's would be too - but for all the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, off we set; thankfully the rain wasn't so bad when we got to Adlestrop, but the forecast was telling us it'd be another 2 hours before the sun made an appearance.

A brillant turnout for the walk meet, considering the weather and the fact that it's a Monday! We all enjoyed a warm cup of tea whilst geochatting ahead of marching off in to the hills for the walk. By the time we had got to the first cache, some people were already drenched! The thing with these events is that, as much as I enjoy them, it's a rarity to actually witness the caches - therefore, I set myself the goal to try and see each cache in situ... so far, so good.

This first stretch of the walk was quite muddy, not a surprise walking through woodland in wet weather, however, I expect it would be fine during drier times (well, I have been here before). It was a pleasure chatting with everyone on the walk (all whilst trying to see each hide) which is what I love  most about caching en-masse - with good company on a good walk, how can you go wrong?! Just a shame about the weather! Now near the top of Adlestrop Hill, we were fully exposed to the elements (it started hailing!) as we unearthed the second incarnation of Cotswold Motel, the finest TB hotel I knew, which was archived back in 2010 - good to see it back, and now I know where to come when I have accumulated trackables!

Suddenly, whilst crossing some very deep mud, a strip of blue became apparent in the sky above us. Minutes later, out came the sun. Well, it wouldn't be a CacheWalker event without the sun shining, would it! Perfect timing too, as we began our descent back down in to Adlestrop, meaning that we could enjoy the stunning panoramic views all around us - such a shame I can't quite say the same about the rest of the walk, but this last mile made up for all of that! 11 caches done (I saw each of them!) we defragmented as some of us set off to complete the new Church Micro whilst others wished to dry off in the venue. I tagged along with the former lot.

A good walk and series, despite the weather, with stunning views at the end. I know that there are more great views on the route, having walked some of the paths before, therefore I highly recommend the series - but save it for a nice day, it can get windy up there! Or not, like us, you won't be disappointed - it is a Wrighty series, after all.

~

Then, it was time for the event! I counted 36 heads on the walk, and I believe that this tally rose to over 40 as others turned up who didn't dare brave the weather. As we were in a village hall this time (due to the fact that there's not a pub in the village) everyone brought their own food, which was nice as it saved us, as the organisers, the hassle and, moreover, people didn't have to pay for their meal and could bring whatever drinks and food they sought. 

Plenty more geochat was enjoyed, before we handed out Secret Santa presents, ran the raffle and issued the CacheWalker SuperBike Challenge 2013 prizes. This encouraged some others to sign up for next year, as the annual TB race transforms in to the CacheWalker Footballer's Challenge to coincide with the 2014 World Cup. 

With that, everyone went their separate ways; another CacheWalker event wrapped up successfully, and enjoyed by all. I had a great time, and perhaps that's it for caching in 2013 - although I hope that I can get out tomorrow. If not, I've ended in true style with a brilliant day's caching. 

Finally, sorry for the lack of photos: I didn't take any today :D But stay tuned as I may add some once others have uploaded them to the cache page(s). 

Griff Grof

Venturing Below Above

The 'Below Above' series of 5/5 underground caches, Nr Box, Wiltshire. 

I've been watching the Below Above caches for months and months, therefore I jumped at the opportunity to join some fellow Cotswold cachers (tarmacjohn, pigdogboyandgirls, Gackt and XJ) on a group trip to tackle several new ones today: The series has grown admirably over the past 12 months! Furthermore, I saw this trip as the perfect opportunity to bag my first 5/5! Months in the planning, it was an extra privilege to have the CO (Jesters Magpie) with us as our guide, pointing out sites of interest along the way, as well as outlining the history of the mines we were going through.

I've got to admit, I was a little nervous in the lead-up to today. I had to be, with no idea what to expect: of course, I could go by what others had told me, and by the cache gallery, to give me an image of the sort of challenges involved. But this, particularly the latter, made me more nervous - it's certainly not very encouraging to see people squeezing through tiny holes and crawling through square-metre tunnels! It was decided on the Cotswold Caching forum that we'd kick-off the day by navigating to Fallen Monarch and Ugly Ducking - the two easiest in the series. This made me feel better, knowing that we would begin with these as a taster, before deciding whether or not to continue on with everyone else to the newer, more challenging, ones.

