I don‘t want to go more than two days without finding a cache. As I haven’t been out since Friday, I needed to get one today. I have a couple of caches nearby that I’ve been saving for a rainy day. Since today was both raining, sleeting and snowing, one had to go so the Really SideTracked - Low Street came into play. 1 Traditional #6410
Deciding that today was best spent indoors, I used the time wisely to bring this blog up to date.😀
I had planned to do a bit of free-climbing today but the thought of the 5/5 tree climbs in the predicted high winds put me off. So I reverted to one of my many lists. I have 99 of them listed on Geocaching.com so there was plenty to choose from. My back-up list for the day would be “North Colchester.” However I had written up my original order of play in my notebook so I needed a new one. For some time, I’d seen adverts for D’s Diner just off the A12 in Hatfield Peverel. So this seemed like a good place to stop off on the way to plan the day. The coffee and bacon sandwich were spot on and sorted out my chosen path for the day and had written it up. The first stop was a garden centre car park in Turkey Cock Lane, Stanway for a short series of trads and a multi, hopefully. It was bloody cold when I started the walk, with a biting wind so I was glad of the layers of clothing that I’d invested in for the day. I got started at Root and branch reform and quickly found another five trads up to Footpath Marker. I then walked down to the start of the Willows Wander multi. I had a stroke of luck here. I stepped onto an inspection chamber which gave way and my right leg plunged down into the chamber. I was lucky not to have broken my leg! However the leg was trapped and I had to ease it out. Checking that there was no serious damage, I got on with the task of gathering the answers. Having worked out the coords, I had a bracing walk towards the woods at GZ for a very quick find of a loosely hidden cache. After warming up with a coffee at the garden centre cafe, I set the google maps to Nayland. I’d been here before and found the CM but I could see on the app that I hadn’t! I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t logged it but would I have to sort it out when I got home.🔸 Once I’d parked the car near the bridge, I walked along the river for a quick find of Nayland & Wissington Trail #7 - The Weir. Retracing my steps back along the river, I had a look at Trip, Trap, Trapping. The cache was under the bridge according to the hint but I had no luck. I looked at previous logs to find that there had been a number of recent DNFs and that a ladder that was needed. I checked the attributes and there were none. I wasn’t going to post a DNF but did post a note stating that if there was a need for tools, there should be attributes. 😡 I carried on into Suffolk picking up seven of the SEBC series via Stoke by Nayland and Polstead. I’ve been working my way through this series for months as I’ve woven my way along the Suffolk and Essex border. I also found two of the AAD‘s Tree Trail mini series including a 2/1.5 tree climb complete with the tree climbing attribute.😀 🤔 I wasn’t going to complain as I needed this for a challenge cache that I’m working towards. I could qualify for Blockbuster-Stylee Bingo Challenge many times over but you have to register before you can start working on it. I’ve posted that I’m in. I finished off the day with a circular walk of trads around Polstead taking in The Witches Tree, a spectacular lightning struck tree shown in the photo, and The One Ring. Now this one wasn’t for the squeamish. I found the hand but not the ring! I finished the day on a low! I walked a good half mile down from The Witches Tree to the Homey Bridge trad. I could see the hint item easy enough but no cache. I checked the log to find a sad litany of failure over the past year or so. There hasn’t been a log to sign for a long time and some people have been logging a find of the top! This had to change so I put an Archive request on it.🤔 🔸 I had found the Nayland CM previously but it had been archived and resurrected so I’ll have another go next week. 1 Multi, 21 Traditional #6409
I’ve been here before and then it was spelt Basle and pronounced Barl. I took part in the 1966 Essex Senior Scouts expedition to Switzerland. Peter Clark and myself from The 1st Pitsea & Vange troop teamed up with two Seniors from the 1st Squirrels Heath troop. Unfortunately their names have long been forgotten.☹️ I know one of them, maybe a Tony, had misjudged an acrobatic dive from the top board of Hornchurch swimming pool and clipped another board on the way down. Luckily or unluckily, he needed extensive dental work after that. We travelled to Switzerland by train and I remember sleeping in the luggage rack! They were more substantial and spacious than today. We hiked in the Jura mountain range from Fleurier to Delemont for ten days and had to meet up with all the other teams in Basle for the return journey. Anyway, back to the present, Kathy and I were spending a few days here. It was her first visit to Switzerland but my fourth. To be honest, this city wasn’t showing the best of what Helvetia had to offer. 