29/01/11 - Nordy Bank Hill Fort

Walk Distance - 3.2 Miles
Starting Point - SO572850
Number of Geocaches - 11
First Cache - http://coord.info/GC27F6A

Detailed Route instructions are at the EveryTrail link.

Nordy Bank GeoTrail at EveryTrail


Couldn't decide whether to walk or cache this weekend....  This new trail at Nordy Bank on the Clee hills is a perfect combination of both activities, with no compromise!  Simply getting there was adventure enough, as the roads were bendy, windy, up and down, covered with ice, with tractors likely to pull out at any time.  But with glorious views!

Rewarded with fantastic views, with very little effort on my behalf.  Start high and stay high on this circuit.  There are more landscape photos at the everytrail site, linked above.

Nordy Hill Fort at the Start of the Walk.

Cache trail was excellent 11 in total and all nice and easy.  Perfect opportunity to get kids out in the fresh air on a treasure hunt, whilst the adults can enjoy an easy walk with great views.  As you can see from the photos, this is a battle that I lost at home and left the boy on the Playstation and the girl on the sewing machine.  (This is meant in a totally non Andy Gray / Richard Keys type statement - she is taking A level Design.  Please do not post my blog on YouTube).

Thanks to AntiheroAdam & Antiheroabby for setting an maintaining the trail..... loved it.

26/01/11 - Holloway Road to Angel

from - Andrew Duncans Favorite London Walks
Distance - 3 Miles
Start - Holloway Road Tube Station
End - Angel Tube Station
Caches - I found three but there were more.  Darkness and locked parks prevented a full list.

Holloway Road to Angel at EveryTrail


Hot footed it up the Picadilly line from Gloucester Road to Holloway Road tube.  The walk has an inauspicious start as we walk down the Holloway Road, which seem to be a collection of Kebab Houses.

Things improve as I head towards Drayton Park and the Emirates Stadium looms into view.  It dominates the area and lit up nicely at night.  Good job I wasnt here 24 hours earlier.  Highbury place seems a lovely area but watch out for joggers (in massses) and people doing boxercise in the park.

Then I end up at Highbury and Islington Station and mass civilisation at it's worse.  There was an historical Italian nobleman who said of his travels that "France, Germany, Holland and Belgium are much the same, but England resembles an open air lunatic asylum".  I can only think that he came to Highbury.  We have quite a collection of tramps, and chavs and ne'er-do-wells - including a woman literally barking in the street.  Quite glad to get away into the Canbury Road area where the density of people drop down.

I eventually come out on the Essex Road - and an unusual Taxidermist shop.  Never seen one of those before - and aptly, it is called "Get Stuffed".

This drops me down to Angel - taking in Camden Passage - an area I know well.  I was going to have a post walk pint at the Camden Head but its closed for refurb - so ended up in the Nag's head instead.

London is always a pleasure to walk and there's always something of interest around (usually a pub).  This one has the shop where Damian Hirst bought his skull and theatre where Norman Wisdom made his debut.  The things you learn from caching.

22/01/11 - Upton-Upon-Severn

Distance - 5.5 Miles
Guide - Country Walking Magazine - Dec 2010
Geocaches - None

Upton-upon-Severn at EveryTrail


Company today.... Mrs Mappiman comes in hope of a decent lunch.  We will see what is at the end of this walk.

30 Minutes drive and park down by the river... over the bridge and follow the River upstream across flood plains.

I am not always sad and lonely.

After around a mile and half head up a green lane and cross the A38 for some nasty walking across fields that have rights of way but no real footpaths.  End up at the next area of Civilsation, Earl's Crombe.  It's not my sort of hamlet, as there is no pub.

This area is halfway between two of my favorite areas - Bredon Hill to the East and the Malverns to the West.  On dropping back down to the River at Ryall, there would have been decent views if it had been a more clear day - but what can you expect for January.

The Malverns - to the west.

After going through Ryall, we pick the river back up and head upstream - passing through the Marina.

Upton Marina.

