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

Shewalton Sandpits

I'd set off this morning to visit the Shewalton Sandpits Wildlife Reseve. After two unplanned detours on the way I finally made it there!

As it's name suggests, the Shewalton Sandpits is a wildlife reserve created on the site of some old wasteland which was once part of a sand and gravel works. In 1982 the Scottish Wildlife Trust worked with North Ayrshire Council to regenerate the area as a reserve. The site is split into two parts on either side of the Ayr Road at the south end of Irvine.

After parking up at the providing lay-by on the Shewalton Road I headed into the East part of the reserve in search of Explore Shewalton Sandpits - Riverside. This has a number of paths which can be followed. The cache is located on a circular walk around an old pit which is now a pond. The temperatures over night had been sub zero and as a result the pond was completely frozen over. This is a lovely wee walk and is fairly short so is not too much if you're just looking for a short stroll.

Upon arrival at the given cache coordinates I immediately spotted a likely hiding place and sure enough that was where I found the cache. The container itself was slightly damaged however and had been leaking, but I had some supplies with me and was able to give it a dry and a clean and wrapped the entire thing into another zip-lock bag before returning it to it's hidey hole.

This is a great wee location and combines both woodland walk and a nice stroll around the pond. Even in the height of winter there was wildlife here in abundance including water birds, squirrels, robins and a variety of other birds.

Moving on I crossed over to the second cache in the West part of the reserve to hunt for Explore Shewalton Sandpits - Trocal Pond. This area has a huge pond at the centre with a path the whole way around. As is often the case, the cache has been placed at the farthest away point from the entrance to the reserve. Unsure which would be the best direction to go round the pond I just picked one and started walking. Much of this walk is along the very edge of the reserve at the border with the neighbouring golf course. I managed to collect three lost balls along the way.

The path is narrow in places and is fairly interesting, not your normal forest path. Upon arrival at the coordinates I had a good look around but couldn't see the cache. The location is a small hollow filled with pine trees (planted - they're all in rows!) but despite spotting an obvious cachers cairn I couldn't find the cache. The GPS was skipping around a fair bit, but there are a few points surrounding the location where a clear signal can be found so I was able to triangulate a fairly good idea of where the cache should be, I just couldn't find it. Not sure if the cache is there, whether it's buried under the thick carpet of pine needles or whether I just didn't look in the right place but after about an hour and countless jags and scratches from needles, thorns and gorse bushes (and a phone call from Mrs SC to find out why I was an hour late picking her up) I finally gave up.

I'll definitely be back for another go as this is a really nice walk and you never know I might find more golf balls!

Drybridge

I'd originally set out to visit the Shewalton Sandpits Wildlife Reserve but had already made a stop to find another cache Riverside along the way. After setting off again I took a wrong turn and found myself heading towards Drybridge. Always the opportunist I spotted another caching adventure and parked up (near the wheelie bins as advised) to go in search of Where To Go or Vertigo?.

This small village is named after it's railway bridge which crosses the old Kilmarnock to Troon line. The name apparently derives from that fact that the bridge was over railway whereas the nearby Laigh Milton viaduct (known as the Wet Bridge and claimed to be the oldest railway viaduct in the Scotland) was over the River Irvine. The bridge is still here and the line (The first in Scotland, and opened in 1812 to carry coal to Troon Harbour) is today part of the Glasgow South Western Line (or Burns Line) to Stranraer.

The instructions for this cache tell you to follow a path to the right of a seating area which was obvious to see, however reaching it was more difficult that you'd imagine. Over night the roads and pavements of North Ayrshire had become one huge ice rink and I could hardly move across the frozen ground. Once at the path there was more grip and I followed this wee path down past a bench with a beautiful view and arrived at another bridge (not the one after which the village is named) over the River Irvine. This wasn't just any old bridge however, it was a pipe, and at first I though I was going to have to either shimmy over it or scramble along the surrounding lattice work. Upon closer inspection I found there were metal walkways on either side and that there was a way to access these.

