Neptune's Staircase

At Banavie near Fort William are a series of 8 locks on the Caledonian Canal known as Neptune's Staircase. Designed by Thomas Telford the locks allow boats to climb or fall the 19.5 metres (64 ft) between the level of Loch Linnhe and the Canal. The locks were built in the early 1800s and required twelve men to run, however, in the 1960's they were mechanised and now require only two keepers to run.

This is a really interesting place to visit and can be combined with a walk along the canal, however take care with young children and pets as there are no railings along the waters edge. Located at the locks are two caches, one traditional (Tupperware style) and the other an Earthcache. The first of these required a short search but didn't take long to find. Once we'd grabbed the container and signed the log we were just about to place it back into it's hiding place when we found a second container hidden in the same place. I think that's the first time that's ever happened to us.

An Earthcache doesn't involve finding a container, instead it requires you to find some information, and sometimes take a photo then contact the cache owner. Only once your submission has been approved can you log the cache as found. For this one, the information was supposed to be on a set of three information boards but some of the required information didn't appear to be there. Our GPS was jumping around a bit too, so we just took a photo from the general location of where we thought the photo should have been taken. Thankfully our submission was approved by the cache owners so we've now marked the Earthcache, also named Neptunes Staircase, as "found".

After a couple of hours out in the cold we were ready for a wee treat so jumping back into the car we drove down to Fort William and had a round of Hot Chocolate and cakes in the Nevis Sport cafe!

Three caches found today and a couple of TBs too! Despite the cold we had a successful and enjoyable day out.

Old Inverlochy Castle

Whilst staying in Inverlochy it would almost have been rude not to pay the cache at Old Inverlochy Castle a visit. So we did just that.

Built around 1280 by John "the Black" Comyn, Lord of Badenoch and Chief of the Clan Comyn, Old Inverlochy Castle was only used by the family until 1308 around which time the Comyns were dispossessed of their lands by Robert the Bruce. Since then the castle has been used on a number of occasions but has mostly been uninhabited. As a result, the castle remains largely unaltered since the Wars of Independence.

Today the castle is a ruin, but all four curtain walls and corner towers are mostly intact and there are enough remaining features to make this a very interesting place. When we were there the kids really enjoyed visiting all four towers and exploring all the nooks and crannies.

The cache is located outwith the castle itself but within the boundary walls. The clue supplied made this quite easy to find but there are a number of possible locations so a short hunt was required. We left this one for the kids to find and they had good fun running around looking for it. Once found we were pleasantly surprised to find two TBs in the cache which we grabbed and replaced with another TB plus some other treasure.

Wild West

Yesterday we decided to head up to Fort William to visit my sister and her family, so after couple of text messages to make sure that it was OK we set off this morning.

It wasn't long into our journey that I realised that this wasn't going to be an easy drive. The first hint came at the Erskine Bridge which was closed to high sided vehicles. Fortunately cars were still allowed to cross. Heading on towards Loch Lomond the winds were getting worse. I had hoped to stop at a few places along our route but at this point there was no way I was getting out of the car.

We eventually reached Tyndrum and I pulled over as I knew there was a roadside cache hidden here, It's good to talk (23) Tyndrum. From reading the cache details last night I was sure the cache was in or on a telephone box on the opposite side of the A82 from The Green Welly Stop. Jumping out, I went for a look and found the cache in the very first place I tried.

Tyndrum is located at a crossing point for transport routes. It has two railway stations on separate lines and the A82, the main trunk road up the West Coast of Scotland converges with the A85 to Oban here. In addition it is one of the main stops on the West Highland Way, one of the most famous walking routes in Scotland. Tyndrum was once a lead mining town and a number of miners cottages still exist, however there is also gold in the area and a working mine can be found about 2 miles to the South West at Cononish.

Moving on the weather was getting worse and with gusts buffeting the car it was quite tiring to drive through. Upon reaching Bridge of Orchy, I turned off and headed up hill to the railway station. Another cache can be found here, Postman Pat. It's name is a huge clue and upon reaching the car park it was obvious where to look.

