2015's caching in review

Hello!

It has been a while since my last post. I had begun to take a different attitude towards this blog - I thought there was no point posting about older cache loops since the majority of people have already completed them. I've been finding these older ones over the last couple of months. I thought it was more worthwhile reviewing newer caches on here.

Last week I realised I was wrong! There are almost 3 million caches in the world, and no one is anywhere near to finding all of them. A cacher may stumble across this blog who has never been anywhere near these supposedly old series', but wants to know if they're worth completing. So, rest-assured that in 2016 I will be blogging a lot more after caching.

Some of you may recognise a pattern here. New Year's Eve. "In review". Cache of the Year. Yep, it's time for my annual post reviewing my caching throughout the year - what I achieved, what I failed miserably at and what I hope to gain from Geocaching next year.

A good place to start is by looking at the goal I set myself earlier this year:

"This year I hope to get to 2,000 finds; it'd be nice to find than 522 caches (my current record) throughout the year. However, I will be concentrating on QUALITY caches, as I hope to truly rediscover what I have loved about Geocaching. Along the way, I'll be trying to beat previous stats records, as well as hopefully filling in more of my D/T grid. Most of all, I hope to have even more time to go caching this year. I also hope to place a new series, my first in three years."

Well, I have certainly achieved many of these things. I found my 2000th cache back in July. It was a fantastic walk along a beautiful stretch of coastal footpath and I couldn't have picked a better cache given the fact that I was in the area at the time and rapidly approaching the milestone. As I wrote in a blog post at the time, I had hoped to find a cache called Montserrat for my 2000th. This is the oldest cache in Spain, on a mountain of the same name. Unfortunately I didn't even find it when holidaying in Spain a month later - maybe next year - maybe I can get a move on and make it my 3000th! Despite this, I am still glad that I got to find a quality cache for the occasion!

The view from my 2000th, Start Point

It feels like 2015's caching was all about the summer. I found almost 100 caches the week I found my 2000th, and I beat my most in a month throughout August, setting 159 as my new record. I had a great time walking the final two loops of the GMS series in the Chilterns (see 2012 post), caching on Dartmoor and completing what I consider to be my favourite series of the year, TRotAM (see #1).

But there were also some great walks during the winter months, such as the Great Cotswold Walk which I wrote quite a bit about on this blog earlier this year. All these great trips helped me notch up more cache finds to finally beat my 2012 record of 522 for a calendar year - this year I found 576! So, my goal has been achieved in that I have beaten some previous stat records. I haven't been so successful in terms of filling in more of my D/T grid. I had trips to the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia planned to fill in some rare squares but these never happened. However, I filled in 9 spaces in my grid, the most I've filled in since 2010. I hope to complete a lot more of my grid next year as one of my main goals.

Views along the TRotAM series - Mam Tor ridge

I also said that I wanted to place my first series in three years. This hasn't happened. I walked the route way back in MAY but never got round to placing the caches - I guess I was concentrating on finding this year more than hiding. However, I've got everything in place to set the series next year - as long as someone doesn't beat me to it - fingers crossed! I reckon that I will wait until June/July as it's a good walk for the summer. Watch this space!

Finally, I recall that a year ago today I said that I hoped to "rediscover Geocaching". Have I? Of course I have! Every year I update my Cache of the Year Bookmark List, and this year the title goes to TWW - The Worcestershire Whopper! - it is a fantastic, quality cache which I will remember for some time. Not far behind it are Santa Margarida (GCQ9C4), When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney (GC6738V) and the caches I found whilst visiting Imber last week, GC434WG and GCKCJV. Obviously I didn't find all the "gems" I had wanted to this year with several trips not materialising, but there's always next year. I have rediscovered Geocaching - every cache I've found this year has oozed quality in one way or another, and none have been found simply for the numbers. I hope you too have played the game in the way you most enjoy it - whether you prefer quality, quantity or a bit of both.