The sun over us, we commenced our crawl underground. At first I was thinking 'Why am I doing this?!' but, soon accustomed to the circumstances, a brilliant feeling of excitement rushed through me as I joined the main, spacious passage - I would be finding my first 5/5 cache, and in great company, very soon! Water was dripping from the rocks above, adding to the puddles dotting the meandering path. It is definitely a weird feeling being underground, but there's something strangely good about it - with these first two caches, there was certainly plenty to see! For instance, there was graffiti on many of the walls, telling us stories about what the place was like when it was working!

Graffiti: A train, a child must've drawn this when at work in the mine!

The experience was fantastically enhanced by sightings like this; we also saw old workman's tools, and even and old crane! We reached the first cache, which boasts 125 favourite points and a 'Geocaching.com Cache of the Week' award, amongst a couple of others. And I can see why, that feeling when you find the cache - after all the navigation (I was leading the group as it's my first!), the amazing sights and the physical challenge... nothing can beat that feeling. I now couldn't wait to find the second cache!

More sightings: Crane

Although this cache is said to be the easiest, Jester led us to it along an unofficial shortcut - and, gosh, this was (for me) far more of a physical challenge, in comparison to what I had experienced so far! I went through the tight squeeze (not that bad, after all) and then through an even tighter one... Nevertheless, in hindsight, I enjoyed every moment of it! We were then rewarded by arriving at GZ, the advantage of taking the shortcut, and finding the cache, after overcoming the slight twist added to the recipe! Next, it was through the exit and back in to fresh air, after admiring some more of our surroundings.

We couldn't go home now - we had a brill time, so we decided to would continue to the next two caches, located in a different quarry altogether - 165 Eaton Place, The Drawing Room and 165 Eaton Place, Mr Hudson's Pantry. Now, these took Below Above to a whole new level - the entrance... how daunting! I just went with the flow, knowing I'd regret it otherwise - I overcame a steep, slippery shaft and tight squeeze to reach a larger passage below. The route to the first cache led us over some falls (nothing too major) but, again, there were some fascinating sights, including a huge air-shaft - Jester left us with an intriguing announcement here... ;) 

The second, well, I'm not sure I should describe this in too much detail: let's just say that the names of these caches instantly made sense, and there was a tight squeeze to get through down to GZ - cache soon found, I'll say it again - it's amazing how accomplished you feel... especially after the surprise challenge to get to this cache - you'll have to go and find it to fully understand what I'm on about! Then, all that was left was to ascend up the steep shaft - thankfully we had some sturdy rope - and squeeze back outside. These two caches were highlights for me, their greater physical challenge made them all the more exciting! 

Group Photo

We concluded that we simply couldn't part ways with the group, with just one more 5/5 to go - we decided that we would have a go! This final cache, The Holly and The Ivy, is Christmas themed, so it seemed a fitting time of year to find it. Contrary to the others, this quarry was considerably smaller - in fact, as soon as we had scrambled down the shaft it was strait to the cache... complete with some Christmassy trinkets inside! We explored this quarry a little after we had signed the log, and noted some graffiti regarding the Transval War, which took us on a short journey through history - 'The war has begun' to 'The war is over!' - brilliant. A scramble back up the shaft and we were back on the surface, bidding farewell to the underground world for today. 

So... five 5/5's in one day - wow, I am very pleased about that! Had a good time throughout the day, from exploring and learning about the mines, to overcoming the tight squeezes and finding the caches at the end, all in brilliant company. I'm not sure I'd call myself a caving enthusiast after this, but it was certainly a great, fun experience and I'm eager to return to the area to find more Below Above's very soon.

This series is a must do - go on, push yourself - you won't regret it! 

Griff Grof

A wander around Wilmcote

SS's Walk, 4.1 miles, 18 caches + 2 en-route, first cache: GC4FJ7E. 

This was another series that I missed being published, due to not being a premium-member for a while - discovered, once again, completely by chance whilst browsing the map. Wilmcote rang a bell... its a village Wacky races is very familiar with; I reckon he'd have loved to have come back to it with us today, shame he's living in a warmer climate now! Wilmcote, being the home of Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, was very picturesque as remembered, with some charming cottages lining the principle road passing through the village.

