25/09/10 - Englands Smallest AONB

That's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Cannock Chase

Walk Length - 9 Miles
Number of Caches - 4
Starting Cache - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=cb5c02a0-28a8-48b7-bc81-7560dfdabda5

This has been chosen for the walking, rather than the caching and what a great walk.  The route followed was from an old country walking magazine (Sep 2004).  I have been buying this magazine and database the walks, so that I have walks ready for any part of the country.  If any one wants a list in Excel or as an Autoroute overlay, then drop me a line - I have practically all of them.

The Walk was in two halves - the first was south from Seven Springs Car Park (no sign of Stan Collymore, although there was some suspect litter) and heads south on fantastic paths.  A real place of isolation - within 20 miles of Wolverhampton.  Who would have thought it!

Abrahams Valley takes me past the inappropriately named "Hell Hole" for the first cache, which is at the bottom of strawberry hill.  I disappear into the bushes, just as a woman comes past with her dogs.  One of the dogs has a dead pigeon in its mouth, which enables me to talk about that, rather than what I was doing.

The paths are excellent and deserted.  Great views.

Molly on Abrahams Valley Path

The path comes around to Sherbrook Valley path.  This is great walking, next to a clear water stream, pulling up to Stepping Stones and then Milford.

Stepping Stones

Cross the road and my walk takes a different perspective, following the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal over the River Trent and back down to Seven Springs car park.

Tixhall Lock

Aqueduct over the Trent

Canals are always great for caching - but retrieval can be tricky.  At various stages today, I was interuppted by boaters, walkers, cyclers and the ubiquitous pseudo tramps with Special Brew.  Today there were three and one shook my hand.  I think that I collected the full set.

At one stage, it looked like the staffordshire pirates had scuttled a barge.  I have seen these sorts of scenes with abandoned cars, but never a water based wreck.

Police Aware

Canal walks are flat and undemanding, but always have the possibility of pubs/cafes to stop at.  This one no expecption, although I have no cash with me.

Return to the car.  Enjoyable walk in great weather.  Only trouble is with M6 traffic, it took me twice as long to get home as to get here.

18/09/10 - Alcester, a fine Roman Town.....

Bonus Cache and Description - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=a9411865-2e1d-4f8c-a655-d69e583fc759
Number Found - 15

This weekend is the turn of Geocaching.  There is a nice trail in Alcester, so I decide to go for it.  The walk is around 5 miles on good paths, with a fair amount on the Arden Way.

Follow these signs

The Oversley Trail is a trail of 13 and a bonus - all the information is in the first cache clue here.  Not a great start, when I fail to find the first nano.  Maybe it was too small or maybe I wasn't too awake!

The remainder of the series is straightforward, until I get to number 8, which is a second DNF.  Fortunately, the path loops back around so I have a 2nd go at it and find it straight away.  That is how caching goes.

Number 7 makes me laugh, when I find the following at GZ, which I think is cache camo....

A bouquet to a dead cacher....

But is nothing to do with the cache...

Not much to look at on the route apart from Oversley castle.....

And a impressive stately home in the distance...



That's not my photo - i never got that close....

Back into the town and I have a breakfast at a cafe... £3.60 sounded too good to be true and when I had tinned mushrooms, I realised it was.  I mean, what is the point in tinned mushrooms when you have a cafe next to greengrocers!

Had a half hearted attempt at a wherigo which as with all of these, ended in failure when I switched apps.  It did however, give me the chance of to look around a town that I have long admired... nice pubs, not a "copy cat" town with the same old shops and a wedding going on. The music made a fine accompaniment to my caching.  I shouted "don't do it" at the groom and when he said "why not", I retorted with "in 15 years time you will be scrambling around the countryside looking for boxes of tat to avoid spending the weekend in doors with her".

I made the conversation bit up.  Does this make me a bad man?

I actually found the oldest inhabited building in Warwickshire (how the winter evening fly by) and enjoyed the historical streets.

Oldest Inhabited building in Warwickshire

Nice old street.

Get home, down the pub with all my blues mates and the albion pull back from being a goal down to win 3-1.  They don't like it up them. 

A perfect day.

14/9/10 - Marylebone - 4 caches on way home from work.

Quick tour around Marylebone - starting at http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=7ae73b0a-19d8-46ff-a4ce-586548766ca1 and taking in a cache at a pub, a nice church and the place of an assasination attempt on the government in 1820.

Four quick caches on the way home from our London office.  Meant a very late return home, but did demo that the new Windows Smart phone offers better signal retention and accuracy than my former PDA.

The good thing about LDN is the abundance of caches - they are everywhere but I am starting to exhaust the ones in the centre.  I normally get off the Jubille line at Green Park, but stayed on to Baker Street to grab four quick ones around the station.  A lot of them have interesting stories and take you to places that you wouldn't normally venture.

The downside to caching in LDN are to be expected - the amount of muggles (the cache outside the pub was hard work today) and the fact that they are nearly all micros and nanos!  I am sick of trying to get the rolled up paper back into the rececpticles.

Home at 10pm - just time to record the finds.....

12th September 2010 - Bredon Hill in the Sunshine.

Distance - 11 Miles
Start - Elmley Castle Village Centre
Number of Caches - 8
First Cache Found - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ce1576a7-6834-40e8-8790-507ee36e7208
Uploaded GPX of Route - http://www.geocaching.com/my/userrouteedit.aspx?rguid=8157c46e-e812-478a-a3df-a0389da8cb90 or search on "Elmley Castle"


I wanted to do a proper walk today, so a number of options were detailed and the dice man method of choosing was put into action.  It selected Bredon Hill - a one in six chance - and one of my favorite places to walk.  A route was selected from a 1980s walking guide, programmed into the GPS and surprisingly came up with a number of caches on route.  So a proper walk turned into a caching trip.

