Neigh Problem!

I usually take the bus to work but for the past couple of weeks I've been putting in a few extra hours so have had to drive. I hate driving to work and back so to relieve the boredom I decided to bag a cache on my way home Neigh Lad.

This was a simple cash and dash near Fenwick and was located on the back of a road sign. Finding the cache took all of ten seconds but waiting for a gap in the traffic took a while longer.

Montrgeenan and Benslie

To finish off Saturday mornings caching I decided to go and have a look for a couple of caches by a local cacher called Chenks. These have been active for a few weeks now but I've not had much time to visit them.

The first, Monty's Trig, was located on the approach road to the old Montgreenen Hotel which at present appears to be out of use. At the side of this road lies a trig point marker and it is at this that the cache is to be found. The find itself wasn't at all difficult but I really liked to hiding place and the method of retrieving the cache. This one earned a favourite point as it wasn't just your run of the mill tub in a tree root.

Next I drove to a little village called Benslie where the next cache Benslie Woods was hidden. This one had me stumped for a bit (and that's not a hint). I'd parked at the road side and was trying to follow my GPS which was skipping around but couldn't see anything. I was ready to give up and had returned to the car when I decided to have another go and went to look in the most obvious place (where I'd already looked before). Still I didn't see anything. It was only then I had an idea and making sure noone was around I checked out my theory. Nope it wasn't there, but after a couple of tries I had the cache. I can't really say much more that this without spoiling the mystery but this one is worth looking for if only for the smug feeling you'll get if you find it! Another favourite point was definitely in order.

Overton and Warrix - Found!

After finally making it to Lost Track at Annick earlier in the day, I decided to another cache I'd DNF'd before. Last time I attempted Overton and Warrix I'd been hampered by 6ft mutant nettles but today I was confident I'd find it as the nettles are just just starting to grow at this time of the year. 

I knew roughly where to look and was soon at the GZ but my GPS was doing the double dutch and I found myself as lost as I had been before. After reading some of the previous logs I made my way over a scary bridge (fallen tree) to search the opposite bank of a small stream but after a good hunt over there (keeping a wary eye on some mooggles in the field) I crossed back again.

There was nothing for it to examine every single tree trunk (part of the clue given) but eventually I even ran out of them and still didn't have it. It was only then I spotted one last item that I hadn't looked at but surely not, I could barely see it... Bingo... plastic fantastic!!... I had the cache at last!

This is definitely the time of year to do this one as I now see why I couldn't find it in October when it would have been completely hidden by those horrible stinging nettles. it's always the ones you find difficult that you remember so I definitely won't forget this one in a hurry!!

Found track at Annick

Last November I'd tried to find a cache called Lost Track At Annick but had failed due to Network rail having build a 6ft high security fence across a viaduct which I needed to cross. I finally made it back for another attempt but this time decided to approach from the opposite direction.

After parking at the Cunninghamhead Estate retirement village I walked back down to a bridge which goes under the entrance road only to find the railway track unpassable. Undetered I took a route across fields instead and was soon near to the GZ. I was hampered at this point by an electric fence, however there was an easy route around it and after a scramble over a wooden fence I was soon at the given coordinates.

Once there the cache was an easy find and I was glad to get this cache off my list at last. It was a lovely day between showers and a nice wee stroll.

Haltwhistle - Day 7

The last day of our holiday in Haltwhistle and we decided it was time to tackle the local Multicache.

Just South of town are the Alston Arches, a viaduct which at one time carried a railway line across the South Tyne. The line opened in 1852 but closed in 1976 after which the viaduct fell into disrepair until in 2006 they were restored by the North Pennines Heritage Trust. They now form part of a footpath and are the starting point for the multicache Alston Arches.


The cache involved finding a plaque on the bridge, taking some digits from various points on it and using them to work out the hiding place of the cache container. This was quite simple but when we got to the coordinates we hunted but couldn't find the cache. After nearly giving up several times but having one last go, we eventually found it more by luck than anything else.