Pretty buildings like this one are found throughout Wilmcote

Couldn't wait to get going, as this series has enjoyed rave reviews; wasn't expecting too much from the walk at first, Warwickshire always seems to be very flat. The caches were nice and easy to start with (little did we know that was soon to change,) and the best thing - cow-less fields - I think, judging by peoples logs, that we're the first to not encounter any at all! Now we wished we had brought along Fizz, the puppy! It began to drizzle after the first few caches, and we caught a beautiful rainbow during this...

Rainbow 

And then there was #6 - with tons of favourite points, we knew this was going to be a special one. Spent an age searching, in the end we decided to resort to TAF (Text-a-friend... I've just made that up, let's see if it catches on,) but just as I tapped 'Send' I spotted something suspicious, and there it was - a good hide, and always nice to break a chain of DNFs on a cache. 

And so on we continued, getting well and truly muggled at #7 (let's hope he didn't take the cache!) Found #8, I admit, after a TAF - but this would be the only TAF of the day. The series also sees some good sized caches amongst the sneaky hides, including a 'Large', a very elusive size these days!

The series improved further at #11: the sun was out and there were pleasant views all round to enjoy - the cache is aptly named 'Take a Rest', and so we did! Descending back down in to flatland,  #12 was pure genius - have never seen one like this before, it made us chuckle and it got a whole lot better as we tried to retrieve the cache! I can now see why it already has 80 favourite points!

Nice views from GZ at #11

And the ingenuity didn't end there... #13, with 81 favourite points, was also very unique, and therefore memorable. The remaining caches weren't too sneaky, more of the norm, nice and quick to find. The series finished off with a stroll along the canal, by now it was starting to drizzle again. Then it was a case of picking up (not literally!) two existing caches en-route to the car; had a browse in their logbooks to see if I could spot Wacky races' name, but with no avail as each has been replaced fairly recently.

And so, it was the end to a nice series. Most caches took a while to find, you really need to think out of the box here! However, every find was worth the search: the sneaky caches were showstoppers whilst the larger caches were well stocked. Take this and add it to a pleasant walk with a good view along the way and I can safely suggest this is one to do, if you already haven't. An enjoyable morning's caching.

Griff Grof

Hill Clumps Tour

Hill Clumps Tour, 18 caches (plus 1 other en-route,) 5 miles, #1: GC4M31B 

When my premium membership ran out several months ago, I wasn't caching as much as I wanted to, and so I decided to wait before renewing it. As a result, I missed a lot of local cache notifications, and so it wasn't until I was browsing the Geocaching map searching for a quick cache to do near Shipston-On-Stour that I noticed this series. I've found most of the gnome-ads' caches and they're renowned to be good - so this series moved to top of the To Do list, and, after finding the two existing caches in Honington on Friday, it was back to this picturesque village to set off to complete the series today. 

Honey-coloured stone cottages dot the unspoilt village of Honington.

Honington is a beautiful village, idyllic and unspoilt. At the same time, however, you get that feeling that you're being watched. Nevertheless this wasn't a problem, and, when we couldn't find the footpath (which was actually what what appeared to be a private drive) the locals we asked [for directions] were friendly, and so it just goes to show not to judge a pretty place by its cover! 

Fizz, the puppy, was joining us again today; we soon found the first cache but decided to go around the field via the road, rather than through it, to the next cache, as we were concerned by the warning of cattle - especially after the tragic story in the papers recently: better safe than sorry. The first leg of the walk reminded me of the parkland in Stanway, (the footpath where you'll find #12 and #13 of my Snowshill Scramble series.) There were nice views emerging behind us, and we could already tell this series was going to be a good one - the sun was even trying to break through... unfortunately, with little success. Not far from the kissing gate into this field, there was a sheep skull on show, Fizz was obviously scared of it as she started barking like crazy! :-D 

Sheep's skull 

Before too long, we were already half way round - not many notable views yet, but some very nice caches, well hidden but at the same time quick to find - just how I like it! I was a little worried as we arrived at #8, the Multi, as I had read that there was a puzzle to solve. And when we found stage one and took the puzzle out we were stumped... but we needed the solution in order to find the final cache. After ten minutes trying to deduce it, we moved on. Luckily, we bumped in to some familiar faces moments later, who were doing the series in reverse, as stunning views emerged around us. It was Mr and Mrs Tarmacjohn! Fizz was over the moon to meet their dog, Maggie. We told them about the puzzle, and handed what we had done, and they had a go at completing it. They were successful, and so backtracked with us as we continued, to find the cache. The walk was becoming truly superb at this point, with stunning, often panoramic, scenic views around us. We found and signed the cache together, even though it was a little hard to open, and parted ways. 