Sticking with the technology, I have bought a Windows 6.5 smartphone off ebay.  Fed up with carrying two many devices - i though a phone with gps and a camera would suit.  Its not very good at getting a mobile signal but the GPS is suberb - very accurate and no spikes/jumps at all.  Battery life was pretty good as well - 5 hours out in the field and 22% battery left.  Not as easy to use as the old faithful PDA but may have a future.

Start in Elmley Castle - picture perfect cotsold village.  There was quite a lead in to the hill and closer parking was available, but this would have meant not hitting the pub at the end - which is no repoened.  Last time I was here there was a desperate plea from a drinker who objected to living in a dry village pinned to the door.

Bredon hill is fanstasic for its views over malvern and myriad paths.  There are some gentle approachs to it but this way is one of the stepper ways.  About half an hour from the car to the flat top and the first cache - a micro in a wall.  Check out the views from GZ.

View from Animal Sanctuary Cache

Continue in a South West direction, taking in great views and wooded copses, finding the cache at the Warren and then two more in a southerly direction.

Loop back on myself to go to Sundial Farm.  Not been here before - looks deserted but an interesting place.  There is a cache in the ruins.

Sundial Farm

And Ruins

I then aim for civilisation - heading into first Kemerton and then the beautiful Overbury.  Neither of these villages seem to have a place for a weary walker to buy a pork pie.  Must bring food with me when I am out on 11 milers!

On this walk, I get to climb Bredon Hill Twice - fortunately, its not steep this side.  A long climb over fields, with the views behind.

Once at the top, there is one more cache to get - making it 8 for the day.  Nearly do myself an injury in the crater at the top when the branch I was using to steady my descent broke off.  

Then its back the way I came up to the village and my pleasure that the pub is now open.  Interesting sign - I think the pub is called the Queens Head but the sign has the date when Elizabeth I visited the place.

They haven't forgotton 20/08/1575 in these parts.

Out for just over four hours - fantastic walk and good caches on route.  The weather topped off a great day. As we move into Autumn, there will be less and less days as good as this.

11th September - Royal Hunters Walk

Distance - 5 miles
Number of caches in Trail - 8
Number found today - 6
Starting Cache - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=cc114b21-5bb7-45e0-b795-a6fd3ce73526

Was going to complete an 11 miler today, but needed to be back to look after the boy, as the ladies in the house are off shopping.  Set the alarm for 7am and went off in search of this new series, which has been up and running for about three weeks.

Not a promising start - get sat nav, camera and find dog..... its absolutely teeming it down with rain!  Drive off to the recommended parking area and head off for the first cache in the trail...

The paths here are on a circular walk incorporating a sign posted Foresters Walk and the Monarachs way.  All the paths are quiet and the walk is pretty interesting, with some nice undisturbed and remote areas.

The caches on this trail are just about the right level of dificulty - not too hard or too easy.  In fact, there are two I cannot find - but more on this later.

Reach for the camera to take a scenic shop and realise that I have taken the boys binoculars - which are in a very similar case to the camera - so now photos on today's blog!

Cache 1 is well hidden but an easy camo spot when you know what you are looking for.  Cache two is a multi.  three four and five are straightforward.  When I get to 6 I have clue which is "behind the house".  At first I spot two donkeys and a big old ram in a shed looking out into the rainscoaked fella with the labradoodle.  I think the cache is here but get seriously hassled by a donkey who comes out into the rain and starts nudging the dog!  (she is on a lead!).  Decide to head for safety and relook at the GPS.  Now it looks like the cache is in the adjacent field and it was.  Lets just say here that it was a very sneaky hide that I actually touched but didnt further explore.  I know where it was as Cache 8 was the same and I had a brain wave on route!

As well as these two great ideas for caches, the public footpath also runs through the centre of a greenhouse.  You have to slide open the doors at either end.  In all my miles walking, this is a first!  Of course, the gardener was in there, so a quick chat about the weather.  If lots of people do this trail, he'll have plenty of company.

This is what caching is about - a great trail in a newish area for me.  This would make a good family day out - starting and ending at a pub (the new inn) and passing the Dodford Inn on route.  Unfortunately, they are not open at 8am!

05/09/10 - Not all Cache Trips are successful!

Starting Cache - http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=b89ad8e6-5c7a-46bf-8f86-962066f057bd

Number found - 3

Been on holiday for two weeks and didnt think there would be much caching going on in Africa.  So, in an effort to keep the numbers up, I attempt this stroll around Leasowes Park in Halesowen.   There are around 10 caches in the park but due to *cough* rustiness and bad weather, I only manage three.  Pathetic!

In prep for setting off, I ask Mrs Mappiman on the weather - she says no rain till 2pm, so I dont bother with coat or GPS protection - big mistake.

Get to the park and find the first easily enough - nicely hidden cache with good views over the park....  Lots of pools and a great big golf course.  This makes the trail tricky, as its not obvious on which paths to take and you dont want to be traipsing a labradoodle when the golfers are on the green.

Scene from Cache 1

Head around for the 2nd cache - which had a fair few DNF, so pleased to get it after a reasonably lengthy hunt.  Then off the Leasowes trail to find the third and last of the day, despite there being around another 8 in the park.

The reason - one - people - there were loads around.  I am not crawling under a bridge when there is the chace of being spotted.  Nor am I going hunting at a cache called "No Fishing" that has three fishermen sat around the pool.

Finally, the non promised rain game down very heavy.  I dont mind getting wet but with no protection for the GPS, I decide to head back to the car.

I will return to this area again!