By now the rain had started and we were soaked so despite having planned to tackle another cache we called it a day and headed to a nearby Softplay to tire the kids out.

Haltwhistle - Day 6

Day six of our break in Haltwhistle and we decided to head north to the Kielder Forest Park which is actually back over on this side of the border in Scotland. Having checked the maps we'd spotted a fair number of caches around Kielder Water and planned to go for a long walk and maybe find a few of them as we went.

Although it hadn't really been our intention we started having a look for caches on the way and when Mrs SC announced there was a cache within a few hundred meters of the road we were on it didn't take much persuasion for me to take a turn off to go and have a look. The cache in question was called Birdoswald Fort and as its name suggests is at the site of another Roman fort. The current name is taken from the farm that the site is now within however in Roman time this fort was known as Banna. This name apparently means tongue or spur which reflects the landscape where it is built. The cache was an easy park and grab from the English Heritage car park and we sent the kids out to get it on their own.

A bit further on we stopped at a small junction next to a cottage to have a look for Key to the Road. This was a tricky one to find and after I'd had a good hunt around looking at sign posts, a post box and everything else around I had to call out Mrs SC who'd stayed in the car. Even this didn't help and we were about to give up when I spotted something which looked like it should be there at first glance but not when you really think about it. Unfortuantely I can't really give much more away without spoiling the secret hiding place but this was a very special cache and very clever. We're now thinking about creating one like this around our area too.

Back in the car and on to a little town called Newcastleton where a number of caches were showing on the map. When we got there these turned out to be part of a trail. Our first find here On the trail of Cassie was located at a sign  welcoming us to Newcastleton. Myself and Super Girlie walked back to this and spent a while looking around before finding it in an obvious spot we'd overlooked.

The next cache in the trail had lots of DNFs recently so we skipped that and moved the car to the centre of town. After a spot of lunch got our walking kit on and headed off into the woods in search of more plastic.

We didn't have to go far when we found the next cache On the Trail of Cassie - E. This was a simple base of tree find but was a decent sized cache in which we found a TB. Signing the log and rehiding this one was rushed as we spotted a muggle with duggle approaching from the town.

Third find on the trail was On the trail of Cassie - 29/12/01 and was well hidden. The clue given was "The Drifters sang about this place..." and sure enough we were having some fun. Just before reaching this we'd passed a couple of women in the wood who seemed to be struggling with a GPS. We suspected them to be other cachers but didn't ask. Having a look at the logs however I don't think they were as noone logged these caches on the same day as we did. Or maybe the didn't find them.

Next came On the trail of Cassie - I for which we still don't get the clue. We didn't need one however as eagle eyed Super Girlie spotted some rocks which looked out of place as we approached. Sure enough it was the cache!

Out of the woods and onto a track and we reached an old bridge over what was once a railway line. Here we again spotted some rocks which looked suspicious however there was no easy way to reach them as they were behind a barbed wire fence. Eventually I got over but had to then go under the bridge and back up the other side to reach the rocks. It was all a bit muddy and the undergrowth didn't help either but thankfully the suspicious rocks were guilty and so On the trail of Cassie - C was soon logged and returned.

On the trail of Cassie - SS took us further down the track we'd been on but it soon became clear we'd come the wrong way as the GPS was pointing to the opposite side of a river. Backtracking all the way back to the bridge we crossed and headed down a road for a short stretch before finding a way onto the dismantled railway line which once ran under the bridge. The cache was supposedly hidden behind a section of an old platform and although we spotted one on the far side of the road we couldn't find the one over near the track. It was a few minute before I checked the GPS again and it had magically changed it's mind and was now pointing over the road. As ever the obvious is probably where it's hidden and it was.