The last few caches enjoyed a backdrop of even more beautiful views; you really have to be there to enjoy them fully, you simply can't capture them on camera in the same way, as always. 

Cracking views all round

We descended back in to Honington, a couple of caches later, after breathing in more brilliant panoramic views; this really is a lovely area, which we'd probably never have walked in if it weren't for Geocaching. 

We found all the caches, including the Bonus, and had a thoroughly enjoyable late morning/early afternoon walk. This gnome-ads series did not disappoint, and we'd recommend this superb walk to all. 

Griff Grof

Nottingham Hill

NottHill, 3 miles, 9 caches (+3 en-route.) First cache: GC4DJXM 

This was literally one of those "wow-a-newish-series-in-an-area-I-know-is-nice" moments when I came across this one on the map. One of my fondest caching memories was an evening spent on Cleeve Hill finding some nice caches, all whilst taking in the breathtaking views. I HAD to do this series: it looked to be a good one! So on a chilly, (but sunny) morning, off we set with Fizz the puppy - this was going to be her first series.

From #1, I knew this was going to be a cracker! The views over the valley and beyond (we could see the Malvern's at one point!) were stunning, and it brought a feeling of joy to me. The first cache was a sneaky hide, but it didn't take long to find, and the second was a nice size box filled with swag - just what I like, and in such an amazing location too!

Fizz had a brilliant time as we continued, as we found more neat caches, as we walked through some woodland - already demonstrating the variation in terrain on this walk (from lane, to hill-track and now to woodland path.)

Here's a snap from about half way round the series... it really illustrates how beautiful the area is, and the sorts of views we enjoyed all the way round, coupled with nicely kept caches - all the ingredients for a great series:

We didn't see much wildlife on the route, contrary to other peoples logs, which, in some cases, was a good thing - I wouldn't have wanted to bump in to any cattle with the dog with us! Nevertheless, this didn't take away from the enjoyment of the series, and we did get to meet some ponies:

We had a bit of a scare at the final cache: As I was searching, a wasp-looking creature flew past me. It's stinger alone must've been three inches long - we've never seen anything like it - and one of us studied wildlife at degree level! I have a mild phobia with these sorts of insects, so I was left white as paper - but I still wanted to find the cache, which I did, to end a good series. 

For me, it was one of the best series I've done in a while (well, I haven't done many lately, have I?!). From the beautiful views all the way round, to the good caches; this short walk was one we thoroughly enjoyed, and one we'd highly recommend to others. 

Until the next one... feeling a bit like a trip to the Lake District - but that'll probably have to wait until summer... wouldn't want to be mountain walking as the weather gets colder.

Griff Grof

Reintroduction to Geocaching

It's been a couple of months now since my last find!

So, it seemed fitting to attend the 'CacheWalker Introduction to Geocaching' event with tarmacjohn, who kindly offered me a lift, to reintroduce myself to caching!

We, along with Wrighty and Walk Tall, turned the event (aimed to introduce newbies to caching) in to a proper CacheWalker as we set out to find some of the local caches, forming a nice circular walk. We found several caches, as well as picking up the new ones by Gackt, some sound hides. However, our route was disrupted by a footpath which was closed off due to an angry hornet nest said to be in a tree further down the path. As a consequence, we continued to the road instead, and found another cache there - so I'm not complaining!

The event was located at the Cotswold Water Park, and what a nice place it is: the lakes were very picturesque under the sun, once again making an appearance at a CacheWalker event.

Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day, spent in excellent company, finding some good caches in nice spots, all before returning to the event for plenty more geochat and trackable spotting.
Well done Gackt for a great event! Here's to the next one... Twixmas, anyone??

Again, no photos here! I PROMISE to have my camera at the ready for the next post!

Griff Grof

Caching al estilo español

Siempre me encanta buscar Geocaches en España, porque - no, don't worry, I won't write this post in Spanish - I may well disengage you all if I did!

