Ilmington Jubilee Walk

ILmington Jubilee Walk, 3.5 miles, 11 caches, Ilmington, Warwickshire
The cache page links to this walk guide. 

Hello,

I knew that we'd be a little busier this weekend so I decided that a shorter series would be ideal. Clearly, we were very pleased to see this new series being published on Thursday, as it certainly fitted the bill. After a day of relentless rain, and more forecasted for later today, we decided to head out to complete the series in the morning as a sunny interval had been forecasted.

Arrived in Ilmington where we initially struggled somewhere to park. It was then along some pretty streets and past the idyllic church, which had its bells ringing for its Sunday service. We were soon on the footpath, which was flooded! The little stream running across the field had burst its banks so we had to dodge the water to get to the first cache, which was quickly spotted.

Before too long, we made an ascent up the northern face of the Cotswold Edge. We were rewarded with some spectacular views and we stopped to have a snack whilst we admired them for a little longer. There were plenty of other people up here today, from fellow walkers, to cyclists - great to see people enjoying the outdoors as well, and the sunshine whilst it's still here!

Looking back: some nice views

We spent ages searching for the fourth cache. The hint stated that it was in the bottom of a wall, which confused us as one of the cache placing guidelines says that caches should never be placed there. Knowing this, we widened out search but eventually, having almost given up, we spotted somewhere where the cache could be and I can confirm that there is no reason to move any stone associated with the wall whatsoever - I'll make a note of this in my log. How did we miss it to begin with?!

It was then across a couple of crop fields, and, with the recent rain, our boots were extremely muddy by the time we got to the other side. There wasn't really a path through the field either, so hopefully people will still be able to find their way across in the summer months once the crops are fully grown.

A nice lane with some great views

The next section of the walk led us down a quiet lane, where we enjoyed the great panoramic views ahead of us. It was surprising to see daffodils and snowdrops in flower, just goes to show that we really have had an unusually mild (and wet) winter.

It was very interesting to pass a healing well, which people used to heal their eyes in. It's a shame that a landowner diverted a stream into the pond in the eighteenth century which muddied the water! Unfortunately, we didn't finish the series soon enough as the rain caught us. Luckily, it didn't last for too long, and the sun was soon out again - talk about changeable weather!

The old healing pond

We were soon back at the car, having completed a good, pleasant walk in some lovely Cotswold countryside. The views were great and the caches were good, some were even a little challenging as they took longer to find than they should have. The route was quite muddy, though, but as you'll gather from my other recent posts - it's muddy everywhere! We really enjoyed the series.

Griff Grof

Walking in Warwickshire

Hi,

As some of you may know I really enjoy caches set by Wrighty. So, as you can imagine, it was a nice surprise to spot that he had a series called 'Wrighty's Warwickshire Walk' I had never really noticed! We decided to complete the walk today, in the sunshine.

WWW and part of the WeeW series, 14 caches, 5/6 miles, near Weethley, Warwickshire.

The walk took us through some very pleasant countryside, although the paths were certainly muddy to begin with. Of course, this is expected at this time of year, and it was no where near as muddy as our walk last week! It was an added bonus to be able to pick up some of the WeeW caches along the way, and these had been recently maintained which made them all the better!

Unfortunately, we got a DNF on WWW #1. The hint stated that the cache was near to a bridge, yet there wasn't one at GZ which threw us a little. I decided to read the recent logs, and noticed that the previous two finders had found it on the floor within the mud. We looked around for a little, both in the obvious places and on the ground around us, but we came away empty handed. One of the recent finders said they had replaced it within a tree, yet the next said they found it on the ground, so we decided to move on to avoid looking for a needle in a haystack. However, I later realised that these cachers had been caching together, thus the cache must have been in a tree - I shouldn't have dismissed the idea! A very annoying DNF; we'll be back!

Very pleasant Warwickshire countryside

Luckily the next few caches didn't cause us any trouble, although we also DNFed GC5WCTX, which was part of the WeeW series. The countryside was very pleasant and we were soon walking uphill through a ploughed field - you can imagine what our boots were like by the time we got to the other side. I tried to clean them in a puddle, but it was a little deeper than anticipated - which made us laugh!

Some fantastic views began to emerge, as expected from any good Wrighty walk. We found the final WeeW cache of the day as we continued towards the picturesque church ahead of us; unfortunately we decided to skip the Church Micro as there were people in the church when we passed by. We thought we had seen the best of the views, but once we crossed the road and joined another footpath the camera came out again as they were truly stunning, especially under the sunshine. Nice to have a change in terrain too, as it was no longer as muddy and we were soon walking on a lovely path through the Ragley estate, finding more Wrighty caches.

Some of the great views

All too soon, the walk was over and we were back at the car. It was a great route, taking us through some very pleasant countryside, with some nice views and great caches. It's a shame about the DNFs, but the good thing, as with all DNFs, is that it's another reason to come back.