Easy walking back to the town - where all we have to do is select which pub.  The view from the bridge suggests many possibilities.

Two of these buildings are pubs.

We walk into town a little bit and see the wonderful 17th Centry - Ye Olde Anchor in.  I am a bit concerned that the three of us (includes Labradoodle) are too muddy to go inside but Mrs Mappiman insists that it is a pub and they are used to people coming in.... we uhmm and arr in the doorway before going in.  We are the only customers and I realise that the landlady has heard every word of our discussion.  Still, she didn't mind and the Steak sandwich was possibly enough to tempt company for next week's walk.

Lunch Time - Dogs Welcome.

Walk was OK - not a lot to look at and the paths across the fields were indistinct and muddy.  Mrs Mappiman says that she prefers hills.  I can get to the Brecons in 90 minutes.

18/01/11 - London - Millbank, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Cathedral

From - Time Out London Walks
Distance - 3.5 Miles
Number of Caches - 5
First Cache

The Corridors of Power, London


Staying at the Park Plaza - Nice hotel, provided you don't end up on the train side.  There is no really close tube station, so I combined dropping my cases off with this walk.

Started at Westminster where you come out of the tube station with a great view of Big Ben and a great pub, St Stephen's Tavern which has the best view of any pub in the land.

Crossed over Westminster bridge, avoiding all the tourists taking photos - by taking photos myself.  I was actually down on the south side to Lambeth Bridge, finding the first cache.  There is a theme for all the caches on this route - they are small, black and mainly on the back of road signs.

Dropped off case and then over Lambeth Bridge and then West along Millbank, passing the Tate Britain and cache 2.  At Bessborough Gardens there is a third cache, so turn up there to go back on myself up John Islip Street.

There are some fantastic houses along this stretch - one of the thing that I like doing is looking through the windows trying to work out who lives in places like this.  And how they afford it.  If they dont want me to look in, they would close their curtains,I'm sure.

After going around the Church at Smiths Square, I head into a new part of London that I wasn't actually sure whether I was allowed or not..... Dean's Yard is barrier controller but is a public through way.  This is a spectacular green, completely sealed off from the main drag and a true secret part of London.

Around Westminster Palace and down to the Ministry of Justice at Queen Street and a tiny little nano on a tree. 

Into St James Park before another favorite part of London - Waterloo Place.  Finish at Charing Cross where the walk ends.

So many landmarks on such a short walk.

15/01/11 - Tenbury Wells

Distance - 9.5 Miles
Walk from - Country Walking Magazine - March 2004
Starting Point - Teme Street, Tenbury Wells
Number of Caches - Tenbury has no caches.

So far, this year has been around ticking off local walks that have caught my eye.  If I continue like this, I will also knock off the third Stieg Larrson book and get my sky planner down from 8% free to 50% free.  And start the new Medal of Honour game.

I think that I need to give up work to concentrate on these better activtities.

Tenbury is a decent sized town on the western borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire.  In victorian times, it tried to reinvent itself as a Spa Town - adding the Wells and building Spa facilities.  Unfortunately, nobody came.

It now has that tired, jaded look of many of our towns.  In the lengthy high street, most of the shops are getting very shabby looking and there are a few gaps of shops up for let.  However, unlike Stourport, it seems to have a lack of charity shops, or chinese restaurants. 

One thing it has that Stourport doesn't is a grand Theatre.  Although, as Jim Davidson is playing this year, I think this is something that I can live without.  Unless he does that Joke about Chalky.... hilarious.

The walk starts in the town.  Rather than pay a £1 and make a much needed contribution to the local coffers, I park in the street and walk around the back of the houses to the stepping stones over the Kyre Brook.  Due to the high water levels, these are a challenge.

There's not too much to say about the walk.  You go South from the town, heading down Terralis Lane to pick up field after field of Sheep Pastures.  In the mud.

Sat Nav would be essential due to the high number of footpaths going off in every direction.

The guide says take the Bridleway

Field after field is taken in.  There is an abandoned farms house in one, which looks in reasonable condition and has the front door wide open.  In the hope of an adventourous story, I do pop in but it feels far too much like Blair Witch, so I did a Ross Kemp and got the hell out of there.