So, in summary, next year I hope to find more great caches, possibly beat my best in one year again and fill in more of my D/T grid. 3000 would be nice, but I know it's going to be a busy year, and you've got to be realistic - I'll try though!

Keep your eye out for washknight's Interrogation questions soon - he sent them to me several months ago and I've been meaning to post my answers - it'll happen, I haven't forgotten.

All I have left to say is Happy New Year. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of my Geocaching in 2015, it has been my best caching year yet. It was an honour to be elected onto the GAGB committee last month, thanks to all of you who voted for me. I'm joint webmaster, and I look forward to helping out in other ways as well over the next year.

Bring on 2016 with even more quality walks and caches

Griff Grof

Caching in the Peak District

Hello!

My dad and I have been wanting to go to walking in the Peak District for ages; with stunning walks and some of the most favourited caches in the country, we knew that we wouldn't be leaving disappointed. We have some friends in Matlock who invited us to stay, and so after a few days in Devon we had three days in the Peak District to look forward to!

Unfortunately, it was pouring in rain the day we arrived. However, this did not stop us exploring the local area. The first cache we found was the Derbyshire Little Quest, GC15KQD, which offered fantastic views over Matlock. It was placed right next to Riber Castle which can be seen from most of the town. This marked only my second LQ cache as I slowly work my way towards the finale.

Nice view over Matlock from the LQ cache 

We then went up High Tor, above Matlock Bath. There is both an Earthcache (GC5TZ3H) and Multi cache (GCHFP3) there. Whilst it was raining to begin with, it soon cleared up as we began our walk along Giddy Edge completing the Earthcache and Multi simultaneously. There were great views to be enjoyed along a path only made possible by geology and Victorian ingenuity.

The Earthcache was fairly straight-forward, however we encountered problems when it came to the Multi. Several of the answers at the different stages were rather subjective, but we went with our gut instincts and saw that the coords were a mile away across the Derwent gorge! We realised that this couldn't be correct, so we tried again and again. Eventually we decided to head home and email some recent finders as we read in nearly every log that people were finding it difficult to come up with  a logical final location. Fast-forward two days and we found the cache thanks to some help from the previous finder.


GC5Q5FZ, TRotAM, 14 miles, 50 caches, Hope

Let me start by saying that this is one of the best series' I have ever done.

We chose to do this series after our friends informed us that the views from Mam Tor ridge were beautiful and that it would be a stunning walk overall judging by the terrain on the map. I was unsure, however, as typically loops with lots of caches disappoint. How wrong I was.

The series takes you through Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which tells the tale of a sailor who has returned from a long voyage. It starts and ends in the village of Hope.

Our friend decided to come with us to learn about Geocaching. After the very first cache, he was hooked, and decided he would register as 'moz63'. The series is split into two loops; the first is 6 miles long whilst the second is 7. We had decided to do the series in reverse, starting with the final cache of the second loop. This was only due to the weather forecast: with sunshine set for the afternoon, moz63 told us that it would be best to be walking along Mam Tor ridge at that point of the day.

The caches were all straight-forward finds in peaceful spots. At one point near towards the start of the walk, we passed through a field of cows. They didn't cause us any problems since they simply weren't interested in us. We then began a steep uphill climb which was worth it as we were rewarded with gobsmacking panoramic views and great caches.

Views. The clouds soon cleared!

As we continued to walk up, the views became even more impressive. I became immersed in them. I loved how the caches were placed at points which helped you appreciate them even more.

We loved one creative hide nearer the top. We were barely a couple of miles in and this series was already extremely promising with such beautiful views and a unique hide now thrown in. We were soon at the top of Win Hill, a stunning peak with superb views out towards Mam Tor and Kinder Scout.

Win Hill

We continued our walk along this ridge whilst enjoying the beautiful landscape. We crossed ways with some other cachers (Vandark) as we were doing the series in reverse. We then gazed into the spectacular Vale of Edale as we walked down a steep hill back into the lowland. In fact, it was so steep that we were glad we decided to do it in reverse and take the more gentle, although longer, route up.

