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Saturday 1st July 2023
I checked up what unfound WMs were available locally and I found a trio around the Grays area. So I planned a morning around these. Here's how it went.
I was up early and headed down the A13 to Purfleet. The first one on my list was the RST - Purfleet Rifle Range Halt trad. I had wanted to put a cache here a couple of years ago and had done a lot of research for it. I could remember the level crossing here as well as the now demolished signal box. However the reviewer was less than helpful regarding placement and in the end, I gave up with it. I had a quick find here and just down the road was The Old Road Bridge trad over the Mardyke. Luckily I didn't drop the cache in the water.😀
I parked up near the Thames and walked into the centre of what is now called Purfleet-on-Thames.🤣 I got to the WM and quickly worked out the coords for the multi. There was another multi nearby, delightfully named Dracula's Den. It seems that the author of the Dracula, Bram Stoker, wrote that Count Dracula, bought the fictional Carfax House in Purfleet and was then transported there in fifty boxes of earth from his Transylvanian castle.🤔
I quickly found the two multis and moved down to the old Gunpowder Storage Depot for another. I quickly found PH&MC (Purfleet Heritage and Museum Centre) and then checked out the WW2 spigot mortar base and the former garrison buildings including the Garrison Gateway Clock Tower. There was a trad here too which was soon spotted. I was amazed to see that the clock, despite being here since the 18th century was still working!
I moved on and cleared up the rest of the caches in Purfleet, which were all trads. These were the ST - Purfleet, the Purfleet Opera House and A Scenic View. The latter had a splendid view of the QEII Bridge spanning the River Thames. I crossed the frontier into West Thurrock and pulled into the Memorial Ground for the WM multi. I knew that this one was an addition to the Dartford Crossing by bike AL series but didn't realise that the final stage was actually in Dartford across the bridge so this one would have to wait.🤔 I made do with a trio of 2/2 trads ascending to a point overlooking the Lakeside Retail Park. Rabbit Run, Derailed and The Wonderful (View) Everyday were all swiftly found despite the poor signal due to the overhead power lines. As for the latter, I don't consider a view of Ikea to be that wonderful.🥴
By now, I was thinking of heading for home. However, the ST - Chafford Hundred trad was just around the corner, well as the crow flies, and that was soon added to the tally. Although I had fulfilled my mission for the day, there was another WM at North Stifford. This was a 3/2.5 multi so I knew that it could be tricky. I worked out the coords ok and set off for the final stage. It had to be about eight feet up on a street sign but I couldn't see it or feel it when standing on some nearby bricks. I knew that I was in the right place so I contacted the CO who confirmed this. I had one last feel and found that the nano had slipped into a hole.🥴 Once I had winkled it out and completed the clerical duties, I replaced almost as found. It was at the same height but not in the hole.🤣
4 Multi 10 Traditional
#17256