🙁 However we must make the most of things and I’d never cached here before. 😎 We arrived from Gatwick on the early flight and used the free City transport for visitors to get down to the Bahnhof. Then we had a ten minute walk down to our hotel. After freshening up, we were out exploring.😎 We were here for the Christmas markets and I had a couple of places that I wanted to visit - the Münster (Cathedral) and the Rathaus (Town Hall). The deal was that I would get one cache a day. I took that to mean one cache whilst we were out sightseeing.😉 After wandering around the markets and visiting the Münster, we walked down to the bank of the Rhine to take one of the four ferries across. These ferries are powered by the river current and are cheap to use. I was particularly keen to use this one, “Leu” as the Basel 1 3/1 cache was on board.😀 The boatman gave me the cache and I signed the log and left some TBs. One of them was Tractor Andy’s first TB which he’d recently let go. He was happy that his little tagged tractor was leaving England but to be left on a boat! The next morning I was up early and had a wander. I waited for a #15 tram but soon gave up and walked the short distance to St Jakob - Denkmal, the next tram stop. I quickly found the tiny nano on the fencing around the statue. Next was Ziehbrunnen, a small pot hanging down a drainage grid. A few minutes away was Herr Barth, another trad. Tucked away on a bus stop in a road named after a local dignitary was a small magnetic pot that I spotted quickly, thankfully.😀 Next one up was the Gellert - Promenade. This was another trad but it was cunning and sneaky! It turned out to be a false ventilator grill on an electricity cabinet but I was up for the challenge. Just one more trad at 2 Jaher Gucja, hidden on a free paper stand at a tram stop and then it was back to the hotel for breakfast. Later on that afternoon, we visited the virtual cache at the Rathaus. Starting off at the fountain (check-out the photo) I had to gather answers to questions and send them off. I couldn’t find one of the answers but the CO didn’t knock me back.😀 Early next morning, I was up even earlier figuring that there was enough street lighting to cache by. This time a tram turned up almost immediately and I alighted near the old town. The first cache of the day was Back To The Roots, a trad hidden under an inspection plate in a flower bed. Next up was a very clever cache. Swiss Monopoly #18 was cunningly hidden in a pouch behind a brass plate outside an office block. Now I understood the “deflate when replacing” hint as the pouch had to slide back into place. The next cache on my list was a virtual based on the Tinguely water sculpture in the Old City. I gathered the answers to the CO‘s questions but I had to put them into an e-mail address and send it off. However there were three possible numbers and I was successful on the third attempt.😀 On the way back to the hotel, I picked up the Bahnhof Sud trad and it was time to eat. The last cache of the day was the Earthcache at the Münster. Based on the types of Sandstone used in building the cathedral, the CO had generously given four of the five answers in the text. All I had to do was count the number of carved roses between the towers and explain their significance. I came up with my number and guessed an answer and sent it off to the CO who came straight back to me. I got both answers wrong but the CO let me claim the cache.😀 I should have guessed what the number signified though. A great three days in Switzerland but unfortunately a brief trip across the border into France didn’t result in a cache. 1 Virtual, 2 Earthcache, 10 Traditional #6387
It’s an early shift on this cold Saturday morning. There’s a complication though.🙁 Due to the cold weather over the past couple of days, one of our motors has been delayed in the body shop but will be ready to pick up early doors. So where can I go, that‘s not too far away, has a few caches available for me to get in an hour or so. I’ve unfinished business in Hornchurch so that’s where I’m going to head to. 😀 The traffic was very quiet on the A127 and I arrived at Harrow Park when it wasn’t yet dawn but still light enough not to need a torch. There had been a couple of DNFs at the Harrow Lodge Park Gates trad but I couldn’t see why as it was exactly as per the hint. The next cache was another trad - I Only Came In For A Pint Of Milk. I was wondering what this was about. 🤔 It was at Romeo Corner named after Roneo Vickers, one of the largest manufacturers of office equipment in the UK and a very big local employer. 