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

Great Cotswold Walk: South loop

The Great Cotswold Walk, 132 caches, 23 miles, Quenington, Glos

We had two options today - we could either join a group to find some more Below Above caches, or complete part of the Great Cotswold Walk, a large series which has been on my To-do list since it was published in 2013. We decided that we'd let the weather decide, and with the forecast promising that there'd be sunshine, we settled on planning for what we hoped would be a good walk.

At the moment, I'm trying to find as many caches as I can before August in order to get ever-nearer to number 2,000. Since its publication, I had my heart set on completing the entire GCW in a single day. However, I decided that it would be wiser to do it in three parts instead, especially given the time of year.

Below is a map of the GCW, illustrating how we've decided to split it (as suggested by the CO). I'll be referring to the three sections in my next few blog posts as the North, Central and South loops. Today, we completed the South loop...

GCW South, 38 caches, 7 miles (94-130 + the two 'Links') 

We began this section of the series from Quenington, although I suppose it's possible to start from Fairford. We were lucky as the sun was shining as forecasted; we knew we were in for a good walk from the go-ahead since the area was picturesque the second we got onto the footpath. 

Picturesque meander at the start near #94

We were glad that the caches were straight-forward finds with no-nonsense hints - just what you need when you're trying to build up a good pace; this also meant that we could spend more time enjoying our surroundings. Having said that, there were some neat hides and it wouldn't have been quite as fun if there hadn't been caches to find! 

I've got to be honest, I was a little surprised when I saw that the Great Cotswold Walk was the resounding winner of Cotswold Caching's Series of the Year 2014. However, after just a couple of miles, I could clearly see why - the landscape was just so beautiful and untouched, plus the paths were quiet which is always a bonus. 

I always love walks where there's something unusual to see, and this stretch of the GCW had that. Firstly, there was a sphere wonderfully crafted from horseshoes besides the entrance to an blacksmiths. 

Sphere made of horseshoes 

And secondly, the Ox Pens in Fairford was a rather interesting structure. It's an ancient agricultural building with wooden stalls that accommodated pairs of oxen which used to pull ploughs. We actually had to walk through it since the doorway (yes, doorway) to the permissive footpath was located at the back of the building. 

Ox Pens, Fairford - doorway to the permissive path

The route of the permissive path was absolutely stunning. We were walking besides Pitham Brook, parallel to the River Coln. The Ernest Cook Trust, who own the land, have done a brilliant job in managing the Coln, with various diversion spillways and beautiful streams in addition to Pitham Brook - as a keen geographer,  I was very interested; we even diverted off the main route a little to admire the Coln itself. 

Slight diversion - the River Coln 

The views soon opened up; we were obviously in a valley, and so they weren't very far-reaching, but the views across the fields ahead of us were still fantastic. We could only imagine how amazing this area must be in the spring and summer. We'd have loved to have seen a kingfisher along this stretch too... maybe next time. 

Lovely countryside and nice views ahead

All too soon, we were back at the car in the charming village of Quenington, having found all 38 caches. 

I can't speak for the rest of the GCW (yet) but this section was simply superb. The landscape was extremely picturesque - well, absolutely stunning in parts - particularly along the watercourses. The caches weren't too challenging, which meant that we weren't distracted from the lovely walk. What's more, there was a good variation in terrain - from low hills, to ploughed fields (we did get muddy!) to tarmac, to tracks, to riversides. Having set a couple of series' myself, I know it's difficult to find a route with a variation in terrain, so the CO has done a great job here - the variation always makes it that little bit more interesting. 

If all's well and the weather's pleasant, we'll be completing the Central and North loops over the next couple of weekends - so watch out for those posts. The South loop was excellent, and has certainly built up our appetite for more... 

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

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

Geolympix Mega 2012 and part of GMS series

On Sunday 22nd of July, 1000 Geocachers from all over the world came together in Oxford town hall, for the first ever Geolympix Mega, and the start of a summer festival of caching - after two years of waiting, the big day had come, and my moment to make my grand return to caching after my little break. It was fantastic!  I also had a go at the Marathon cache-a-thon series on Monday, the day after, so read even further for my review on that! 

22nd July - 11 cache types in 11 hours challenge, and attending the Mega

As the Geolympix is all about breaking your own records, and being "Outstanding in the field", the challenge set by the team of finding 11 different cache types in 11 hours really stood out to me. This would involve the day being even longer, but I knew it would all be worth it. I had been looking at the map for weeks, trying to work out which caches I would choose - I needed an Earthcache, Traditional, Multi, Puzzle, Wherigo, Virtual, Webcam, Letterbox, plus an event, CITO event and the Mega itself to get the 11 - all to be found within just 11 hours!

