It's very rare for me to get a day off to myself, but on 27th August I did and planned spend it caching. I hadn't planned for the weather being bad but since it was my only day off I decided to go out anyway heading to Kilmarnock hoping to clear the place out of caches. Unfortunately things didn't go to plan and I ended up finding just two.
After a stop in Crosshouse to look for Fisher - PM without success I headed to Annanhill House to look for On the rails. Upon arrival I wasn't really sure as to whether I was allowed to park in the grounds as it looked like a private residence. There weren't any signs around and an exiting car went past me without a second glance so I decided to chance it. The cache itself turned out to be very simple to find although I think I just got lucky. Not a very interesting location but another smiley on the map.
I then headed to Another Brick In The Wall... which is a cache I'd looked for before and failed to find. It was only upon arriving at the GZ that I realised it was disabled. Back in the car and around the corner and I reached Stoned in Kilmarnock - Fairy Flood Gates. This one took me a wee while to find and I nearly gave up on it. One more look and I spotted some more potential hiding places which I hadn't checked and sure enough there it was.
Finally I went in search of Stoned in Kilmarnock - Shelly Put The Kettle On which is at the back of the Tesco car park. This one was very exposed to muggles and I got lots of strange looks from cars and passers by. After a really good hunt I came up with nothing and decided to call it quits for the day and went to McDonalds for lunch.
Monday, 27 August 2012
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
400th Find
Monday, 6 August 2012
Lochaber and Skye
Having 6 weeks off in the summer holidays is one of the perks of being a teacher so Mrs SC and the kids decided to have a sneaky wee extra holiday without Mr SC before it was time to go back to school.
Renting a caravan in Spean Bridge, it was an great excuse to go and do a spot of caching and in all they found 12 caches (and had one DNF).
Mrs SC was supposed to write they trip up here but as it's been over a month since they got back I doubt it's going to happen so here's a list of the caches they visited.
Found
The Curling Ponds - Fort William
Braveheart - Fort William
Sugarloaf - Fort William
WBMC @ Fort William
The Bunker - Fort William
Rock on! - Fort William
Lochside Cache - Fort William
Highlander's Home (Eilean Donan Castle)
Leny by Kyle
Skye Picnic Spots: Broadford
Isle of Skye: Camas na Sgianadin
Isle of Skye: Loch Ainort
DNF
Blarmafoldach Viewpoint - Fort William
Renting a caravan in Spean Bridge, it was an great excuse to go and do a spot of caching and in all they found 12 caches (and had one DNF).
Mrs SC was supposed to write they trip up here but as it's been over a month since they got back I doubt it's going to happen so here's a list of the caches they visited.
Found
The Curling Ponds - Fort William
Braveheart - Fort William
Sugarloaf - Fort William
WBMC @ Fort William
The Bunker - Fort William
Rock on! - Fort William
Lochside Cache - Fort William
Highlander's Home (Eilean Donan Castle)
Leny by Kyle
Skye Picnic Spots: Broadford
Isle of Skye: Camas na Sgianadin
Isle of Skye: Loch Ainort
DNF
Blarmafoldach Viewpoint - Fort William
Moscow and Fenwick
This post (and the next few posts) is a bit late, by almost a month in fact but I just haven't got around to writing them up. Thankfully we've not been out caching that often so there's only a few posts to catch up on so here goes...
After a long day at work I decided to do a spot of caching on the way home. The rest of the family were away on holiday (see following post) and so I had the whole evening to spare. Heading down the A77 I decided to first have a look for The Sign of the Flying Bicycles which is right next to the road. Pulling in to a small stretch of the old road which is now part of the cycle track I hunted high and low but eventually had to give up. It was only once I got home I discovered that the data cached in the phone was out of date and that the cache was disabled. No wonder I didn't find it.
Next up I had a look for a cache in Waterside, Primrose Bank. I'm sure this should be really easy to find and indeed other cachers have logged that it is but when I visited there was no way to look for it without getting linched by the locals. You know in the old western movies when the baddie walks into the bar, the music stops and everyone stops talking and looks around? Well that was exactly how I felt at this cache. I was watched as I parked, followed by some kids up to the GZ, there were at least two people in the houses opposite noseying out the window at me, there were people in the garden right behind the GZ and then their dog started going mental at me. So much so that I had no choice but to about-turn and head back down to the car where those kids were waiting on me and a guy up a ladder in just a pair of y-fronts shouts down, "can ah help ye mate?", my reply... "er... naw yer all right" .... (weirdo). In short there was absolutely no way to look for this cache without getting caught, marched into the town square and burnt at the stake. I think this is one for 5am on a Sunday morning!!