👍🏻 Imagine my surprise when I saw that the factory had gone and replaced by a bloody Tesco! Not wanting to hang around, I quickly found the cache, unhindered by the fact that the hint wasn’t useful or that the coords were out. I was soon on my way back to Eastbrookend Park. I’d been here a couple of weeks ago and finished the Country Park series. I had realised that not all the numbers for the bonus cache were available so had contacted the CO for guidance. Yes, you’ve guessed, I’m still awaiting a reply! Don’t let me get on my Geocaching hobbyhorse!🐴 I started on the next series in this fine park - Tales From The River Bank. After a tricky first cache which as well hidden, I quickly rattled off the others until I got to Wise Old Frog. Here, I came unstuck. Despite a long search, my best efforts were thwarted.☹️ This amphibian must have hibernated. I crossed the road to get into Harrow Lodge Park and had a DNF at Fallen Tree. I know that I was in the right place as photographic evidence was on my side but I couldn’t get my hands on it. Conscious of the time, I moved on quickly to Lakeview - Harrow Lodge Park where I had a quick find despite being near a marshalling point for a local fun run. Then Geocaching finished for the day. I got the call. ”Your motor‘s ready and when you’ve picked it up, we’re finishing for the day.” There I was in Dagenham but I said I’d be there in 30 mins. It took me 20 to jog back to the car! 😎 7 Traditional #6374
I had unfinished business at Highwoods CP so I was back today to try to bag all those caches that I didn’t have time for last week. I put my 50p in the meter at 0745 which bought me two hours of time. I didn’t have time to waste so I quickly found two trads before working out The Viewfinder Trail #7 multi that had had a few DNFs recently. However no problem for me today.😀 I found another four trads in the south of the park before arriving at the newly published Mayors Spinney. This was tricky but I fathomed it out in the end. Checking my clock, it was time to head back to base. In a straight line path, I found another four trads before getting back to the car with two minutes to spare.😉 After topping up the meter, I was off again but this time following the High Woods Wildlife Trail multi. I could see that I’d already walked some of the route this morning so I decided that I’d better take on whatever caches were on route. I was able to to find the cunning Clump of Stumps and Boat Field trads as I gathered the clues for the multi. After a success at the multi GZ, I moved on to another multi at The Viewfinder Trail #6.This is a splendid series of multis and I look forward to getting the rest. After another success, I walked east picking off more trads until I’d exhausted my list. Now it was time to return to the car and set off for pastures new. Last week, I’d found a splendid cafe near the Controversial Supermarket so I returned there for a well earned coffee and cake for lunch. Refreshed, I was off to the Mystery cache at Not A Church Micro - A Holy Estate. This was a clever cache and I’ll leave you to understand it when you get here.😀 It was a bit off putting but I got the cunningly placed cache and retrieved a TB. For my next trick, I was off to another Mystery Cache based around the Water Tower at Mile End. This was bloody tricky but I eventually found the bloodymindedly placed cache despite giving up twice. 😂 I had an hour left before I would have to make a move homewards so I parked up in Braiswick and set off on a circular walk that would take in five trads and a multi. Ca is Major was a quick find but Beastmarsta in Trees was tricky. When I read the notes, it was a team job and up a tree which would require a ladder! 😡 However, as I looked around for stuff to help me get up the tree, I noticed parts of the cache on the ground. I had the logsheet, a plastic bag and some swag so I put them all together. Just to make sure, I found enough help to get up the tree to check that another cache wasn’t there. It wasn’t so I put the re-constructed cache in a safe place up the tree and claimed the cache.😀 I had to walk a good mile up to the multi at Mylands Views. However, it was a pleasant walk through parkland but when I got to part one of the cache, I couldn’t progress as the necessary information was missing.😬 So I had to leave this and move on. At this point, I noted that my battery was dying and I’d left my spares in the car so I had to move swiftly. I managed to pick up the final three trads of the day before I was out of juice. Luckily they didn’t prove that difficult.😎 So another splendid day wandering around the oldest town in England but I will return as there are so many caches still to find here. 2 Mystery, 3 Multi, 21 Traditional #6367