Further down the railway line was yet another cache On the trail of Cassie - A and yet again Super Girlie spotted it before we were anywhere near. It was then a long walk back (getting lost a few times along the way) to town and down to the river to look for On the trail of Cassie - 13/05/11. We looked for this one for ages but unfortunately had to eventually and reluctantly call it quits and log a DNF.

By the time we got back to the car and had a look at the map it was pretty clear we weren't going to reach the Kielder Forest so we decided to head back a slightly different route and see if we could bag a few more caches around Brampton. On the way we pulled up and bagged another roadside cache called Riley's rest TB Hotel. It didn't live up to it's name however as there were no TBs in there on our visit.

Upon reaching Brampton we headed out Old Church Lane which as it's name suggests leads to an old church. Along this road we pulled into a layby and Mrs SC and Super Girlie jumped out to go and find Old Grey Oak before we drove on and parked at the church. The cache here The Old Church is located behind the graveyard which was soft and wet. It wasn't as soft and wet as the area where the cache was hidden however. We had a bit of bother getting down to the GZ and even more trying to scramble back up the muddy slope again. Thought Mrs SC wasn't going to make it home.

Back to Brampton and Mrs SC and Super Girlie once again headed off solo to find Holly Lane. Their first attempt was a failure as they couldn't get to the cache from the lane they went down but after moving back up the road a bit the correct lane was found and they were soon back having found and logged it.

Next was Twin Gates, a driveby where we found another TB and was quickly followed (after going completely the wrong way) by The Capon Tree. This was located near a small memorial where several Jacobites were hanged by the Duke of Cumberland in 1746. The Oak tree from which they were hanged is no longer there however but a Celtic style cross marks the site.

Last of the day was Sam's 21 which was a sneeky hide in a small wood. The hide wasn't far from a path but I just couldn't find it and eventually had to call in reinforcements. As is often the case, Super Girlie found it within a couple of minutes. The cache was simple but clever and somewhere I'd seen but overlooked. I was just glad to have it found so we could get back in the car and head home as by now I was knackered.

Haltwhistle - Day 5

The fifth day of our stay in Haltwhistle and we decided to get out of the terrible cottage we'd rented again.

After a look at some maps we thought it would be nice to go for a walk around Talkin Tarn which is located just south of Brampton in Cumbria. The tarn is a kettle hole lake formed about 10,000 years ago by glaciers but today it's a countty park. Rowing boats can be hired from a boat house which also has a tea room and there are walks all the way around the tarn.

It was too cold and wet for rowing today so we donned our gear and headed off in search of a number of caches hidden around the park. The first cache we came to had us a bit puzzled as the coordinates took us to a road track just beside a building. Noting that this was an education centre Mrs SC rechecked the cache details only to discover the cache type was an event and had happened a month previously.

Next up was It's a Bugs Life which was a short but pleasant walk through the wood from the boat house. It was an easy find and so we moved on to A bit of Blarney? which was place for the event we'd missed which was on St Patricks day. Again this was a simple enough find and we passed a great wood carving of a dog which the kids loved. We also spotted a red squirrel, the only one of the whole holiday!

The next cache Wood you believe it? was some distance off the path around the tarn in the far corner of a field and was just sitting there under some long grass. It wasn't difficult to find, however getting back out of the field had us stumped. In the end we had to return to the place we'd entered as everywhere else was protected by a barbed wire fence. I think the name of the cache must refer to the fact that this field has been planted with little saplings of all different types of tree. What I liked about this was that they seem to have been randomly mixed and placed and aren't in straight lines like most planted woods.

By the time we'd reached Talcan Tjorn we were soaked, the light rain had turned into a downpour and the kids were moaning. So after an easy find (despite clever camouflage) Mrs SC and Super Kid took the direct route back to the car whilst myself and Super Girlie went off in search of the final cache). Thankfully the long named cache I'll have a C for Challenge please, Bob didn't take as long to find and so we got back to the car not long after the others.