Vale of Edale

We found several more caches before arriving back in Hope. Here, we enjoyed a delicious lunch and some cold drinks in The Old Hall Hotel. It was great to stop off there and cool down now that it was getting warmer towards the end of the first loop with the sun coming out.

Up to Mam Tor ridge

We decided to complete the next loop in numerical order. We weren't too keen on it at first, since we had to walk along quite a busy road for the first few caches. However, we soon forgot about this as we began our walk through some more lovely countryside, with Mam Tor looming above us in the distance. We had made the right decision this morning as there was (almost) not a cloud in the sky.

Before too long we began the steepish walk up to Mam Tor. Of course it seemed more tiring than the earlier incline, having walked 8 miles already. Again, it was worth it as stunning views began to emerge. Once we were up on the ridge, there were even more fantastic open landscapes either side of us.

Views from the top of the ridge

We decided that, whilst we were there, we had to divert to Mam Tor. This added just over a mile to our walk in total, but it was undoubtedly worth it. There were 360 degree views to be enjoyed and it was the perfect place to stop and have a break. It's hard to put it into words: it was simply stunning up there. The strong winds were invigorating and filled all of us with positive energy.

Views from the top of Mam Tor

After our worthwhile visit to the top of Mam Tor, we enjoyed more views along a superb walk on the ridge. It was great how we could see out towards Win Hill where we were just a few hours earlier. The caches kept on coming and unfortunately we had to skip out two extras since we had ascended Back Tor too early - and we weren't going back down after the walk up!

Mam Tor ridge

There were even more views as we descended back down into Hope. After just over 14 miles and 50 caches, we had completed possibly the best series we have ever done.

The views as we finished

It had everything: an outstanding walk over varied terrain (riverbanks, pastures, woodland, moorland, rocky peaks, ridges and green lanes), fantastic scenery and views, and purposeful caches. Whilst some were a little forgettable, there were a few creative hides, some of which I had not seen before. I don't think moz63 could have had a better first day caching!

I definitely recommend this series, especially to those who love elevated walking within a beautiful landscape. We won't forget this marvellous series. What a cracker. 

GC2M97J, Alphabet Soup, 9.5 miles, 25 caches, Darby Dale

We have read rave reviews about this series, and it has also been personally recommended to me. As we were staying just a couple of miles away, we decided that we couldn't leave the Peak District without having a go at one of the most favourited series' in the UK.

It's a shame that the CO doesn't seem to be as active as they once were, and as a result a few of the caches weren't in the best condition. Although broken, the first cache was awesome and from this point on we knew that there would be more treats in store.

We went wrong to begin with; couldn't quite understand why the second cache was placed on a parallel footpath to the one we were meant to be on. So we had to backtrack. Once we were on the correct path it was an enjoyable walk to begin with.

There were some nice views as we began to ascend. The great thing about this series is that many of the caches were ingenious hides - you never knew what to expect, so you have to commend the CO for keeping the cacher on their toes.

We were soon in Ladygrove Wood, which was beautiful. There were some great paths, and it was a brilliant surprise to find a waterfall there!

Waterfall

Unfortunately it was a DNF at cache J (which was disabled, but people had been finding it). Glad to see that we weren't the only ones to get a DNF that day, though... perhaps it is now truly gone?

Good paths

We were then in Halldale Wood, which was another lovely piece of woodland. Several great caches later, we found ourselves on the final stretch of the walk. There were still some more super caches to be enjoyed. Perhaps the only downside of the series was that that some lengthy sections of the walk followed roads. However, thankfully they were mostly quiet lanes, but of course it would have been ideal for even more of it to have been along footpaths! 

Overall, this was a nice series in a lovely part of the country. The caches were brilliant, and I can only imagine what they were like a few years ago when the series was newer and feeling less tired. It's good to have finally done this famous series. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Peak District, finding some outstanding caches along some stunning rights of way. What another great county for caching. We will be sure to return very soon. 

Griff Grof

Caching down in Devon

Hello!

It has been months since my last post!