I’m now looking for quirky places to hold my meetings and recently came across a splendid little cafe five floors up in a former flour mill which has been used as an antiques emporium for the last thirty years. Situated next to the River Wick in Battlesbridge, the cafe had excellent views across this part of Essex. In fact we could pick out Althorne which must be 15 miles away. I didn’t know what to expect as only a few people had checked in. However, I was really pleased that so many people showed up, unannounced. 👏 The roll call was Frantica (Colchester), Infinison and his wife (Panfield), cazmockett (Galleywood), nathanjhunt (Southminster), Mathsnut (Hadleigh), Bean & Sprout (Tillingham), bex2110 and DRC1808 (Hullbridge), kareninwb (Wickham Bishops) and snoopyus (not sure🤔). Now this was the sort of event that I love because not everyone knew each other, people could put faces to pseudonyms and a lot of chatting went on.😀 The trick is to keep perpetuating this success but it’s fun finding venues and organising. The next one is on NYE and all attendees earn an official Geocaching souvenir. 👍🏻 1 Event #6341
I’d had my eye on that part of Kent just over the QE2 bridge called Greenhithe. It sits nicely between the bridge and the Bluewater shopping centre and has quite a few caches waiting to be found. It was at GZ of the first cache of the day, a Mystery, just after dawn. Normally the whole of this area would be teeming with traffic but today, being a Saturday, it’s very quiet. I’d solved Chelsea - Champions of Europe, a few weeks ago. It was based on their antics in the some cup but I‘d have preferred it if it had been on Southend. I know of one Mystery based on Southend beating ColU 4-1 a number of times but no more.🙁 I had a quick find here this morning and now time to move on. This was all new ground for me but the caching was made easier because of the lack of people and vehicles. I made quick finds of Newton’s Court, Crimson Crossing and I Can See The Bridge From Here trads before picking off three of the Not The Trackables Challenge series. I’m not sure what happened with thes.🤔 The blurb is about finding certain numbers of trackables so should be Challenges but these are trads. One is a 5/1.5! I had to double check as it’s a generous 1.5/1.5. Is it a protest, I’m not sure but they were straight forward finds on a cold morning. ❄️ Due to lack of traffic, I was able to do a real dash and cache at the Magic Roundabout. This was a rather cunning placement but I was up to it. At the next cache, SideTracked - Stone Crossing, I thought that I could do better than the recent DNFers but I too failed.🙁 It hasn’t been found since 2/17 so perhaps the CO should have a visit to check. I parked up in Charles Street, Greenhithe, a convenient spot for the Charles1, 2 and 3 mini series. I found the two trads quickly and then tackled the multi, a short walk around the neighbourhood gathering answers to railway related questions. It was a quick find at GZ but the cache was precariously placed and it won’t be long before it’s muggled. ☹️ Checking my time left and where I was, I reckoned I had time for three more trads before sething off home. A circular walk snapped up Waterstones Gate, Greenhithe Woods and the nearby Asda Off Your Trolley and I was back in the car. No hold up at the Tunnel so a perfect end to another short burst of caching excitement. 😀 1 Mystery, 1 Multi, 12 Traditional #6340
I have planned to visit the Highwoods Country Park for sometime now. This very large mixed woodland and open space has a large number of mixed caches and I wanted to turn this green, blue and orange landscape a smiley yellow! For once, I overslept and had a really late start. I lost two hours caching today but was determined to make the most of it. My caching day started with a quick find at the VS Myland trad and then I set off to find the CP car park. This was a pay car park and as I planned to stay here until about 1500, I put £4 in the meter and set off to the first one on my list. Red Herring was well named but I struck lucky with a quick find. There’s a series of trads called Discover High Woods with a bonus on the east side of the park. I spent time tramping from south to north picking them off. I found half of the bonus coords, the northings at the most northerly tip of the park. Unfortunately I missed out on two of the series and it seems that the one holding the bonus eastings has gone awol. 🙁 After lunch, I had a go at the Teddy Bears Picnic Letterbox Cache. The concept of this one was new to me. I had to find a video on YouTube and follow it. It was a speeded up video and I had a chase around the park to keep up. I did play the video a couple of times but eventually ended up at the very well hidden cache. It had to have a fave from me. For rest of the afternoon, I tramped through the autumn leaves picking off more trads until my money run out. I had time to pick off the splendidly named Via Urbis Romanae - Nanu trad. It’s just the name of the road but it sounds good. 1 Letterbox, 16 Traditional #6326