From here I headed a bit farther East to Moscow. No not the one in Russia, the one in East Ayrshire. Here I went looking for three caches. The first of these was MOCKBA which turned out to be a fairly straight forward side of the road type cache. Next was Turbines view the Russian "Law" which is further up the same road and hidden in an area of forestry. This one turned out to be simpler than I though and after a longwinding detour around and through some boggy ground riddled with hidden ditches and guarded by spiky conifers I eventually found the wee blighter right at the edge of the clearing. Doh, oh well I suppose my work shoes needed a clean!! Third came A New Russian Forest which is further down the same road towards the village. As its name suggests this is hidden in a section of new(ish) woodland, however the nettles were almost as high as the trees and after a highly dangerous and stingy attempt I decided it would be safer to come back another time.
Leaving Moscow I headed towards Fenwick but on the way went to look for By Bruntland Bridge and in the process I managed to disturb a mature lady and gentleman who appeared to have been getting sightly "over romantic" in their car just before the bridge... either that or they'd just been for a swim and were having a race to see who could get their clothes back on the quickest!!! They were still there when I left but were sitting fully dressed looking all serious... I laughed 'til it hurt.
Just down the road I found Jane's Wee Rendevous Bit. This is a simple cache hidden at a bench by the side of the road. Another nice easy one to boost the numbers!
The Parliament Wall was to be my final cache of the night as it was getting dark and I was getting hungry. Located in Fenwick village, this cache required super stealth mode as it is at a road junction and overlooked by houses. Finding the cache was easy, it's in the obvious place but getting it out and in on my own was awkward. If you've got an invisibility cloak, take it with you for this one!
Finally it was time to go home, only to hear that Mrs SC and the Super kids had found more caches than me!!
After a long day at work I decided to do a spot of caching on the way home. The rest of the family were away on holiday (see following post) and so I had the whole evening to spare. Heading down the A77 I decided to first have a look for The Sign of the Flying Bicycles which is right next to the road. Pulling in to a small stretch of the old road which is now part of the cycle track I hunted high and low but eventually had to give up. It was only once I got home I discovered that the data cached in the phone was out of date and that the cache was disabled. No wonder I didn't find it.
Next up I had a look for a cache in Waterside, Primrose Bank. I'm sure this should be really easy to find and indeed other cachers have logged that it is but when I visited there was no way to look for it without getting linched by the locals. You know in the old western movies when the baddie walks into the bar, the music stops and everyone stops talking and looks around? Well that was exactly how I felt at this cache. I was watched as I parked, followed by some kids up to the GZ, there were at least two people in the houses opposite noseying out the window at me, there were people in the garden right behind the GZ and then their dog started going mental at me. So much so that I had no choice but to about-turn and head back down to the car where those kids were waiting on me and a guy up a ladder in just a pair of y-fronts shouts down, "can ah help ye mate?", my reply... "er... naw yer all right" .... (weirdo). In short there was absolutely no way to look for this cache without getting caught, marched into the town square and burnt at the stake. I think this is one for 5am on a Sunday morning!!
From here I headed a bit farther East to Moscow. No not the one in Russia, the one in East Ayrshire. Here I went looking for three caches. The first of these was MOCKBA which turned out to be a fairly straight forward side of the road type cache. Next was Turbines view the Russian "Law" which is further up the same road and hidden in an area of forestry. This one turned out to be simpler than I though and after a longwinding detour around and through some boggy ground riddled with hidden ditches and guarded by spiky conifers I eventually found the wee blighter right at the edge of the clearing. Doh, oh well I suppose my work shoes needed a clean!! Third came A New Russian Forest which is further down the same road towards the village. As its name suggests this is hidden in a section of new(ish) woodland, however the nettles were almost as high as the trees and after a highly dangerous and stingy attempt I decided it would be safer to come back another time.
Leaving Moscow I headed towards Fenwick but on the way went to look for By Bruntland Bridge and in the process I managed to disturb a mature lady and gentleman who appeared to have been getting sightly "over romantic" in their car just before the bridge... either that or they'd just been for a swim and were having a race to see who could get their clothes back on the quickest!!! They were still there when I left but were sitting fully dressed looking all serious... I laughed 'til it hurt.
Just down the road I found Jane's Wee Rendevous Bit. This is a simple cache hidden at a bench by the side of the road. Another nice easy one to boost the numbers!
The Parliament Wall was to be my final cache of the night as it was getting dark and I was getting hungry. Located in Fenwick village, this cache required super stealth mode as it is at a road junction and overlooked by houses. Finding the cache was easy, it's in the obvious place but getting it out and in on my own was awkward. If you've got an invisibility cloak, take it with you for this one!
Finally it was time to go home, only to hear that Mrs SC and the Super kids had found more caches than me!!