After a spot of lunch in the car we decided to head to the Roman Army Museum near Greenhead but on the way managed to pass another couple of caches. The first of these was Ridge View was was basically a huge tree stump at the side of the road. A quick cache and dash and we were on our way again. The second was Remembrance Day 1 which was another road side cache which took Mrs SC all of 10 seconds to find.

The Roman Army Museum was a big hit with the kids (and us) and ended the day nicely.

Haltwhistle - Day 4

Day four in Haltwhistle and we decided to take a day off walking and headed to Hexam.

This turned out to be a nice little town and had some lunch in the market square before visiting the old gaol and the Hexam Abbey. Outside the Abbey I was pleased to find a memorial plaque for the Northumberland Fusiliers who died in WWII. My Great Grandfather James Bingham had served with them during WWI but died in Flanders so it was nice to see.

Afterwards we took a walk around the back of the Abbey and the kids had a great time at a small swing park before I spotted there was a cache nearby. It would have been rude to come the Hexam and not bag a cache so despite it being a day off we went and found The Sele.

Haltwhistle - Day 3

Day Three of our Easter break in Haltwhistle and the kids wanted to go egg rolling, so while they were busy boiling eggs and decorating them I headed out on my own to bag a few caches at another stretch of Hadrians Wall.

Parking roadside at Caw Gap I first headed East up a steep climb in search of Bogle Hole - Caw Gap. This is supposedly the goblins hollow and a haunt of evil little folk. Today however there weren't any little folk in sight just dozens of people out walking the wall. In Scotland, when we go out walking we go for the peace and tranquillity of being out in the open away from the crowds for a while. It doesn't seem to be the case in Northumberland as everywhere we go there aren't just a couple of people around there are dozens!

By the time I reached this first cache of the day I was close to tears. My poor old legs were like jelly and my foot which I'd hurt before the holiday and had bandaged up was aching. The cache was a quick find but once I'd signed it I had to wait for ages for a gap in the muggles to put it back in it's hidey hole.

Cache two was further on eastwards which was made doubly difficult as this stretch of the wall goes up and down like a yoyo. Eventually I reach the given coordinates and started looking for The Clayton Wall which turned out to be quite simple. No problems returning the cache this time so it was quickly logged and I returned west towards the car.

West of the road where I'd parked the path was a little easier. After stopping to admire the ruined outlines of a watchtower I moved on to look for Thorny Doors. This was another cache which was only tricky due to the vast number of muggles wandering past in both directions. Job done it was back to the car and back to the house.

In the afternoon we decided to visit the Allen Banks and Staward Gorge woodland which is owned by the National Trust and not very far from Haltwhistle. En-route however we took a detour to visit a tiny village called Beltingham. This turned out to be a beautiful little place with the most picturesque church and graveyard we've ever seen. In these are several large yew trees but by far the most impressive was the one hidden around the other side of the church. Held together by large iron brackets this collossus of a tree was what I'd been hoping to see when we visited Fortingale in Perthshire last October. This one wasn't just few stumps of rotten remains however!

The tree was also the location for a multicache called The Ancient Yew of Beltingham for which we had to make a couple of observations in order to solve a given formula. Once solved we then had the final coordinates of the cache and despite a steep scramble, lots of undergrowth and a stream to traverse we soon had the cache in hand!

Eventually we reached the Allen Banks car park located in the old walled gardens of Ridley Hall. Much to the girls delight there was another Easter egg hunt on here so we signed the girls up and went off in search of rabbits paw signs, clues and of course some more caches!

More information about this location can be found on the NT website including the history of the site (see the History link on the left navigation) http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/allen-banks-and-staward-gorge/

First of the three caches here was Near the Knuckle. This was further down the gorge than the egg hunt reached so I split off from the rest of the family. This was an extremely pleasant walk and by the time I reached the coordinates given I'd managed to escape the crowds and at last had some peace and quiet. Now to find the cache which I'd remembered was somewhere on the steep slope down from the path. After a while searching without success whilst trying not to slip to my death in the gorge below I decided to have another look at the clue. This was a good idea as there were quite clear instructions detailing how to locate the cache which I hadn't followed. In the end the find was quite simple but one part of the clue could keep some people puzzled for a while, luckily I'd come across a couple of similar clues before so got it right away.