Now that it's the summer, I've got a lot more time for caching! My dad and I went down to South Devon for a few days, and I was pleased to find my 2,000th cache there. In addition, we completed several series' near to where we were staying in the South Hams district.

GC2FPKC Frogmore Creek Series, 5 miles, 7 caches, Frogmore.

We arrived in Devon with 10 caches to go until my 2,000th. Frogmore is a village that I know well. When we spotted this series we thought that it would be perfect to bring my numbers up ever closer to the looming milestone.

It was a glorious sunny day, and we began the walk on the foreshore by the estuary. It is important to note that this series should only be completed during low tide, ideally 2 hours after high water. The views across the estuary were superb to begin with.

Frogmore Estuary

However, we suddenly realised went wrong - the GPS was indicating that the cache was to our right, on the footpath running alongside the estuary. Before I continue, I should emphasise that we were wrong in our thinking. Nevertheless, we scrambled up and soon found the first cache. On our way to the second, we realised that we had gone wrong, which meant that we had to find a safe point to descend back into the estuary. This added around 0.5 miles to our walk as we consequently had to backtrack a little in order to find this cache on the foreshore and inaccessible from the footpath.

Photo - Ham Point

After passing Ham Point, we walked uphill towards a Millennium beacon overlooking West Charleton. The cache here had not been found for months with a string of DNFs, and so we were pleasantly surprised when we spotted the sneaky hide.

View from the beacon

It was then through the village and into a valley we knew quite well. There were some friendly horses here, and there was a lot of wildlife to be seen including a vixen fox. This was perhaps my favourite stretch of the walk.

Valley

Unfortunately, we couldn't find the last two caches of the series. The penultimate one was literally inaccessible due to GZ being so overgrown (this has never happened to us before), whereas the final cache was like looking for a needle in a haystack - we had to move on after a while.

Overall, this was a great walk in a beautiful area which we were already familiar with. Yet, we still walked along footpaths we had not been on before. Would recommend this series to anyone who finds themselves in the area.

My 2000th find ~ GCPM39, Start Point

Due to the two DNFs earlier, we still had five caches to go. We were originally meant to be in Spain this week, and so the plan for months was to make GC2D4, Montserrat (the oldest cache in Spain) my 2,000th find. I still hope to find this cache at the end of the month, but now that we were going to Devon I had decided that GCPM39 would be my 2,000th instead. I love the coast and have wanted to go to Start Point for years, so this made sense.

We decided that it would be good to walk the South West Coastal Footpath from Torcross. This would enable us to find four more caches on the way (GC4A5AX, GC367VC, GC28Q5E and GC10WT8) which would bring my total up to 1,999. The weather was brilliant and the walk was fantastic.

As a keen geographer, it was great seeing the coastal bars at Slapton and Beesands as well as the haunting remains of the lost village of South Hallsands. It collapsed into the sea in 1917 as a result of coastal erosion. There was a quote at the viewpoint which I quite liked: "But that its wretched ruins then - though sunken utterly - will show how the brute greed of men helps feed the greedy sea".

Some of the remains of South Hallsands

The caches we found were in good locations which showcased the superb views. I liked how you could see Start Point right at the end of Start Bay throughout the whole walk; we had our eyes on the goal.

Start Point in the distance

Once we arrived at Start Point we followed the coastal path around the headland towards the cache. This stretch was also very enjoyable, and I felt even more immersed in the view here. Once we arrived at GZ, my 2,000th cache was found after a short search in a peaceful, beautiful spot .We had hoped to see some seals but there were none today.

View from the cache

It was definitely a fitting cache for the milestone, and GC2D4 will serve as my symbolic 2,000th find to commemorate the achievement. This second thousand has been even better than the first, and I hope that I will have found many more 'special' caches by the time I reach 3,000 - hopefully it won't take me as long!