Named after the bridge here which crosses the River Orchy, Bridge of Orchy lies at the head of Glen Orchy, also on the A82. I once stayed in the bunk-house which is attached to the Bridge of Orchy hotel whilst walking the West Highland Way, although I use the word "walking" loosely since we did cheat on a few occasions and catch a bus!

Log signed and cache re-hidden we continued our journey but with the weather getting worse (I was driving side-ways across the Rannoch Moor) we made no further stops until we reached Fort William and the safety of my sisters house.

2 out of 2

Largs

After dinner on Christmas Day I was having a look on the Geocaching website for some good caches to attempt over the Christmas break and I spotted a new cache had been published, Anchors Away. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the trip up to Largs on Boxing Day as we were visiting relatives in Glasgow but this morning I had a quick check on the site to see if the cache had been found yet and it hadn't. SuperGirlie and myself headed out in hope of another FTF.

Reaching Largs, the cache details indicated that we should park at the Largs Marina. We pulled into the car park and headed down the Ayrshire Coastal path towards the given coordinates.

Along this stretch of the path are a series of ship anchors which were on loan from the NATO base at Fairlie Quay before it was closed. There are at least 20 spaced out along the route and most include a small display board which indicates the type of anchor (or sinker).

The cache is really simple to find. There's no clue and none is required. The path is rather busy however and getting the cache in and out was a bit tricky. Luckily noone seems to pay any attention to kids searching for things so SuperGirlies had a good look and spotted the likely hiding place. Unfortunately she doesn't like putting her hand into hidey holes in case there are spiders or other creepy crawlies so it was left to me to go and grab the cache. This was our seventh FTF and I think we were just in time as we seem to have just beaten another cacher to it! Sorry Chenks!

Whilst at the Marina we decided to head up the path towards Largs to have a look for another cache, Back to the 80's.....Fantasy Island. This is hidden on a small island (Bowen Craigs?) which is connected to the mainland by a short sand bank. This is a lovely wee spot for a cache, unfortunately we just couldn't find it today. Curiously, this island seems to be a muggle magnet, whilst we were on it there were no less than 6 other visitors making our search rather difficult. On top of that, our GPS was skipping all over the place. Despite this we searched for a while and if it's still there it must be hidden well. Personally I think it's floated away in the recent bad weather.

We walked back to the car via the Largs Pencil, this is a monument in remembrance of the Battle of Largs on the 2nd of October 1263. This was the most significant battle of the war between Scotland and the Norwegian Viking Raiders in which neither side seem to have actually won outright but which proved to be a turning point in the favour of the Scottish forces. It is now generally known that the scale of this battle has been exaggerated over the centuries, however the Pencil stands as a permanent memorial and is the focal point of an annual Viking Festival held throughout Largs.

The next cache we went looking for was in the heart of Largs town centre. Behind the shop fronts on Main Street lies a quiet old graveyard known as the Skelmorlie Aisle. The name is taken from the only remaining part of an old church which once stood on the site but which was demolished in 1802. When most people think of an Aisle, they think of the central passage down the middle of a church, however contrary to popular belief that isn't actually an aisle. The aisles are to be found at the sides of a church and it is here where private tombs and memorials are often to be found. The Skelmorlie Aisle contains a mausoleum built by Sir Robert Montgomerie of Skelmorlie Castle.

The surrounding kirkyard contains a number of other graves and it was one of these in particular that I wanted to visit today. However, when we arrived we found the gates locked. It turns out that the site is now in the care of Historic Scotland and is only opened by request between March and September. The grave we wanted to visit happens to be that of the Reverend Gilbert Lang. Gilbert was the Minister of Largs from 1756-91. He died on the 30th of December in 1791 aged 65 and was buried in the kirkyard of the church where he had preached for the past 36 years. I would have loved to have seen his grave and will definitely make the trip back here during the summer months as the Rev Gilbert Lang was my Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather. Despite not being able to get into the site, we did manage to find the cache.

Returning to the Front we moved towards the Northern end of the promenade looking for I.H.M. Largs Prom. We were a bit confused when we got to the given coordinates as they led us to a stretch of featureless pavement. After a bit of a hunt we soon found something nearby which matched half of the clue but despite a thorough search (as thorough as you can achieve with so many old aged muggles out for a stroll along the prom) we found nothing and gave up.