This cache was located at the site of a summer house, the floor of which was made from sheep knuckle bones (thus the cache name). Farther up the path towards the car park there is a newer summer house with a beautiful wooden book built onto the table. This contains a history of the site and is a lovely thing to have there.

From the cache I headed downhill via a twisting, turning wooden stairway down a lovely little valley to the river below and then headed back upstream to a suspension footbridge. Once on the other side I headed up although finding the best route was tricky. Eventually I reached the top of the slope and then had to trudge back downstream to find The root of it. This was another easy find in a quiet part of the forest and I decided it would be a good place to leave a new trackable. Good luck Davy the Dino!

My final target was Bush Tucker Trial - 2008 which took me back upstream and even farther uphill to a small but gorgeous tarn in the midst of the forest. It wasn't until I reach here that I remembered this was a multicache which meant I'd have at least another stage to find. Luckily upon checking the cache details there was only one other stage and not a whole set. It was at this point I got a call from Mrs SC to say they were back at the car and when would I be back. I assured her I'd be back soon... hmmm not quite accurate!

Finding the first cache was quite trickly. The clue said it was in a Rhododendron root, however they were everywhere and it was a little further away from where the hint suggested. The coordinates for the final cache were in the log of the first box so armed with these I set off however I lost all phone signal and so was working without maps. I was really tired by now so I ended up walking in a straight line following the arrow on the GPS. A small tip for anyone who might think about doing this in the future, don't!!

Finally, I reached the cache after quite some distance through dense undergrowth and down a very steep slope. Thankfully the cache tub was fairly large and was full of goodies which cheered me up so after making some swaps and signing the log I started on the long walk headed back to the car.

I was an hour and a half late but found everyone in a surprisingly good mood. The kids were eating easter egg whilst watching a DVD and I think Mrs SC had had a sleep. I on the other hand was exhausted and could hardly stand up, I was drenched with sweat and pretty dirty... but I had fun and in the end that's matters!

Haltwhistle - Day 2

Day two of our Easter break staying in Haltwhistle and we headed along Hadrians Wall a little to Housesteads and the National Trust owned fort. To the Romans this was known as Vercovicium but today it is simply called Housesteads. The fort was built into the wall with construction starting in AD124 just two years after the wall itself and in it's day it would have housed a regiment of 800 to 1000 men.

Whilst Mrs SC had the kids engrossed in an Easter Egg hunt organised by the NT I nipped off to collect two caches, one in each direction along the wall from the fort. The first of these was called 100 Years of Scouting which I'm sure could have been placed somewhere with more relevance to the title but it was a pleasant short walk over to it and an easy find.

After heading back to the fort and checking in with the rest of the Super Collectors I sneaked away again this time in the opposite direction in search of a cache with the more appropriate name of Housesteads. Again this was a simple find but was made a bit more difficult by the sheer number of walkers.

After a spot of lunch at the visitors centre we decided to head to the Steel Rigg car park further along the wall and spent the afternoon walking to the Sycamore Gap and back. There were four caches along this stretch and we found them all. First up was Win(d)shields Crags which unsurprisingly was located at the Winshields Crags. This should have been our second cache but when we got to the first cache there were people at it (other cachers we think) so we decided to leave it for the way back.

Our next target Crag Lough was at the far end of our walk and the famous Sycamore Gap. Here a solitary sycamore tree has found a sheltered position in a gap between the Crags. The cache was located some way off the wall but next to the Roman military road. It was here that Mrs SC decided to release her own TB. Good luck Fidget the Cat!