So, let's start this again: I love going caching in Spain; since I started caching, we've found at least one  every time we've gone. Back then, in 2010, there were hardly any around! Just goes to show how much the times have changed... there must now be hundreds and hundreds within a two-mile radius of where we stay - and only three years have been and gone!

We always enjoy cycling up the various local paths, and so we welcomed the fact that a new linear series of caches had been published, covering a five mile stretch. Of course, we wouldn't be stupid enough to do all the caches on our doorstep in one go - so we only did a few (probably passing several    of the others) in order to save the rest until next time. If you're a real cacheaholic, then you must be thinking I'm crazy passing caches and not looking for them - what if they're archived come next year? Good point, I'll just have to hope that they're not! In all seriousness, though, perhaps the main reason for not doing them all in one go was the heat - the area was going through a particularly warm patch, and so we concluded that it wouldn't be wise to push ourselves too far.

Caches feel so much more rugged in Spain, if you know what I mean. It's as if they haven't caught up with the containers we tend to use here, for there are hardly any film canisters in sight, and most caches seem to be of a larger size. Of the four we found along this stretch of the route, there was one sneaky hide (which we chuckled at!) and the rest were generous regulars! Plus, you won't see a lizard if you turn over a rock here in the UK either - in Spain, we did see a couple in this scenario, makes caching feel a bit more exotic!

~

Our next caching trip, an early morning stroll along the beach, wasn't quite as successful and enjoyable. Gosh, there are some REALLY HARD caches in Spain!!! Of the eleven we attempted, we found one. Yes, ONE. Possibly the most unsuccessful day caching ever, for anyone, let alone for someone with nearly 1500 finds. In my defence, the caches were in a very high-muggle area. There were people all over the beach, even this early in the morning and there were people sat outside the restaurants and hotels which back on to the beach... as you can guess, it was, therefore, very stressful trying to find caches in between all this, the only possibility for their placement were palm trees, but their trunks were smooth-as-paper each time, no hidey-holes to be found. I've no idea where all these caches were or if they had been muggled, perhaps they were all archived after I loaded the PQ: but then why did we find one of them? It's all a mystery, and not the caching I enjoy, so next year I'll make sure to hit the trail each time, rather than the beach, when it comes to caching!

Hasta el año que viene,
Griff Grof

A MEGA day caching

Ah, and so it's that time of year again - the day of the annual UK roving Mega Event. And this year it's visiting the West Midlands; I felt this event was close to me. Not only did we have a fund-raising raffle for the the Mega at our CacheWalker event, but I had got very familiar with the names of the committee and supporters, through the (now gone) West Midlands Regional Forum. My expectations were high, and I was looking forward to putting these faces to names. Walk Tall invited me to attend with him; he even hinted that we may be able to squeeze some caching in during the day (well, no one wants to be sat in a venue cramped with people all day, do they?!)

We did literally pop in to the venue to register, chat to friends from home and look around the stalls -  then we were off caching - hurrah! Walk Tall wanted to take part in the CITO, and rightly so (I enjoy them!) We moved with the crowd, collecting whatever rubbish we could find as we reached the village of Gaydon. Gloves off, it was time to have a go at the new Wherigo - it was quite confusing, as the cartridge wasn't really working on our GPS, but thankfully there were others who weren't in the same situation who could help get us back on track: with this, the cache was now found not much later.

There was an icon challenge - 11 in 11 - going on throughout the day, but we had no interest in this having achieved it at the Geolympix last year. But we were starting to collect quite a few icons! Three so far, and a fourth as we bagged a Multi, and a fifth as we found the standard traditional once we teamed up with some other cachers to complete part of a Marrow Bone - sorry, that's MARROW BONE - series.

The part we did was quite enjoyable, nothing outstanding, but good caching. The hills to our left, (where they held a Kite event on Monday) looked nice, I expect there are great views from up there! Don't get me wrong, though, just like the Ottmore series, the scenery was lovely and alive, this was especially noticeable under the sun. What I love about Mega events is the fact that there are so many cachers about - we must have passed nearly a hundred throughout the day by this point!