By now were were feeling a bit down, we'd tried for four caches but found only two and it was starting to get late. A quick look at the map revealed one last Largs cache to try before heading for home, The Three Sisters.

The "Three Sisters" are three pillars built on Green Hill. These were sighting posts which were once used to locate due North. They were built by one of Largs' most famous sons, Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane as part of an astronomy observatory built in 1808 at Brisbane House. Thomas was born in 1773 into a prominent family and had a distinguished military career before being appointed as the Governor of New South Wales (Australia) in 1820. Under his governorship, a number of expeditions were sent out and a great river was discovered. A settlement was founded at it's mouth and both the river and settlement were named Brisbane.

Brisbane's great love was science and in particular astronomy and after returning to Scotland he went on to be elected as the President of the Royal Society in Edinburgh. He held this post until his death in 1860.

After getting lost trying to find the cache location amongst the maze of wee roads and one way streets in the town we finally arrived at the correct place and parked up. After a quick look at the information board we spotted a narrow dirt track leading steeply up to the "Three Sisters". I hadn't even reached the top when SuperGirlie found the cache and after taking a couple of photos we discovered the steps we should have used to get up there. On the way down we got a wave and a cheery hello from the chap who lives in the house behind.

It was now time to go home but on the way I noticed we were passing I.H.M West Coast Picnic at Fairlie. This is a spot I'd visited years ago and thought it might give us one last find for the day. I'd already told SuperGirlie the clue and as soon as we parked she was off... straight to the cache. She'd spotted where it would be hidden as we drove in (not bad for a 6 year old).


This was a really fun and relaxed day of caching. We took our time and had some fun on the beach too. Not bad for late December!

4 out of 6

Feeding the Ducks

When I was a boy, I used to visit my Gran and Aunties house every Saturday. From the end of their road, a footpath led down to Kilmardinny Loch and we would always take my Aunts dog for a walk. I remember I used to beg my Gran for some slices of bread to take with me so that I could feed the ducks on my way around (although I think I used eat as much of the bread as the ducks did!)

Today I was visiting my Aunt who still lives in the same house and I took her wee dog out for a walk around the loch with my dad (SuperGrampa) and my brother-in-law (who has now been renamed SuperUncle). Much as it was nice to go out for a walk and a chat, as ever I had an ulterior motive, there was a cache just off the footpath around the loch, Suburban Sanctuary.

Kilmardinny Loch was once at the centre of the estate surrounding Kilmardinny House. After being owned by a succession of Glaswegian merchants and the Glasgow MP Robert Dalglish the house was donated to East Dunbartonshire Council. Today it's a centre for arts and culture and the loch is a public park and nature reserve. Although part of a designed landscape, the loch itself is believed to be a natural feature formed as the ice of the last ice age retreated. It's shallow with four islands and is a haven for wildlife and a popular location for fishing due to it's abundance of perch and roach. The surrounding park land boasts a variety of different habitats in which species such as otters and bats have been recorded as well as a number of rare plants.

This is a lovely place to come for a short walk at anytime of the year and an ideal place to feed the ducks with the kids. The path around the loch is flat and accessible (although at the time of writing this there is a collapsed tree blocking the route).

If that doesn't sound like enough of a reason to pay the area a visit, an excellent play park has recently been built and, of course, there's a cache hidden here too!

Talking about the cache, it was a simple find. Following the footpath around the loch brought me level with the cache coordinates and I soon spotted the second part of the clue. Leaving SuperGrampa and SuperUncle behind, I scrambled up the short slope and spotted the first part of the clue. My first reaction was "oh no it could be anywhere!", but my cachers instinct took over and a lack of moss on a certain item screamed out "look under here!".

This is cache number 166 for the SuperCollectors, number 3 for SuperGrampa and 1 for SuperUncle (hopefully the first of many??).