After a pause on the bridge to take some photos and enjoy both the view and the experience I continued along the route towards the GZ. The pipe itself at first seems out of place in a location like this but it has a certain magic of it's own. I'm not sure what it carries, where it starts or where it's going but it's certainly a striking feature in the landscape.

It was still really cold when I got to the cache site and after finding the it and signing the log I headed back to the car. On the way back the light was coming in the opposite direction and everything was casting long shadows in the low winter sun. Beautiful!

Down by the river

Today's target caches were both located in the Shewalton Sandpits Wildlife Reserve but on the way there I realised that I was passing another cache which I hadn't yet collected. Riverside is a quick cache and dash located at one of the many bridges over the River Irvine. The location is really nothing special, however, when I got there it was still really cold and everything was encrusted with frosty crystals. The sun was out too in a clear sky making for a beautiful scene. In particular there were a series of fence posts which were steaming as the frost was being melted as if they were smouldering after a fire.

The bridge itself is of a modern construction and looks fairly industrial underneath including the obligatory graffiti. One artist (if you can call them that) had even gone to the extreme of wading out into the middle of the river to sign the bridge supports with his tag. Hmmm, going to crazy extremes to reach somewhere, and a love of signing things... maybe they should take up Geocaching!! To either side of the modern bridge are large circular structure which I suspect are the bases for the piers of a previous bridge. If this is the case then it must have been a lot wider that the current one.

The cache itself was really simple to find using the coordinates and really didn't require me to go all the way down under the bridge. I short scramble up a steep bank and a rummage around some metal work and I spotted the wee blighter.

Post Christmas Lunch

I was out for Christmas Lunch yesterday with some of my work colleagues in the West End of Glasgow and managed to collect a few caches on the way home.

After leaving the restaurant/bar I decided that I was going to walk to Central Station for my train. This was a fair distance, but I'd had a couple of drinks and thought it was a good idea at the time. A few minutes along the road I passed St Mary's Cathedral on Great Western Road which I'd been to recently in search of a cache called A Flock of Gargoyles. I hadn't been able to have a proper look for it on that occasion as there was renovation work ongoing and the area was fenced off. Last night however I had a good look. It was quite dark however and despite spending about 10 minutes loitering around, pretending to be on my phone, and using the shoelace manoeuvre I didn't find the cache.

Abandoning that one I continued my journey and soon found myself passing The Kings Theatre II, another cache I'd looked for previously without success. This cache is really close to my work and has been frustrating me. The area is always too busy during the day to have a good look. Last night I was pleased to see that there were only a few people around. I had a quick rummage in the location I knew the cache should be and found it straight away.

Albany Gone !! was my next target but when I got there it was a bit too dark to do a proper search and there was just too much rubbish around for my liking. I'll try this one again as I pass near hear every day but I'm not keen on this as a cache location.

Next up on my wiggly route towards Central Station was The Lane Under (L1) which I've also tried before. My bus drops me off close by in the mornings so I've done a few walk-by's and I was pretty sure I'd spotted where the container would be hidden. This lane is always too busy during the day and is overlooked by offices so I'd never had a chance to find it and sign the log. Last night however the place was deserted and the cache was exactly where I had guessed. I found a trackable in it too. Bonus!

Finally I nipped down to Waterloo Street to bag the Atrium Court cache. Last time I was here I looked in the wrong place. This time I knew what the clue meant (thanks Wikipedia!) and so I had a good idea where I'd find the cache. Upon arrival at the GZ I employed the shoelace manoeuvre again and spotted the cache right away. It was soon signed and returned to it's hiding place.

Central and then home - 3 out of 5.

Not Proven

Found Madeline Smith in Blythswood Square today on my way to work in Glasgow. I've been to look for it before without success the cache has now been replaced and today it was an easy find from the pavement outside the square.

Stealth was essential. This area is fairly busy with muggles and cars and is overlooked by offices. I pretended to be looking for something in my bag and waited for a quiet moment to snatch the cache and sign it.

The square is currently locked as it was recently infested with a bunch of protestors. As a result the square has now been closed to everyone, idiots! Hopefully it will be reopened some time in the New Year as this is a lovely place to go for a walk or to eat lunch on a nice day.