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Heathfield - Ayr
After a great day out at Culzean Castle (highly recommended but a cache free zone!!) we headed home via the shops at Heathfield in Ayr to pick up something for dinner. Whilst Super Girlie and Mrs SC were in ASDA myself and Super Kid went in search of Hanging Around in Heathfield. This was a really simple find right next to the ASDA car park and aside from a nice little home made cache container there's not much more to write about.
Saturday, 21 July 2012
Pollock Park
We had some pleasant weather for a change yesterday so decided to head up to Pollock Park in Glasgow to have a look around, visit Pollock House, and of course to find a few caches.
After a stop for the kids at the playpark and an ice cream we took a wander along to Pollock House stopping along the way to collect Trolls in The Woods. This was easy to find and an ideal one for the kids who did the finding, and replacing by themselves.
Pollock House itself wasn't really worth the visit but since we're National Trust members entry was free anyway. We did enjoy a little treasure hunt they've set up for the kids and the staff were excellent. Afterward we took another wander to find a few more caches.
EagleXtreme 3 - Reach for the Cache was one which we'd expected to be difficult and indeed we spent a while looking in all the wrong places. Finally Super Kid found it in a place I'd already looked and took great pleasure in rubbing it in!
Next up was the 8th in a series but was the next closest cache to us. 8.Finlay's Pollock Park Trail was off the path a fair bit and down a slippery slope so as usual Daddy was despached to risk life and limb going down to find it. Once safely down the slope I soon spotted an obvious place which matched the hint and sure enough that's just where the cache was hiding.
Last of all we had a look for the 7th in the same series of caches but despite a really good hunt we couldn't find it and came away empty handed. There's plenty more caches in the park so we'll be back.
After a stop for the kids at the playpark and an ice cream we took a wander along to Pollock House stopping along the way to collect Trolls in The Woods. This was easy to find and an ideal one for the kids who did the finding, and replacing by themselves.
Pollock House itself wasn't really worth the visit but since we're National Trust members entry was free anyway. We did enjoy a little treasure hunt they've set up for the kids and the staff were excellent. Afterward we took another wander to find a few more caches.
EagleXtreme 3 - Reach for the Cache was one which we'd expected to be difficult and indeed we spent a while looking in all the wrong places. Finally Super Kid found it in a place I'd already looked and took great pleasure in rubbing it in!
Next up was the 8th in a series but was the next closest cache to us. 8.Finlay's Pollock Park Trail was off the path a fair bit and down a slippery slope so as usual Daddy was despached to risk life and limb going down to find it. Once safely down the slope I soon spotted an obvious place which matched the hint and sure enough that's just where the cache was hiding.
Last of all we had a look for the 7th in the same series of caches but despite a really good hunt we couldn't find it and came away empty handed. There's plenty more caches in the park so we'll be back.
Friday, 13 July 2012
Europe 2012 - Ypres
Ypres is a lovely little town and our hotel, the Novatel, was right in the heart of the town centre. We only had one night here so after getting our bearings, checking into the hotel, and a bite to eat, we jumped into the car and headed straight for the cemetery. Our visit was a surprisingly emotional one but I'm very glad we made the effort to go. The Commonwealth Wargraves Commission do such an amazing job and treat these special places with such care and attention. This was an hour of my life which I will never forget. Afterwards we decided to go and find a local cache to mark the occasion, but the closest we could see which had instructions in English we could understand was some distance away. Undetered we went for a look and found Heuvelland 3 : Redmond just outside another war cemetery.
Back in town and we joined the 8pm gathering at the Menin Gate to hear the last post being played by the local fire brigade. Apparently they started doing this on 1st of July 1928 shortly after the Menin Gate memorial was completed and aside from a four year break between May 1940 and September 1944 during WWII when Ypres was under German occupation, they have played every evening since the 11th of November 1929.
After the ceremony we took a wander around town and went looking for Fish Market (VisMarkt, Ieper / Ypres). As it's name suggests this was locate in the old fish market area of the town. Today this is filled with bars and clubs which appeared to be where the local youngsters hang out. The cache wasn't too difficult to spot but a bit of stealth was required.
This concluded our holiday and the next day we drove home. In all we cached in France, Luxembourg, Germany, Holland and Belgium and collected 22 caches.
Europe 2012 - Brussels
After our brief stop in Holland, we pushed on into Belgium and went looking for a campsite in Brussels. Second attempt and we found one after the first which claimed to be a campsite had a sign up saying it didn't admit any campers (both tents and caravans!). The site we did find turned out to be fine despite some resident Irish tinkers living at one end with about a million little brats.
We found three caches in Brussels all in the same area near to the European Parliament buildings. The first of these was just outside the Museum of Natural Sciences where we had a great visit. The museum is a little too big and by the end we were struggling but their collection of huge dinosaur skeletons was brilliant (even if they stuck most of them together wrongly!!). The cache, aptly named Museum was located at the bike stands and was found by the kids.