1 out of 1

Three Towns

It was the morning of Christmas Eve and there was lots to get ready for the big day tomorrow so I decided to take the kids out to let SuperMum get on with it in peace. Just as I was heading out the door however, SuperKid (our youngest) decided she didn't want to come so in the end it was just SuperGirlie and me.

Last week SuperMum and I had started the Country Road series of caches. These are hidden along a short stretch of country road behind Stevenston. We'd managed to find three out of the seven in the series but we'd had to stop half way through go go and collect the kids from their Grandparents. Today we headed back to complete the series.

The first of these was Country Road - No 5, however when we got to the location there was a woman out for a run (in the wind and rain). She appeared to be running up and down the hill and after waiting in the car for a short while we decided to move on and come back later. The next two caches, Country Road - No 6 and Country Road - No 7 were really simple to find and SuperGirlie even found the second of them on her own.

I.H.M. Bonnie Lesley Monument was our next cache and by now it was raining and the wind was getting up. The clue for this one was very clear and when we go to the GZ it was quite obvious where the cache would be hidden. A quick look and we had found it. This monument was moved to this location in 1929 but was originally to found near Kerlaw Mains Farm. It is dedicated to Lesley Bailey, a woman much admired by Robert Burns and the subject of a number of his love poems but was originally built as a memorial to Lesley's mother May Reid. It's current location overlooks Mayville House where "Bonnie Lesley" was born.

Despite the admiration of Burns (who described her as the "Immortal Goddess" and wrote that the Almighty God had made the most beautiful, perfect woman and broke the mould so that no other could be made, even the devil could not tempt her - obviously he never met SuperMum!) Lesley married Robert Cumming and moved away to live in Edinburgh. She is buried with her sister Grace in the small graveyard of St Johns the Evangelist Church on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Today, the motto of Stevenston is "To spread her conquests farther", a line from the poem "Bonnie Lesley".

Next was a quick park and grab on the way into Saltcoats and was another solo effort by SuperGirlie. There's not a lot I can say about R. U. Coming or Going (Saltcoats) 2nd Edition without telling you where it is but it's really easy to find but a bit exposed so be careful.

After a quick stop to get a drink and a snack we made our way to Ardrossan Castle. The remains of the castle can be found on Castle hill which has an amazing view of the whole coastline although today the weather wasn't on our side. When we got to the top it was blowing a gale and we could hardly stand up straight. Using the clues we found the cache Home to Ardrossan 2 ? quite quickly then went for a careful look around the castle. This cache is a decent sized tub so good for swaps and it was here we found the Scot Ness TB. The castle is very interesting, however the structure is unstable and there are signs everywhere advising you to keep out. We decided that if has been here since about 1140 AD it probably wasn't going to fall down today (despite the winds).

The castle apparently has an association with William Wallace and there is an underground dungeon type opening known as Wallaces Larder where he threw the remains of an entire English Garrison that his army had slaughtered. More relevant today however is that the name Ardrossan is derived from the hill upon which the castle is built with "ard" meaning high and "rossan" being a rocky promontory.

Cold, windswept and probably not very interesting, we headed back to the Country Road series to collect that last cache Country Road - No 5. Once again this was an easy find, however the container had been nibbled by a mouse or something similar. We signed the log and gave the cache a bit of TLC by waterproofing it in a spare zip lock bag from our caching kit. Sadly this nice wee country road has been the target of some "dumb dumpers" and on both sides of the road are piles of rubbish including a full dismantled wardrobe.

Deciding to grab one last cache before heading home we stopped at Across the Sea to Arran. Technically Arran isn't across the sea (it's across the Firth of Clyde), but today it didn't matter as we couldn't even see the sea from here never-mind Arran. For this one SuperGirlie stayed in the car and I scrambled my way into the bushes. The cache wasn't where I'd originally suspected but was quite obvious to spot. You'll see what I mean if you go looking for it!

7 out of 7 found and we headed for home. I've been caching every day this week, I think I'll take tomorrow off....well it is Christmas Day after all... Merry Christmas!

City Lights

It was my last day of work before the Christmas break and after a late lunch I headed off to do a spot of caching in Glasgow City Centre.