INTT Mega-Multi - Part 2

After an epic hunt for the answers to the 15 separate stages of the Irvine New Town Trail Mega Multi cache I sat down last night and worked out the final coordinates for the GZ. Supported by the whole Super Collectors tribe I headed to the super secret location this morning to bag the prize and hopefully a FTF!

For obvious reasons I can't really say much about the location as I wouldn't want to give the secret away but we hunted and hunted and then hunted some more and eventually came to the conclusion that either we were blind or that the cache wasn't where it was supposed to be. We gave up and headed to a local supermarket for some breakfast.

After a few email exchanges between myself and Chenks (the cache owner) and a visit to the site by him to verify that the cache was indeed there, it became apparent that something was amiss. As it turned out he'd set the wrong coordinates and had to post new ones on the Geocaching.com website. By now we were off Christmas shopping in Braehead but as soon as we got back I jumped in the car again and headed back to the new GZ armed with a torch as it was getting dark.

When I reached the GZ it was cold, dark and raining but I was determined I was going to find this cache today. Half way there and things got even worse, it started snowing! Thankfully the new coordinates were spot on and I was able to walk straight to the cache.

This must be the most effort I've had to expend on finding a cache so far. That said, despite the bad weather I really enjoyed yesterdays cycle and you never get tired of that feeling you get when you find a cache! Who'd have thought tupperware could be so much fun!!

Thanks again to Chenks for the cache and for getting things sorted out so quickly today!

INTT Mega-Multi - Part 1

It was cold, wet and windy this morning so I decided to head out for a cycle with a spot of Geocaching along the way! Mad? I know, but I'd seen a new cache published recently (Irvine New Town Trail Mega Multi) which no-one had found yet so wanted to try for an FTF on it. The only problem was that it was a Multi-Cache. That means that to find the coordinates I would have to visit several other locations and solve some clues. Easy, well no! The clues to solve the coordinates were spread out around the 19km New Town Trail and there were no less than 15 clues to find.

It had already started raining when I left the house and I was getting cold by the time I reached the first clue (actually number 13 in the set). The clue for this one had me look at a sign for a certain word and count the number of letters. Further on I had to reach a certain place and count the number of people I could see. When I got there I couldn't see anyone (until a muggle and his duggle walked past but I didn't think they counted!), decided the answer was zero and moved on, only to realise I had been in the wrong place! Over to Eglinton Castle and the third clue was soon solved too.

By the time I reached Irvine town centre I was fed up collecting clues and decided to look for a few other caches. First up I looked for Where's the Baileys Gone but there was a queue of traffic overlooking the location so I moved on only to find the trail blocked by a construction site with no obvious alternative route to follow.

After a very long diversion I came back to the bridge and resumed the hunt for clues. Then once again I found my route blocked by yet more construction work. This forced me along a different path where I happened to know there were a few caches I had yet to find. The Meeting of the Waters was easy although I needed to use the torch application on my phone and Get your kicks on route 73 @ Milgarholm was very similar.

At about this point the sun made an appearance so I took a small detour over to Under the Boardwalk. I'm glad I did as I found a nice little loch with a nice trail around it. This cache was quite interesting too although a little on the wet side.

Back to clue hunting and the sun disappeared once again. I'd decided that I was now just heading for home via the remaining clue locations but when I reached clue 10 and I saw I was near Get your kicks on route 73 @ Dreghorn I couldn't resist going to have a look. I'd tried to find this cache (unsuccessfully) before and had managed to lock myself out of the van so I wasn't too hopeful. Today however I decided to trust the coordinates and the clue and sure enough I found the cache within a few minutes.

The rest of my journey was spent solving clues. I'd really had enough by this point. I was cold, wet and and filthy. I'd been through mud and puddles deep enough to submerge my pedals but still hadn't found the Multi-Cache. To do so I needed to take the clues I'd solved and apply them to a formula given in the cache description. To do this, I headed for home.


I've now worked out the coordinates, and verified them but still need to go out and find the cache. It's pitch dark outside and even colder and wetter than it was today so I think that will need to wait until tomorrow... hope no-one finds it in the meantime!