Event Icon. 10 to go. Found @ 08:00:
The Geolympix team had organised a flash mob event (1 icon down) in Banbury, at front of Banbury Cross Webcam, starting at 08:00, with the group Webcam shot at 08:15. When we arrived, we were shocked to see nearly 200 cachers all gathered at GZ - we knew we wouldn't be the only ones having a go at 11 in 11!! Saw some friends from back home, and ones I've met at previous events, and had a good catch up, before queuing for the log book, and gathering for....

Webcam Icon. 9 to go. Found @ 08:15
Once the event was coming to a close, Simply Paul, one of the Geolympix organisers, rounded us all up into a group, so we'd be in view of Banbury Cross Webcam. He snapped the photo, and with two icons already done in just fifteen minutes, it was off to do the rest...

Traditional Icon. 8 to go. Found @ 09:05 
From Banbury, we went onto the M40, for a 30 minute drive down the motorway until our stop at J6. Here, we parked in a parking area for several trails, and I went down a little path to bag another icon, fairly easily - there wasn't anywhere else it could be!

Multi Icon. 7 to go. Found @ 10:12 
As we walked back up from the traditional, we bumped into walktall and his friend Lone Hunter, who were just arriving. As we're friends from back home, we knew each other well, and we all decided to set off together to bag the rest of the icons in the area. We programmed in the nearby Wherigo, and while it was running, we set off on the start of a long circular walk of around 7 miles in the area, and the first cache we passed was a Multi, so it was a quick solve of the puzzle before finding the cache. Still no sign of where the Wherigo was leading us!

Earthcache Icon. 6 to go. Found @ 10:52
On from the Multi, and a bit of walking along the roads, walktall and Lone Hunter lead us to an Earthcache, which wasn't the one we were initially planning (but we did all find that one on the way back to the car too) but it was still the coveted icon that we needed. You had to examine the cutting of stone eitherside side of the  M40, from the footbridge crossing it! I was a little concerned about dropping something, possibly the highest footbridge I'd been on, and one of the busiest motorways! I learnt a lot about the cutting though, from my dad walktall and Lone Hunter, so it was all made worthwhile!

Wherigo Icon. 5 to go. Found @ 12:17 
There was still no sign of the Wherigo, in all that time, and we had reached the bottom of a steep hill when the cartridge read "Up 2". It was sending us back up the hill we came down. So, it was up again where it then read "Down 1". Then when we arrived "Down 2". A little later "Down 3". It had led us in a big circle, the irrating part was having to go up some of the paths we had already walked down! However, the area is truly stunning, views were to die for, lots of flora and wildlife to be seen, so we all enjoyed the route - it was beautiful, one of the most lovely parts of the Chiltern Hills I'd been in. Once at the bottom, the cache was finally found very near to another Earthcache (which we then logged) and the icon was finally seen. It took us a while, but thankfully we found it (after starting the cartridge first thing) without any further problems, and enjoyed the route it took us on very much.

Letterbox Hybrid Icon. 4 to go. Found @ 13:51
Once we had bid farewell to walktall and Lone Hunter (thank you both for your pleasant company, which my dad and I both highly enjoyed) we drove a few miles south to Northend, to bag the last icon we needed in this area, and before setting off to Oxford to attend the main Mega event. It was a nice walk through some rich meadows and into the woodland at the top of the hill; we were really in the heart of the Chiltern Hills. The cache was a very quick find, in the only place it could be, and I was over the moon that we had already done seven icons, and there was only four to go!

Mega Event Icon. 3 to go. Found @ 15:01 
The big moment had come. Once we walked into the town hall, and registered, we had another icon bagged, and though most people had left, we still saw even more familiar faces from home, and I had a good time walking around the various stands and purchasing some items. A little sad actually on how empty the place was, but it was still very enjoyable, and I got to meet and thank Simply Paul for all his hard work. My second Mega, and what a superb one it was! Excellent!

Unknown Icon. 2 to go. Found @ 15:12
While I was looking at the GAGB stand, I found the Cuckoo cache, a rare moving cache, and I logged it to claim the icon - that one was easy! Was good to find it at last, and knew I was saving finding it for some reason!

Virtual Icon. Just 1 to go! Found @ 16:38
We left Oxford Town Hall, and the main Mega event, for a walk around Oxford, taking in the lovely sights, and we bagged a Virtual along the way, meaning we only had the CITO event a little later to complete the 11 icon challenge. A very interesting virtual, and after finding it we went onto another, before setting off to have something to eat as we waited for the CITO event to start.

CITO event Icon. Challenge complete!! Found @ 18:43
And that was it! Arrived at the CITO start point, and signed the logbook, meaning we had completed the 11 icon challenge!! But we also saw walktall again, who had done 14 (adding on some types from another listing site) and later on CacheWalker confirmed that he had managed to find all 7 cache sizes too! So a special well done to walktall! But I was happy enough with our 11, and spent the next 30 minutes giving something back, and picking up litter all over the place, before I found a 5/3.5 cache, of which I had to hang off a bridge over a canal! Great fun, and a good way to finish the day (Glad to say I wasn't passed the logbook to sign, I retrieved the cache the hard way myself for a fair and honest find!)