With a pleasant walk over in good company, and all caches bagged, it was time to grab our sixth icon - an Unknown. And finally, we completed another quick walk which had two more 'In Honour of...' caches (these were published on the day, one for each past UK Mega; we found a couple whilst on the series earlier.) We bumped in to even more familiar faces here, and put some more to names. Then it was back to the Heritage Motor Centre to watch the closing ceremony; I cannot wait until Ayrshire next year, it'll be fab! (that's if I can make it: Scotland is a long drive away!)

I'm sorry for no photos again, didn't take any!

Griff Grof

Around the world in one series

Otmoor Challenge, 30+ caches. Helsinki (where we started): GC3Q1KZ

Well, I can't be exact with that... only did part of the series! - 22, in fact, and we walked over six miles for that (don't take my word for it though... can't remember exactly!)

~

I began the day wrapping up at my work placement, when, all of a sudden, I was surprised by Walk Tall arriving telling me that we were going caching - brilliant! So, I bowed out, GPS in hand, and off we set. I was in the Kidlington area, and so we embarked on this particular series which wasn't too far away.

Each cache is named after a different city, thus the title of this post, and we found caches from London to Mexico City! I can't say that the caches or their contents boasted anything in particular about these places, but it was nice to have an ongoing theme.

It was a pleasant walk, and the caches were easy finds, other than one DNF we had between Helsinki and Oslo: perhaps the cache was missing? It was a scorching hot day, and so any views we got were a bit hazy, but, hey, the sun is out... who can complain? It's a rare event around here!

No photos? Unfortunately, as I was having such a great time talking to Walk Tall, it never occurred to me to get my camera out; no, it wasn't a walk with outstanding views, but the scenery was lovely, and we passed some very picturesque spots, such as a pond where I believe we saw two herons. Of course, the sun made this all the better!

A brilliant surprise, and a brilliant afternoon caching - you should take a look at these, but save them for a nice day so the area really comes alive - otherwise it won't be as special. A pleasant walk.

Griff Grof

Pinswell Loop

Pinswell Loop, 7 caches, 5.5 miles. First cache: GC4AW5D 

After reading tarmacjohn's post on CacheWalker, branding this series as "fantastic", I knew it was a must-do (TJ's recommendations never disappoint!) Therefore, within a few days, we set off to tackle what looked to be a great series. 

What a sunny day! Warm too! The day looked to be promising as we approached #1, where we meet a pair of cachers, Sulis and Asparagus. A quick chat and we went our separate ways, leaving the cache for us to find above a river, which was sparkling and glistening under the sun. This already looked to be a cracker! 

On we continued, approaching #2. Ah, we had heard about this one: Only three finds found up to now, and seven attempts. Of course, we had caught up with Sulis and Asparagus, who had been searching extensively for ten minutes now. We joined in, and together the four of us had to admit defeat after another half hour. As we proceeded, I sent a text to tarmacjohn, hoping he'd read it to be able to give us a hint - perhaps we'd be able to come back upon completion, as GZ was right by a minor road. 

The views were very rewarding as we continued along Norbury Camp, an Iron Age hill fort. 

And the walk just got better the further we went along: The caches maintained their good standard, whilst the views improved. Had never cached around here before, but am certainly going to do so again, this is such a lovely, picturesque and untouched part of Gloucestershire! 

About half way round, the sound of the tri-tone on my phone was a welcome one, as I took it off standby to see that tarmacjohn had texted me - with a little hint for that elusive second cache! Woohoo! We hoped that we'd see Sulis and Asparagus again to be able to pass the hint on so they could find the cache, and we did! Surprisingly, they turned around to go back to it, rather than to drive to it at the end - oh well, I guess the walk was so beautiful that they wanted to enjoy what had been a particularly special stretch from another perspective (reverse). 

Several caches on the series (and some extras) and more super views later, and we were back in the village where we parked. Prior to driving up the lane to grab #2, we popped in to the pub where we cooled down with an ice-cold drink to reflect on what had been one of the best walks we've done in a while!

Using the hint, we were able to now promptly find the cache - what a clever hide, you really do have to think out of the box! Glad to see Sulis and Asparagus's names in the log too! 

As I've said, a great series, highly recommended!  

Griff Grof

Some Devonshire caching

West Alvington Stroll, 4 miles, 15 caches. First cache: GC3BPWZ

Down in Devon for the weekend for family matters, and we planned to sneakily squeeze in a local series of caches to complete early Saturday morning.