GC48P2Z, More Ups than Downs, 5.5 miles, 26 caches, near Bridford

We had decided that we didn't want to leave Devon without a trip to Dartmoor. We initially considered walking around Haytor, but when we turned on the GPS the Pocket Query we ran for it didn't seem to have downloaded. We then noticed the More Ups than Downs series, on the eastern edge of Dartmoor. The name sounded promising (I like hills!) and we saw that the final cache had 97 favourite points. Consequently, we decided we would have a go at this series instead.

The beginning of the walk was a little strenuous. It consisted of a long and fairly steep uphill walk through Bridford Wood. This woodland was beautiful and there were some good views emerging behind us. Once we got to the top, we realised that it was worth the climb since there were some spectacular views to be enjoyed.

Super views

There some very nice vistas, including some towards Exmoor as well as Dartmoor, as the walk continued. Overall, it was a very peaceful walk with only a few stretches along minor roads and very few muggles about. We thought that all the caches were well maintained and there was no cache that was part of the series which we had difficulty with. Upon the return to Bridford wood, our GPS went crazy and we found the last few caches with at least 70ft to go displaying on the screen. Thankfully, the CO provided us with good hints so the caches were still easy finds.

Lovely views

We really enjoyed the walk and the series as a whole; whilst it wasn't really on the high moor it was a stunning walk within the Dartmoor National Park and all the ups prepared us well for our trip to the Peak District the next day... will publish a post on this latter trip very soon.

I've really enjoyed these few days walking in South Devon, it truly is an area of outstanding natural beauty. Will hopefully return soon and find many more of the great caches the county has to offer.

Griff Grof

Winchcombe series

W (Winchcombe) Series, 25 caches, 9 miles, starting nr. Farmcote

Hello!

I really wanted to go caching this weekend but the weather didn't look promising. As the week progressed, it seemed as if it was, in fact, going to be sunny on Sunday morning, so we decided to be up and walking by 9am at the latest so that we could complete this new series before the forecasted rain began.

We were glad that the forecast seemed correct on the morning, and we set off with high hopes for a good walk in an area we know is beautiful. It was surprisingly chilly once we stepped out of the car, and we were already captivated by the great view before us - and we hadn't even gotten our boots on yet!

The views were even greater once we were on the footpath, it was stunning how the landscape was lit by the early morning sunshine.

Fantastic views; Dumbleton Hill and Bredon Hill visible in the distance

There was also plenty of sheep to be seen right from the beginning, which signalled that we were in proper Cotswold country.

Sheep and the view behind them

There were some super cache placements, all of which were in sensible, purposeful locations. Also, the caches were all well-stocked, which is a rarity these days. For this reason, it felt like a real back to basics series.

The views continued; after walking around a farmyard and along a quiet lane for a few hundred metres, we turned right to battle a strong westerly wind. The views towards Cleeve Common, however, more than made up for it.

View towards Cleve Common 

The superb views and good caches continued right down into Winchcombe. We could see dark clouds in the distance, which we reckoned were two hours away, and we were only just nearing the half way point - we hoped that we could continue the walk in the lovely sunshine, which was enhancing our already breathtaking surroundings.

Just before entering Winchcombe, we saw some lambs, the first I've seen this year.

Lambs

Winchcombe itself was filled with muggles. There was a newly completed path which welcomed plenty of dog walkers and runners, so we had to be patient and stealthy at the locations for the caches along this stretch.

We then walked along a section of the Cotswold Way known as the Pilgrims Way, which was a historical causeway, with many of the residences named after monasterial terms.

We knew that having walked down the hill into Winchcombe, we'd have to go back up at some point. It was worth it, though, as we enjoyed even more views which were emerging all around us. It's always great to feel elevated on a walk, and that's exactly what we felt along this stretch.

Even more great views as the walk uphill begins

As we continued uphill, we spotted a familiar name in one of the logbooks: castleferrets - they must be out walking in the area as well... would we bump into them? Once at the top of the hill, some of the best views of the day could be enjoyed as the sun continued to shine.