So, that was that! The Mega event attended, the 11 icons in 11 hours challenge completed (with time to spare!) One of the best caching days I've had, and congratulations to Simply Paul and the rest of the committee for a very successful event!!

23rd July - Geolympix Marathon cache-a-thon (GMS) Rings B, A and E 
GMS Series, up to 26.2 miles, Turville, Buckinghamshire 

The next day, we were off to M40 J6 again, but this time to the village of Turville - the main filming location used for "The Vicar of  Dibley" and various other famous films and television shows. The GMS series is set over five rings, A,B,C,D and E,  totaling in around 110 caches. You cross the place you are parked at the end of each ring, so opportunity to stop at any time after any ring. We set off with flyhiy, initially planning to do all five rings, but with B as our starter, we realised how wonderful, beautiful and tranquil the area was, and so we decided not to rush it for numbers, and to take our time to enjoy it, doing as much as we can, and not pushing it with the excessive heat.

B was the first ring we decided to do. And it ended up being my favorite. Started at 06:45, and the sun was just rising, making the dew sparkle beneath us. The hill on our left had a windmill on top, the very one used in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", which was now the only building in sight. We then tackled the first of many big hills. As we rose up the Chiltern Hills, we became surrounded by the most magnificent woodland, and the views from it were amazing.

All the caches were easy finds on B, A and E, with sensible hints , and one thing I liked about the series was the fact that they weren't too close together, so you could enjoy the walk at the same time. 

As I said, on B there was plenty of flora, and lots of orchids - we also saw several red kites - amazing! 

One of the things that made ring B my favorite of the three we did, was the fact that it had such a wide variation in terrain - though most of it was woodland on the hill tops, you descended into open grassland valleys, walked through farmland (several herds of cattle, but they were all too lazy to move under the now scorching sun), but yet there was always some sort of view. And, with the caches being so easy, we could move on quickly and not feel let down by any DNFs. 

As Ring B only consisted of 17 caches, we managed to walk pack to the village finding C18, C19 and C20, totaling in 5 miles so far. The marathon was going great so far, and at the car we stopped to enjoy some cold drinks (though the pub was still closed!) and then we set of for A, which promised to be good, having accumulated the most fave points out of all the rings. 

Ring A was the longest, 6 miles, but we were doing well for time. By now, the heat was unbearable, so we had sun cream and sun hats on! Again, a lovely uphill start, which was proving to be a trend, and then into further woodland to cool us down. One of the things I loved about the day was the fact that there were so many cachers out and about, met Dobunnies on this ring, but whenever we got back to the car, we could see other cars with TB stickers on them - it was just great knowing that these rings have brought so many people from all over the world (saw several people from Norway and USA) to this stunning area. It was good to know that we were almost sharing the fun with them. 

By the time we had finished A, we were starting to feel a little bit tired, only having walked 11 miles throughout the day, but the 30c temperatures were really slowing us down and adding to the tiredness, we arrived in the pub and I enjoyed a cold lemonade. There was two hours to go to the BBQ at "Geolympix 2012 Post-marathon Meet", so flyhiy and I decided to push on to complete one more ring, while my dad stayed in the shade of the pub garden waiting for the event, and chatting to other cachers who had already given in under the heat. 

We set off to do Ring E. We wanted to do D, passing the windmill, but E was the shortest, and therefore most logical as we had to be back in time for the BBQ in two hours. E was just as nice, again going through some more woodland, and it was here that I was certain this is one of my favorite series' overall - just a shame we couldn't do D and C - but it is another reason to come back! While on E, flyhiy and I met another cacher, and the three of us completed E, and we walked back to the pub. 

The GMS series was, well, fantastic! One of the best I've done! As I said, not doing C and D is good in a way, because we didn't rush it (got to enjoy the walk more) and it's a good reason to come back to this stunning area! Highly recommend this series, B was the best out of the three of five we did today, but several other cachers at the BBQ event said D was their personal favorite. But who knows, maybe I'll change my mind when I've done all of the rings? All in all a great area, and up there in the top three days of caching that I've ever done - along with the Geolympix Mega 11 in 11 the day before! 

The BBQ was also the perfect way to end the day, thank you to the Geolympix team for making the Sunday possible with the Mega, and for the brilliant marathon cache-a-thon; lots of work went into it all, which you can clearly see! That's it for now folks, and I might (not 100% sure) be attending the Geolympix closing ceremony on Coombe Hill, if not that ends the Geolympix story for me, if so I might see you there! 

Griff Grof