I had planned to take a bash at Citizen Firefighter which is just outside Glasgow Central Station but on the way I noticed that it's temporarily disabled at the moment. A walk past told me that it would have been far too busy to attempt anyway so I moved on to the Glasgow Lighthouse cache.

The Lighthouse is known as "Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City" but was once the offices of the Glasgow Herald Newspaper.

The building was designed at the Honeyman and Keppie architectual firm (where Charles Rennie Mackintoch once worked) and was completed in 1895. The cache is a short distance from the Lighthouse building itself but wasn't too difficult to find. Grabbing it, signing the log and replacing it as found was much harder but I was patient and I think I managed to do so without being seen.

There's currently a Christmas fair set up in George Square, so I decided to take a wander past for a quick look.

As usual, they've set up an ice rink and there's also few other rides including Glasgow's very own (but much smaller) version of the London Eye. The place is very Christmassy with all the lights but it was so crammed with people I didn't hang about for long. I just checked out the prices (as we might take the kids along) took a few photos and left.

I had started to head back to catch my bus home when I realised I would be passing another cache which I've yet to find. This one At your convenience is, as it's name hints, located at the public conveniences (loo's to me an you) at the crossing of St Vincent Street and Buchanan Street. The clue given for this cache was quite clear so I knew roughly were to look but it still took me a few minutes to spot the cache. Unfortunately this is one of the busiest spots in the whole of Glasgow with literally thousands of muggles and a queue of traffic jammed back at the lights for as far as I could see. It was pretty clear that there was no way I was going to be able to make a clean grab of this one today so I did the sensible thing and left it for another (quieter) day some time in the New Year.

Queens Cross

Another lunch break, another walk. This time I ventured slightly further than usual all the way up to Queens Cross and back and found two caches along the way.

In 2004 I was on a business trip in London and was waiting in the reception area of a large IT company for an important meeting. Whilst I was waiting a large television was showing the mornings news on mute. After a few moments something caught my attention and I started watching. I was soon asking the receptionist to turn on the audio as there had been a major explosion in Glasgow. The Stockline Plastics Factory explosion.

Today I visited the Park & Grab : Maryhill Road cache which is located just outside the perimeter of a memorial to those who died in the disaster. I would probably never have visited this had it not been for the cache, but I'm glad it gave me a reason to do so. The memorial is just a small area of the original site of the Stockline factory. It's is a simple circle surrounded by standing stones each of which has been dedicated to someone who lost their life on that day. Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Maryhill Road, neighbouring businesses and a shopping centre, this small memorial is a small peaceful place and one which for some reason I found quite moving. The cache was simple to locate and has sensibly been kept outwith the memorial space.

Continuing, I made my way up to Queens Cross and to the Queens Cross Church. This building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh whilst he was still working for Honeyman and Keppie and was completed in 1899. It ceased it's function as a church in the 1970's and is now quite appropriately the home of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society and is open to the public as a tourist attraction and tearoom.

It is just outside this church, often called The Mackintosh Church that the next cache was located. The Mackintosh Church cache is very easy to find and the clue given is very specific about where and what to look for. However, the location is bounded on all sides by busy roads and on each there are traffic lights which make the GZ very exposed. Careful timing was required and several attempts before I had the cache in hand and a short walk to a less exposed location was necessary in order to sign the log without being observed.

By now I was out of time and had to head straight back to work, but these two caches plus the one I logged earlier in the day brought my total to three.

2 out of 2

Albany Found!!

At last!! Today I finally found it!!

The Albany Gone !! cache has been taunting me for the past few weeks. I've made countless visits en-route between my bus stops and work and even went to have a look on a couple of occasions in the evening when there was less traffic and fewer muggles around. On top of this I've even had some hints via email from the cache owner, Senux. All of these visits and hints failed, until today...

My bus was a bit early into Glasgow this morning so once again I went to have a look for the elusive cache. This time I'd been advised that I was definitely looking in the right place so I decided to focus on just that spot. It took a few minutes whilst trying not to draw too much attention (which is nigh on impossible here) but then I spotted something interesting. I was about to take a wee look when I heard someone behind me ask, "Hello, are you Super Collectors?". It turned out to be the Senux himself, the CO.