The views remain, even better on top of the hill again

We were then nearly at the end of the series, with just a couple more caches to go and a Church Micro - if 'Church Micro Awards' existed, I think that this Farmcote one would easily win 'Best location'! We chuckled at the sign on the stile, and then crossed the ploughed field to the final cache of the series which was quickly found, a unique container in another good spot.

We bumped into castleferrets on the way back to the car. After a quick chat, we went our separate ways as they had another cache to do and we needed to head off to the Bonus, which was a large, well-stocked container and a fitting end to a fantastic series just as it began to drizzle.

I cannot fault this series; the landscape was beautiful, the views consistently superb and the caches were all well stocked and of high quality. There was also a wide variation in terrain, which always makes a walk all the more enjoyable. I definitely recommend this series, a simply stunning walk on a sunny Sunday morning.

So, I think that's it from me! Unfortunately, I won't be able to go caching until the end of May (although I may find the odd cache from time to time), so until then... happy caching!

Griff Grof

TWW - The Worcestershire Whopper

TWW - The Worcestershire Whopper (GC5DERW)

Today we found a brilliant cache. In fact, I think it's amongst the top caches we've ever done.

Let's start by saying that it's Whopper by name, and whopper by nature - it's at least four times bigger than the second largest cache I've found. Sure, this made it special, but there's also so much more to it; in order to obtain the coordinates for the first part of the final cache,  you first had to find two fantastic feeder caches.

In this blog post I'll be running through the whole journey and experience of finding TWW, without revealing any spoilers. Enjoy...

Feeder cache 1 found on 13th December: 
GC5AWQ0 - Ashton Circular 1 - ABFTN Dog & Bone
Part of a series of 8 caches, 2 miles, Ashton-Under-Hill

For the first feeder cache, we arrived in Ashton for a walk along the lower slopes of Bredon Hill. We had high hopes for the series since we remember the hill fondly from previous caching trips.

It was straight on to the feeder cache as it was the first, and its initial stage had us chuckling since I had looked straight at it ten minutes earlier - absolutely fantastic, and very ABFTN.

We enjoyed some pleasant views as we progressed with the Multi whilst bagging some more caches. We'd recommend visiting the location for GC5GNJX, since the views up there were particularly stunning.

Super views from GC5GNJX on Bredon Hill

Have to admit finding the second stage of the Multi a little difficult, but we soon got our heads around it following a quick PAF (thanks TJ!) - it all suddenly made sense. The twist that followed was ingenious too... I never thought a Multi which already had so many unique and creative stages could keep on getting better and better. The container at the end was a welcome surprise too, and we were overjoyed to have half of the coords for the elusive TWW already!

We also found some more creative caches as the series came to an end, with the Church Micro particularly standing out.

Lovely church in Ashton-Under-Hill

Overall, it was a very enjoyable series in a lovely part of Worcestershire, which we'd recommend to all. Plus, it ups your appetite for TWW following such a brilliant feeder cache!

Feeder cache 2 found on 14th December: 
GC5H8M1 - Mile Drive Multi
You pass 3 other caches

The very next day we popped out to grab the second and final feeder cache in order to have all TWW details at hand. It's a Multi, by Wrighty... need I say more? It was great!

The Mile Drive is a stretch of the Cotswold Way, and it's one I know quite well. Plus, I found some of my first caches along here, so it brought back some good memories as we returned.

Nice views along the Mile Drive (photo by walktall on Geocaching.com gallery, we didn't have our camera) 

This was a real back to basics cache - a straight-forward two stage Multi, in a lovely location with some nice views, and a large, well-stocked cache at the end. Quite frankly, this is what all caches should be like!

After we had rummaged through the cache, we jotted down the remaining numbers for TWW's location,  and we were over the moon to be ready to find it!

THE WORCESTERSHIRE WHOPPER found on 18th January 

A month came and went and we finally pencilled in a visit to the main attraction. It was a beautiful, sunny day, albeit a little chilly, and we arrived at the coords early in the morning. Popped in to say hello to H and L of L8HNB, with H kindly offering to visit the cache with us.

