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: Central loop

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

Hello!

It's been a few weeks, I know! We haven't had an internet connection for a fortnight and so I've only been able to update the blog today now that we have it back. I've set the date and time of this post to 17th Feb which is when I completed the Great Cotswold Walk.

Here's one final reminder of how we've split the walk before I begin my review of the Central loop:

GCW Central, 62 caches, 10 miles (1-37 and 71-93 + a couple of others) 

Once again, we had chosen a beautiful, sunny day to find more of the GCW caches. With the North and South loops having set standards so high, we had great expectations for this final section, and we were glad to get going early; in fact, the lanes we walked along at the beginning were extremely icy, and Fizz the geodog nearly slipped a few times (as did we!).

We were enjoying a walk through lovely open countryside to begin with. The caches were straight forward finds, and it was great to see some more snowdrops - we really can't wait for Spring!

Snowdrops - we've seen a few along the other GCW rings as well!

We were taken through some lovely little villages and hamlets, before the views really opened out. In fact, we feel that this loop had the best views out of the three, and they were made all the better under the sunshine. Unfortunately, we had to miss a cache out since farm workers were managing the hedge lines - hopefully the cache wasn't picked up amongst all those logs and twigs!

Views - even more beautiful when you're there! 

The time flew by as more caches were found. It was nice to walk through the lovely hamlet of Ablington again. We walked past an old tithe barn; can't remember the date it was built but it was sometime in the eighteenth century.

Old tithe barn in Ablington

A few caches later we were in in Bibury, a pretty Cotswold village which was filled with tourists - even today, a Tuesday, in February! I think it's neat how the route took you through Bibury as it's an iconic Cotswold village, so it just makes the series feel even more 'Cotswold'. We actually diverted slightly to find the cache in the heart of the village and to take some photos of the River Coln. We decided that there wasn't time to go to Arlington Row to see if the yellow car was still parked there!

The River Coln in Bibury 

The final stretch of the walk was fantastic, since we were walking alongside the Coln again, having done so on both the South and North loops. The river was just as beautiful today, idyllic, in fact.

Home stretch - the Coln one last time

All too soon, we were back in Quenington, where we had started the series just under a month ago. 26 miles and 133 caches later, we've completed possibly the best 'power trail' in the country. A very memorable series; whilst there aren't any elevated views, the route is beautiful in another way. The stretches along the river were wonderful, the settlements we passed through were lovely, and there was plenty of wildlife to be seen - overall, the area was mostly quiet and pretty much untouched.

The caches were all there to be found, which is just what you want with a series like this. We had five DNFs, but only where there were too many muggles to search or where the cache was clearly missing following DNFs before us.

To conclude: it really is a Great Cotswold Walk.

Griff Grof

Great Cotswold Walk: North loop

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

We weren't sure if we would be able to go caching this weekend! We awoke to three inches of snow on Saturday morning, with the forecast promising more overnight. It's always surprisingly difficult to find caches in the snow, so we were hoping that that they were wrong... luckily, they were.

We decided to complete the Northern loop of the GCW today; here's a reminder of how we're splitting the series:

GCW North, 36 caches, 6.5 miles (38-70 + a couple of others) 

Once again, we were lucky to be setting off under some lovely winter sunshine; we parked in the beautiful village of Ablington for this section. 

The River Coln in Ablington

The paths to begin with were great, and they offered us some nice views over the Gloucestershire countryside. Once again, the caches were easy to find, which meant that we could build up a good pace.

After just a few caches there was an obstacle in our way: the path was blocked by what appeared to be a natural dam. We followed in the footsteps of the walkers ahead of us, and navigated across by turning right down the valley for a few hundred metres until there was no water in sight. This actually brought us closer to an existing cache, GCT492, and so we decided to go ahead and find it. A stunning spot, with fantastic views; you could almost picture the valley being carved by meltwater at the end of the ice age.

The valley on the way to GCT492

We then enjoyed a stroll through some wooded areas. Unfortunately, the sun disappeared around this point, but this our spirits certainly weren't dampened as a result. We even saw some snowdrops, so spring can't be too far away!

Snowdrops 

The only thing the Southern loop lacked, if anything, were views from an elevated position. We were glad that this stretch of the series offered that; although we weren't too high up, the open wold views at #58, in particular, were fantastic. In fact, it even started snowing at this point!

Nice views looking back

Before too long the clouds made way for the sun, as we embarked on the muddiest stretch of the walk, which was also home to the most wildlife. We spotted four hares, and a fox and deer were less than ten metres from us at one point! This also turned out to be the quietest part of the series, with not a single person in sight, so I guess you could say that walking through mud for two miles was worthwhile!

We arrived back in Ablington all too soon, marking the end of another superb part of the Great Cotswold Walk. We had a brilliant time yet again; the walk was fantastic with some great views and a variation in terrain. Some of the caches were great hides, yet they were all straight forward finds which is just what you want on a walk like this.

We can't wait to complete the final, larger Central loop, which has around 60 caches! However, we've noticed that a few of them seem to be missing, so we're not sure whether we'll hold fire until they're replaced, or just go ahead anyway...

To summarise the GCW so far: magnificent.

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

Walking around Little Compton and Chastleton

LC (Little Compton) series, 16 caches plus 2 Church Micros, 5 miles

After finding TWW earlier today, we set off to Chastleton to complete this new series, which was recommend to us by Wrighty. 

I remember the area fondly since we've walked around here before and it was the location for the 2013 CacheWalker Twixmas Bash - this time, though, there wasn't any rain. In fact, there was plenty of sun, and there wasn't a breath of wind. 

There were spectacular far-reaching views right from the first cache. The caches were all sensibly hidden, straight-forward finds which was just what we felt like. 

Lovely views near the start of the series

We then descended into the valley, which was lovely. Despite living so near, and often driving past, we had never been into Little Compton, so it was great to finally be able to pass through it. It was then on towards Chastleton again, where we passed the lovely Chastleton House which we haven't visited for years. 

Chastleton House from the footpath

We greatly enjoyed the series, and we even revisited the Cotswold Motel on Adlestrop Hill afterwards, where we enjoyed gorgeous views as the sun set.

What I love about Geocaching is that it takes you to places you would never have otherwise been to. It's always surprising how that's always true for places right on your doorstep as well. We walked through some lovely bits of countryside, and found some really good caches - there was a back-to-basics feel to the series - the caches were there to be found, and they were sensibly placed in nice spots. 

It's funny as I had thought about placing some new caches along a similar route, but hadn't even got round to the stage of initially walking it, so I was glad that HKMHill beat me too it. A really good series, and a superb, proper Cotswold walk. 

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