After a brief chat he was kind enough to give me a bit of cover to grab and sign the log. In hindsight all the hints now make sense and the clue is accurate. In fact, as others have said before, I have no idea why this was so difficult. It's no different from loads of other caches I've found easily in the past.

So, finally I can relax on the stroll up to work in the mornings. I can enjoy my Christmas break without worrying about Albany Gone !!. And maybe, just maybe, I'll finally be able to start sleeping at nights!! I've found it.... at last!!

1 out of 1

Kelvinbridge

Another lunchtime walk today and this time I ventured down to Kelvinbridge to have a look for Kelvin walkway mural. The cache itself was really simple to find so I had time to have a look around. As the name of the cache suggests there is a mural painted here along a long stretch of wall. This depicts scenes of Glasgow and Scotland by graffiti artist Sam Bates. It's a nice piece of work and certainly brightens up the area.

This is near the present day Kelvinbridge Underground station and the site of the old Kelvinbridge railway station. The railway station was opened in 1896 but from the 1950's it was gradually taken out of service until finally being closed in 1964. The station was on the "Glasgow Central Railway" which ran from Maryhill through the City Centre and out to Newton near Cambuslang. The cache is located near the entrance to an old tunnel which ran from just below Kelvinbridge (on Gibson Street) to Stobcross Station (now Exhibition Centre Station) in Finnieston.


After a good look around I headed over to Kelvingrove park to have another look for Highland Light Infantry : Kelvingrove Park. I'd been to look for this one before without success but after contacting another cacher who'd found it fairly recently I thought I'd take another look. The park was fairly quiet compared to my last visit so I managed to have quite a good look at where I now know the cache should be but either I'm just not seeing it or it's gone walkabout.

Finally I took a wander over to have another look for Lord Kelvin Monument : Kelvingrove Park but again despite a thorough search I couldn't find the cache. Even the tried and tested "Fence Inspector" approach failed me this time.

On the way back I came across the Kelvingrove Bandstand. This was the first time I'd seen this, I didn't even know of its existence. This is a really interesting place and another little piece of Glasgows history and culture which has been allowed the fall into disrepair. Thankfully there is a movement which is attempting to gain support for a restoration project. Hopefully they'll succeed as this would be a wonderful little outdoor venue.

1 out of 3

Cowcaddens

I took another quick walk at lunchtime today to collect two more Glasgow City centre caches. This time I headed over Garnethill to the Cowcaddens area.

The first cache I was after was Big Trouble in Little Chinatown which is located near the Chinatown Chinese shopping mall. This warehouse features a traditionally designed Chinese pagoda entrance, built around 1992 using authentic materials which were imported from the Far East. It is at this impressive entrance way that the cache is located and the given coordinates and clue make it a simple find. This area can be fairly busy however not only due to the mall but also because of the proximity of Stowe College. When I visited today there was hardly a soul around so it was easy to have a good hunt and I found the cache with ease.

A short walk from here was my next cache Glasgow's In Bloom which is located at the "Phoenix Flowers". The cache itself was easy to find although careful timing was required to minimise exposure to traffic stopped at two different sets of traffic lights overlooking the GZ. This area was formerly part of Phoenix Park which was destroyed in the late 1950s to make way for the M8 motorway.

Great Western Road

Lunch hour on Monday and I decided to go for a short walk to try to collect one or two more caches in Glasgow City Centre. I'm based at Charing Cross so after a quick look at the map I headed of towards Great Western Road.

My first target was to be Fantasy Family #5: Jorg. This oddly named cache is in an equally odd location. Arriving near the location I found I had no idea how to get right to the given coordinates as these appeared to be inside a building. Common sense told me this probably wasn't the case so I started looking for a close or lane which would take me around the back. Unfortunately I chose the wrong direction and ended up making an almost complete circuit around the block before finding a small muddy lane leading to the yard around the back of the buildings.

Aside from the dirt, the first thing I noticed about this location was just how overlooked it was. There are literally windows on all sides overlooking the GZ. I decided to take the bold as brass approach and walked straight in to the area where I suspected the cache would be hidden as if I was supposed to be there. This seemed to work, I passed a couple of people who didn't so much as give me a second look. Once in, I spotted the cache immediately despite it's camouflage.