I was surprised how quickly I spotted the required info at the first stage, and then it was on to GZ, which was a nice spot. Surprisingly, I walked straight past the cache - it was very well camouflaged for its size!

As I mentioned at the start of the post, it really was gigantic - so large that I could have jumped inside it! Plus, there was plenty inside, and I'm sure that if I'm passing by I'll drop some more stuff in such as larger swaps and TBs, in fact, I may even take something out too.

Overall, a brilliant experience in lovely countryside - from finding the fantastic feeder caches by sumadartson and Wrighty, to opening one of the best caches I've ever found. A truly memorable find; this is what caching is all about.

Griff Grof

Another years caching over... 2012 in review

What a year 2012 has been for caching! Unlike 2011, it hasn't really had any major downs - apart from not finding much caches in the second half - but instead has seen a rise in the quality of caches, and I've surprisingly managed to break ALL my previously set records. You're in the right place as I'll be reviewing my years caching in detail, looking back to the past, and the future as another years caching begins tomorrow. It's surprising how quickly time does fly, and this year was no exception!

The year kicked off with some ABFTN caches, which were very clever. We then embarked on several trails in Wiltshire, before Wrighty invited me to an event with him on January 15th - never before would I have imagined the local caching celebrity, Wrighty, to invite me caching - it was an honour! We went caching in the area beforehand, and generally had a great day.

I went with him again in February where we completed the QBS series, before summiting White Horse Hill and going onto the Cold War Cache, which I can announce is my cache of the year! This was where my new rule of quality over quantity began taking play - one simple cache could represent hundreds!

This month was also the start of a long and fun journey, as I attended the CacheWalker Butcher Bash event, having helped out with some of the activities. I launched a new forum as admin for CacheWalker on February, and introduced all sorts of new ideas such as Weekly Polls. The forum was the start of a journey for me with CacheWalker, as I ended up co-organising the next two CacheWalker events after that, which was an honour to play such a part in a caching groups of what was originally my local caching celebrities!

March and April saw me break whole new records. In March I finally logged my 1000th find, Topofthehill, after a super day - it was my main goal of the year, and it was already achieved on a very worthy cache. April saw me break an even bigger record, which wasn't even a goal, originally! I found 156 caches throughout the month, which I felt was a huge achievement. Plus, by this time, my series 'Snowshill Scramble' was receiving very positive reviews, and I enjoyed checking over it on my first maintenance run. I also checked over my resoundingly popular (somehow) Westcote Wander and got each and every cache back into tip-top condition.

The summer truly was a festival for Geocaching, as the Geolympix branded it as. After a quieter month in June having missed out on the CacheWalker climb up Snowdon, July brought more records and highlights for the year. I attended the Geolympix Mega event, on the very day that I managed to bag 11 icons in 11 hours. Then two days later, I broke my record for most in one day, with the Geolympix Mega Ring, bagging 65 caches in a day! The summer continued with some caching Spanish-style, and then in September it ended with a rather wet CacheWalker picnic event!

In October, I remembered I had set myself another goal to find 100 more Geocaches by my fave cache hider Wrighty. So, we set off to do one of his most talked about series' "Many Steps" which was wonderful, and one of my highlights. Caching then took a slow down until Twixmas, as things got busy elsewhere in life (in other words... 'taxi's' were booked! Haha!)

And, of course, the years caching concluded in true CacheWalker style yesterday at the Twixmas Bash.  A perfect end to a good years caching.

So how did I do? Well I didn't find 100 more Wrighty caches, so that's one for next year! But I did beat my best in 1 year, one of my original goals, hitting 510 caches for the year. I also managed to reach my last original goal - to find my 1000th cache. So overall a successful year of caching for me, the best yet.

What does 2013 hold? Will I spur on to 2000 finds? Will I find 200 more caches by Wrighty? No goals set yet, just going to go with the flow and enjoy whatever the caching world has in store for me next year.

Happy new Year to all!

Griff Grof

Many Steps Through Old Times

Many Steps Through Old Times, 5 caches, 8 miles, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire 

Hello!