We chose the West Alvington Stroll, taking off from Kingsbridge. As my dad knows the area especially well, he suggested this walk would be a cracker; I could certainly tell so by some of the contour lines on the OS map! In addition, it was (by far) the sunniest day of the year so far, therefore I was especially hyped as we parked at the village hall and set off, as a whole family, on this loop!

We were greeted by a friendly cat, and we wondered if s/he'd ever part our sides as she followed us long past #1, but eventually parted ways with us (never actually noticed when s/he vanished!)

There were serval sneaky hides as we continued along the route. But I almost forgot about caching as I got lost in the amazing views; this really is a lovely corner of the country. Living in the Midlands, there's also some overwhelming feeling every time you see the sea, and this was certainly the case on this walk, parts of which circled Collapit creek.

My favourite part of the walk was the descent down towards the estuary. The views were best here, panoramic and captivating:

Image taken from Cache Gallery, Geocaching.com, uploaded by user on 01/04/12. Unfortunately, I was too busy enjoying the views, and forgot to take out the camera! Obviously it was far sunnier when we did the series, and the views I describe were even better further up!

We soon faced a challenge: we had been teased with the same cattle field being in our sight the whole way, and now we had to cross it. For those of you who don't know, we dislike cows. Never have before. If you want to know why we do now, find my blog post from 27th October 2010 on here! - let's just put it this way: we were chased by a herd of them in to a river. I had never been directly through a cattle field since. But now we had no choice. This is getting a bit dramatic, right? Well, luckily they caused us no problem, and we were rewarded with more good views at the top of the hill, but, sadly, not with the cache. We knew it was a challenging one, but we simply couldn't spot it.

So on we continued, crossing Collapit Creek, idyllic under the shining sun, taking in even more views (now across the valley over to Kingsbridge) on the homeward stretch; a nice, sneaky hide to finish things off. 

In conclusion, a throughly enjoyable series: good range in cache containers, superb views all the way round and a good mix of terrain. Highly recommended. 

~

Before the day was out, we joined the wider family for a pub dinner on the shores of Slapton Sands as the sun set. Quickly popped out to grab the adjacent Earthcache, which I really enjoyed, being a Geography enthusiast! 

I'll have to make sure next time we're down here to squeeze in some more caching, as we had a great time this time round!

Griff Grof

Quest for Ziggy

Ziggy Stardust, 6 miles, 4 caches. First cache: GC173RX

There cannot be a better choice of series to set out and complete than a Wrighty series. Long on the agenda, we chose our most local unfound, the Ziggy Stardust walk, to tackle on a chilly Easter Monday afternoon.

Bitter wind challenged us on the way to 'The man who sold the world' (#1,) but nothing could take away from the stunning scenery of the area, with GZ being in a good spot, in typical Wrighty style.

Unfortunately it was a DNF on the second cache (we were bitten by a dog on the way - maybe this sidetracked our search?!) and, so, as we continued, the question regarding whether we'd be able to deduce Ziggy's location missing a value began to (unfortunately) lure upon us.

The third cache, 'China Girl', was the highlight of the walk for me. The views were brilliant along this stretch, though we had to be very cautious walking along the lane, which was covered in ice! In fact, just to prove that I'm not exaggerating, have a look at what we spotted in a spiny to our right shortly before GZ:

Yes, that is a large piece of self-standing ice!!! :O 

When we did arrive at GZ we weren't disappointed. I couldn't have thought of a better place to put a cache, above a meandering valley! Despite the cold and the DNF, we were still enjoying the walk, and I was determined that we'd be able to find Ziggy! 

Did nearly slip on the ice along the same lane to #4 - it's outrageous the council don't place salt along these roads; we did see several cars drive by, thankfully they didn't seem to have a problem. So, the time had come to calculate the coordinates for Ziggy's location. Nope, we weren't going to get him. The strangest locations were produced as I substituted possible numbers into the coordinates! 

Nevertheless, we continued. I really didn't want to finish without collecting Ziggy, so by this point I was raiding the CacheWalker shoutbox and texting Wrighty himself for help. Unfortunately, no one on CacheWalker could remember exactly where GZ was, and Wrighty was working so never got to see the texts on time. 