This cache is close to the Woodlands Community Garden. This project has made use of an "Urban Gap" where some buildings have been demolished to establish a garden and an "Eco-Awareness Hub" for the local residents.


My next target for the day was a return to A Flock of Gargoyles which is located at St Mary's Cathedral just off Great Western Road. This is the third time I've been to this cache. On the first visit there was ongoing renovation work at the Cathedral and the area around the cache was fenced off. My second visit was a few nights ago after I'd been to the pub so I was hampered by both darkness and vodka. This time it was broad daylight which was equally problematic in that the area was swarming with muggles and is located right at traffic lights.

After a couple of minutes I was starting to feel a bit conspicuous, I'd already played the "on the phone" trick and employed the "shoelace" manoeuvre without success. My final weapon was what I call the "fence inspector". Armed with an IKEA pencil and a bit of paper I jotted down a bunch of meaningless words whilst pretending to examine the fence. There's a bit of damage to the railings slightly further along so I made sure I had a good look there too. It was several minutes before I finally spotted the cache and only down to the gap in the fence (hint!). A quick fumble to grab it, then I took it on a short walk around the block to sign before returning! Success at last!

As part of the recent renovation some of the Cathedral's collection of gargoyles were replaced. These new carvings have apparently been based on the local congregation. Personally I think that's a great idea, who better to watch over the church than it's own members.


2 out of 2

Ardrossan or Saltcoats?

Whilst at the playpark on the beach front in Ardrossan, I just "happened" to notice that there were a few caches nearby and one just along at the car park. I had to have a look! The Stanley Burn cache is located at the point where the burn of that name emerges out into the Firth of Clyde. This is on the boundary between Ardrossan and Saltcoats at the aptly named Burn Road.

It was getting dark when we were there but we managed to have a good look around both at the road side and in a small grassy area to the North of the road. The burn goes through a small tunnel (see photo) to emerge onto the beach, and after looking at the messages left by previous cachers I think the cache is in this tunnel somewhere.

Unfortunately we didn't have appropriate footwear today and the burn was in full flow so not really an option. I had a look down the tunnel for signs of anything obvious but didn't spot anything. We didn't venture down onto the beach as I doubt any cache placed there would survive long or would quickly be buried under sand.

We did bizarrely find a small fish (dead) which isn't odd in itself but it had got trapped in a small hole between rocks at the side of the burn. This was a good 3ft above the level of the burn. I suspect this area must have been heavily flooded during the recent hurricane (Bawbag?!) which hit our coast.



Didn't find this one today, but we'll be back in the better weather with wellies!!

Country Road - Part 1

This afternoon me and Mrs SC head up to the back of Stevenston to do a spot of cache and dashing. Our targets were the seven caches which form a series entitled "Country Road" as set by Roseacre.

The first of these, suitably named Country Road - No 1 was really simple to find and retrieve although we had a few unexpected muggles appear just as I was about to get out of the car. Four young lads out for a walk in the rain on a cold December day on a country road in the middle of nowhere....?? Coast clear I dived out the car and grabbed the cache.

Second up was, you've guessed it Country Road - No 2. This was a short distance further down the road at a small bend. We parked up at a handy lay-by just beyond the corner and I slipped and slid my way back up the road the to corner. The cache was easy to see as there's not much in the way of vegitation at this time of year but actually reaching it wasn't as simple. A few scratches later and I had it.

Moving on we reached the coordinates for Country Road - No 3. This has a fairly standard clue and after a brief search in every possible place I rechecked the coordinates with Mrs SC and found I was very slightly out. A quick look in the correct location still turned up nothing but then my cacher instinct must have kicked in because I found the cache in a very unexpected place. True enough though the clue was correct! Sneeky!

Our fourth find was, Country Road - No 4. This is located at the next bend in the road where another road branches off. The clue is very specific so the cache was simple to find. It was here however that we got a phone call telling us it was time to go and get the kids back off their Granny and Grampa. The rest of this series will need to wait until another day.

4 out of 4