On the way back we also collected On the Other Side and Time Capsule the first of which was again away from the wall. The latter was at the foot of the Crags and for some reason had a Doctor Who theme.

Another good day out and some caches along the way. Back to home for a rest and day three.

Haltwhistle - Day 1

Last week we were away on our Easter break and stayed in a little town called Haltwhistle. The towns claim to fame is that it's at the centre of Britain although a look at a map quickly shows this to be untrue, however it's a nice little place and we enjoyed our stay (despite the appalling cottage we rented).

As with most of our holidays since we started Geocaching we spent a fair bit of time out and about but tried to keep the caching to places we wanted to go rather than going to places for caches. In the end we managed to log 43 caches and brought four trackables north.

On our first day out we started with a visit to Cawfields Quarry which is located right next to Milecastle 42 on Hadrians Wall. Here there are two caches and we logged both. The first Cawfields Quarry was a traditional cache (despite being marked as a Letterbox Hybrid) and was an easy find next to the Quarry. The other was our second Earthcache Cawfields Great Whin Sill. This involved noting down some information from the boards provided on site, taking photos of the Whin Sill (rock wall) at the quarry, making an observation and then mailing these to the cache owner. The Quarry itself is quite pretty with a nice pond in front of the striking rock face and the proximity to Hadrians Wall and Milecastle 42 meant this was a two for one location!

In the afternoon of the same day we visited Vindolanda which is an ongoing archaeological dig at the site of a Roman Fort and town. This was very interesting and there was a good guided tour of the site. The kids seemed to enjoy the tour as much as us. Just outwith the site myself and the kids went for a wander in order to collect Vindolanda View. This was easier than we made it seem as the GPS jumped around. 

On the way home we made another couple of stops to bag two more caches. The first of these was The Long Stone. On the map this appeared to be maybe 100 metres off the side of the road but when we got there we realised it was also 100 metres (or more) up! This cache was located at the top of a rather steep hill. Not detered by the wind and cold, me and Super Girlie donned our gear and headed off with not a path in sight and headed straight up to the top. The stone itself is some type of standing stone but of what age I'm unsure. The cache was located right at it and we decided to leave a new TB there for the next person brave (or daft) enough to go up there! Good luck Lou the Ewe! Really proud of Super Girlie for not only attempting this climb but also making it look easy!

The final cache of the day was Crinkledykes which is drive-by at a 19th century limekiln. This was quite an impressive structure and sits right at the side of the road. The cache was quite tricky to spot and although I usually let the kids find the caches even if I spot them first I was so pleased to finally spot this one that there was no way they were getting the glory!

First day over we headed back for some dinner and a rest before more adventures on day two!

AMAZO Flashmob

On the 1st April we attended our very first Geocaching event The AMAZO Farewell Flash Mob. This was held in Glasgow's George Square and was supposed to last for 5 mins with everyone appearing out of nowhere, standing in the shape of a smiley face, and then disappearing again. In reality it all took a little longer and moved around the square as AMAZO (the organiser) negotiated with a friend via his mobile phone until we were positioned for the best picture via a webcam located somewhere within the City Chambers.

This was a really well attended event which took everyone by surprise and as a result the room booked in the Counting House bar for afterwards was a little small. This was eased slightly when everyone with kids was thrown out so we've no idea what happened later on in the evening but I'm sure it was messy!

Nonetheless we really enjoyed the event as we'd been unsure as to what to expect. In the end it turns out other cachers as pretty normal people after all!

As well as the event which counts as a cache, we managed to sign the log of three travelling caches;

• Cuckoo Cache (could be anywhere)
• Hitchhiker 42 (Cached in Duchal Dilemma)
• Keep it Moving

These are seemingly extremely rare and for these three to be in the same place at the same time was pretty cool. I'm not sure how many TB's we managed to sign but it was only about a quarter of those which were logged as being at the event yet was still a lot. We also launched a new TB of our own at the event, good luck Chopper Charles!

A good event and hopefully the first of many.