We did enjoy the remainder of the walk, with more stunning views to supplement for the DNFs on two of the four caches. This did make up for that, and, at the end of the day, for me, it's the walk that counts, and not the caches: and this was a simply fantastic route. Furthermore, on the plus-side, it's a reason to return, perhaps with the whole family, to pick up the two we missed. 

A highly recommended series - hopefully you can top it off with finding Ziggy but, if not, you won't get back to your car feeling disappointed!

Griff Grof

Grafton Loop

Grafton Loop, 5 miles, 27 caches. First cache: GC48326

Saw this series pop up last night: I was firstly intrigued by the number of caches, (there usually aren't that many on any series in this area!) but secondly by the CO, unowho67, and the location... I'm sure, as cachers, we all have a place, where we found caches moons ago, which brings a smile back to our faces upon reminiscence. For me, Himbleton is such a place; my first proper cache series was Himbleton Hide, by unowho67 themselves. So it was a no-brainer deciding which series to do this weekend: no, it wasn't the best series I've done, but I couldn't wait to trek up the footpaths we strolled along three years ago - it was sure to bring back pleasant caching memories!

We arrived at the church car-park at 14:00 - I was shocked to see so many cars parked, several of which were housing familiar faces enjoying their lunches. They told us that it was a surprisingly good series compared to Himbleton, and so my expectations were raised!

A brilliant hide to start with, just a couple of metres from where we parked, and then we were off!
Of course, with a generous quantity of caches, not all of them could be like this - most of the norm followed, i.e lock 'n' lock boxes and film canisters. Nevertheless, the walk remained enjoyable - we soon passed through a field home to some lambs - the first we've seen this year; none in the Cotswolds (that we know of!) at this point in the year...

Unlike Himbleton, there were a few (very gentle) inclines, but these offered rewarding views for the little effort we had to put in: it made the walk all the more pleasant! 

For us, the highlight of the walk had to be the part of the series which took us through Grafton Wood - the sun was out by this point, and we could only imagine how stunning the wood would be with the bluebells, and further in to the warmer months. We met a fellow cacher at this point, Spunky Spider, who was completing the remainder of the series in reverse (he had grabbed some of the caches as FTFs last night!). 

Overall, this series was a welcome surprise: whilst reminding me why I enjoyed Himbleton so much - sound containers which were quick and easy to find - it exceeded my expectations in being a more pleasant walk, with some views along the way, and a real gem-of-a-wood... we must return to see it in full bloom! 

A must-do if looking to cache in the area. We were back at the car door within just over 2 hours. 

Griff Grof

Three years of Geocaching

Hello,

Three years ago today, I found my first Geocache. I can't believe how quickly that time has gone - I've now found over 1,000 caches! And, Geocaching itself has changed a lot in those three years..!

It's

Griff Grof

New Years day on Fan y big and Cribyn

Hello,

A couple of days have gone by, but this is my account on my New Years Day trip to the Brecon Beacons with caching friend tarmacjohn and my dad. A fine way to start a year, and we picked up two super caches on the way, on two high peaks - Fan y big, and then Cribyn. We battled the bitter winds, and the steep terrain for these, and due to time had to leave Corn Du and Pen y fan for another day.

We set off in the dark from Worcestershire, and were welcomed into the Welsh mountains by a bitter cold wind- and we were only just in the car park!

It was a two mile walk to the first cache at the first peak, BBC7 The Diving Board, and to get there we were walking along a relatively flat track, but it was by no means easy terrain! It was rocky wet, and we even had to cross a river at one point!

It was a steep climb up Fan y Big, and at the top there was even snow - the wind chill must have dropped the temperature to -10!  At the diving board we each had a photo taken, whilst working out the caches final location. It was then off to GZ, where we found the cache in its resting place. A super find and one of my all time caching highlights!

Next it was off to Cribyn, the next peak, after deciding that it would be our last due to the freezing temperatures - we'd be back to climb the other two soon! There was an Earthcache near the summit of Cribyn too!

An even steeper climb up to this one, but the views were well worth it at the top! The Earthcache was easy enough, and actually answered a question about the landscape that I was pondering upon as I came up.

Overall a very, very good day and a great way to start 2013 - apologies for the short and snappy post, but I'm tight on time, and I didn't want to postpone writing this any longer - I may come back and edit it soon though!

Happy new year!

Griff Grof