Next up was a cache called Dark Eye which made sense when you reached the GZ as there was a big sign with an outline of an eye draw on it in black indicating that the area beyond it was under surveillance. Finally and the best of the three was a cache located right next to the main Parliament building in a small garden. This garden contains a section of the Berlin Wall which was brought here after the wall came down. We hadn't expected to see this and had no idea it was even here so finding it was purely thanks to this cache, Le mur de Berlin.
After this we caught the underground into the city centre and although we had a quick look for one cache, the place was simply too busy to do any proper hunting so we decided to just enjoy the atmosphere, and of course the waffles!
We found three caches in Brussels all in the same area near to the European Parliament buildings. The first of these was just outside the Museum of Natural Sciences where we had a great visit. The museum is a little too big and by the end we were struggling but their collection of huge dinosaur skeletons was brilliant (even if they stuck most of them together wrongly!!). The cache, aptly named Museum was located at the bike stands and was found by the kids.
Next up was a cache called Dark Eye which made sense when you reached the GZ as there was a big sign with an outline of an eye draw on it in black indicating that the area beyond it was under surveillance. Finally and the best of the three was a cache located right next to the main Parliament building in a small garden. This garden contains a section of the Berlin Wall which was brought here after the wall came down. We hadn't expected to see this and had no idea it was even here so finding it was purely thanks to this cache, Le mur de Berlin.
After this we caught the underground into the city centre and although we had a quick look for one cache, the place was simply too busy to do any proper hunting so we decided to just enjoy the atmosphere, and of course the waffles!
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Europe 2012 - The Netherlands
Travelling from Frankfurt to Brussels we'd noticed that our route may go via the little knobbly bit at the south of the country. In fact, our satnav decided to take us around this so we decided to ignore it and headed into the land of bacon and tulips (we didn't see any though!).
Our aim was to find a single cache, just one to log that we'd cached in the country but almost every cache we checked online was either a multi, a puzzle or was written in some unrecognisable language (Dutch maybe?). Finally we pulled off the motorway to have a better look and by pure chance discovered we were about a hundred meters from a cache, Raywaver, and it was at the side of the road we were sitting on! Result! Five minutes later we'd found it but it was high up out of reach so Super Girlie was lifted up and just managed to grab it.
The name of the cache referred to some strange contraptions which are supposedly the next big thing which will replace windfarms. Can't see it myself.
Monday, 9 July 2012
Europe 2012 - Frankfurt
After a few days in Luxembourg we decided to head west to Frankfurt Am Main in Germany. Frankfurt can be summed up quite simply as a medium sized city with a few nice bits. Ok, probably an over simplification but that's how we saw it.
Unfortunately we visited the town on a Sunday and almost everything was closed or deserted. One place we did find interesting was a funky modern building which had a hole through it. To us it looked like a huge greenhouse gone wrong (in a good way) and was really cool on the inside too. Well worth a wander around but everything inside was closed!
After some lunch we visited the Romerberg square (which was the only place in town which was busy as there was an iron man competition going on) and the cathedral before catching the train back to our camp site.
We had planned to do some caching in town, however our phones were dead as the campsite we were staying at had no electricity for tents and our converter plugs wouldn't fit the odd German sockets. We did manage to grab a couple of caches in a shopping centre we visited (as well as a pizza!). The first of these, NWZ Shopping Cache was on the top floor of the centres multistorey car park. In full view of the security cameras we discovered our first German cache and in the process forgot to leave a Geocoin I'd carried all the way to Germany to help fullfill its mission. In hindsight the location probably wasn't the safest to leave a coin so maybe it was for the best.
The second cache, Abenteuer Nordwest was actually just outwith the shopping complex and on the route back to where we'd parked the car. We hadn't intended to go for this cache but spotted that we would be walking right past it.
Unfortunately we visited the town on a Sunday and almost everything was closed or deserted. One place we did find interesting was a funky modern building which had a hole through it. To us it looked like a huge greenhouse gone wrong (in a good way) and was really cool on the inside too. Well worth a wander around but everything inside was closed!
We had planned to do some caching in town, however our phones were dead as the campsite we were staying at had no electricity for tents and our converter plugs wouldn't fit the odd German sockets. We did manage to grab a couple of caches in a shopping centre we visited (as well as a pizza!). The first of these, NWZ Shopping Cache was on the top floor of the centres multistorey car park. In full view of the security cameras we discovered our first German cache and in the process forgot to leave a Geocoin I'd carried all the way to Germany to help fullfill its mission. In hindsight the location probably wasn't the safest to leave a coin so maybe it was for the best.
The second cache, Abenteuer Nordwest was actually just outwith the shopping complex and on the route back to where we'd parked the car. We hadn't intended to go for this cache but spotted that we would be walking right past it.
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