It's been a while! Got a bit bored of caching, so took a break, and now knowing that I won't be able to go again until just before Christmas, I decided to spend this crisp, cold sunny day on one of the best walks I've ever done. Quality ALWAYS surpasses quantity, and this super Wrighty series is a fine example.

The series gets it's name for reason - on the walk you pass a castle, the ruins of a watermill, the old Cotswold way, and best of all the remains of a roman villa! Not only that, but along the way there were stunning views! The whole loop is spread out over a variation of terrain; from fields, to tracks, to woodland, to lanes - it has it all! I highly recommend the series, and below I am going to take you through it in more detail!

The walk begins in the ancient Cotswold market town of Winchcombe. We set off with the sun beaming, along the old Cotswold Way - paths were quite boggy/muddy, but we managed to walk along them alright. Cache #1 took us up a slight slope, giving us lovely views over the valley and across to the hills beyond. Amazing, and just like all Wrighty caches, this one was a well-stocked, dry one!

There was a gap of just under a mile to #2. The path took us further up hill, revealing absolutely amazing views! We took advantage of this by taking plenty of photos, before walking even further up, along, and then back down at a left turn. It was amazing walking down into the views around is - these were REAL 180 degree views! 

As we arrived at the second cache, we were greeted by the sound of trickling water. It was a right turn into some woodland where we discovered an old water hatch, and the remains of old cottages! We loved how Wrighty took advantage of these to hide the cache - very clever - and it was here that the deducted this as one of the best days caching ever! Loved the water hatch, seeming to be doing okay. Took more photos, then it was back out and onto the path to #3! 

It was along a byway, then up a lane to the next cache! Once we reached the top of the gently sloping hill we were yet again rewarded with cracking views - we could see where we were earlier from here! I promptly found the cache, and was reminded that where we were going next was the most special cache of all - the one everyone talks about "at the ruins of an abandoned Roman villa". It was onwards, and downwards to this cache, awaiting to see what these ruins would be like. 

After slipping and sliding down the muddy path through the woods, we arrived at GZ. There, we spotted a little roof cover over a part of the floor. The floor was covered, with a black sheet of plastic, with stones on top (to stop the wind blowing it away). We carefully removed the cover, and were amazed to discover the mosaic! Amazing, brilliant - one of those "We'd never have come here if it wasn't for caching" moments! 

The cache was found quickly after gently replacing the cover on it. We took a look around the rest of the ruins after, too, very interesting!! By now we'd both decided that we must come back and do this walk with other family members, it being so wonderful and interesting at the same time! 

It was then off to the fifth and final cache, to our disappointment - one of those ones you never want to end! The paths as we left the villa ruins were still just as slippery as they were as the walked down into the woods. Must be all that wet weather, I have to say we were very lucky with the weather today! 

As we approached #5, I recognised the tree the GPS was pointing to. In fact, for those of you who don't know, this was the inaugural CacheWalker group walk - it was on this walk that Wrighty himself, Mrs Wrighty, JimJinks, bikermel76 and Schnarff came up with the concept of CacheWalker! I had seen photos of them all sitting at the base of the oak, which does remarkably form a bench as it meets the ground, and so I sat down on it and had my photo taken to recreate the photo from the day it all started. 

It was finding the cache that was the next problem, though! So many places to look, but after having a break to have our lunch, we unearthed the nice, big, well-stoked final cache, entering us into the "Hall of Fame"! Sad to have finished all the caches, but still had to walk back to Winchcombe! 

As we began to do so, more and more walkers seemed to appear from the blue, as we were approaching a castle - yes, a castle - Sudely Castle! With the views on our left, and the striking castle on our right, it was the perfect end to a perfect walk! 

As I said before, the entire series is a little gem! It is truly wonderful, each cache is at an interesting/fascinating location, there are jaw-dropping views, variation in terrain - EVERYTHING! To sum the series up in two words? Simply Superb! A worthy walk for my first since September! 

Griff Grof