The turning around point is at Kyre Park.  What on earth is this place?  It is a collection of imposing buildings, with gardens designed by Capability Brown that you can pay £2.50 for a look around.  The buildings are in major disrepair and its really in the middle of nowhere.  The only cars there were parked for the adjacent bike shop, which seemed to be doing a roaring trade.  Very odd place.

Then, I am heading North back across more farmland.  The views are better on the return with Clee Hill acting as the marker for where you neeed to walk to.

Clee Hill, Background.  Me, Foreground.

This walk has been a bit of a slog.  There were two rewards to make up for the lack of Geocaching activity and mud.  1)  The first batch of new born sheep came this week.  This cycle of life always gladdens my heart and makes Sonia happy, as she likes to eat them whilst they are tiny and 2)  Tenbury Chippy is allright.

Sonia's Tea in March.

Tenbury Wells at EveryTrail

08/01/11 - Cirencester - 9 Miles

Walk from Jarrold - Book 40 More Cotswolds
Distance - 8.5 Miles
Caches Found - 4
First Cache

This walk has been on the list for a long time.  I worked in Cirencester for Rothschilds back in 1997 and fancied coming back for a look around.  I also liked the fact that this starts and ends in a town, so would give me a chance to have a look around after doing a decent length walk.

Drive down took around 50 minutes and parked up at the Abbey Grounds car park.

The first cache cache is barely out of the town - a micro on a bridge over a stream.  This cache plays on the roman history of the town and there are few along this theme - as you would expect.

Erskine Street Cache - look the right way, dog.

Walk northwards towards Stratton at first, taking in green lanes between houses and up to the church at Stratton End.  Take in the 2nd cache of the day - a clip box down in a field and a rather large ice cream box in a churchyard......

The route of this walk is a little weird - it has a sections of repetition, rather than a complete loop.  From Grange Farm, I head across fields to Daglingworth.  Sweeping views of this hamlet are available from a distance.

Daglingworth in the Distance

Daglinworth is typical Cotwsolds - all honey coloured stone buildings... English loveliness at its finest.

Reaching the half way point is a straight up and back trip to Duntisbourne Rouse.  This is little more than a collection of houses, a nice ford and a church.  The route has me retracing the steps back to Daglinworth, taking a different route back towards Cirencester.

Pass a huge expanse of grass on the way back, with a scoreboard.  At first, I thought the grass was a bit long for cricket but closer inspection of the board shows this is a Polo Pitch.  This is a first in 8 years of walking.....

A clock to confuse a working class boy from Smethwick.

More retracing of steps through Stratton before entering the town - dominated by the cathedral in the centre.  A large amount of shops - including a Cornish Pasty shop which made the best place for lunch..... I think a chipper van was most unlikely, in a town that has a Polo Pitch.

Dollar Street view of Cathedral

Historical walk on the flat, weather picked up and a town centre to have mouch around at the end of it..... off to another Roman town with a cathedral on Monday when I go to St Albans for work.

2/01/11 - First walk of the year - Malvern.

Distance - 8.5 Miles
Route - Oct 2010 Country Walking
Geocaches found - 5
First Geocache

You cannot go wrong with the malverns - there are myriad paths, fantastic views and you can do as much or as little as you want.  I followed the route from Oct 10 Country Walking Magazine, which was very straightforward.

Primarily, this was a walk, rather than a cache hunt.  I have found a lot of the Malvern caches over the year and just wanted to get out for a good, local, blow the cobwebs out type of walk.

Parked in the street near the station and headed up though the town.  I like Malvern a lot and one day, I will come with money for the outdoor shops and the award winning sausages at the butchers in the centre of town.  Found the first cache under a bench by the Elgar Monument.

Then head up the tsteps to St Anne's well and another cache.  Its a bit of a slog up to the top paths, but once on board, I then had four miles of very easy ridge walking with fantastic views East and West and South across the remainder of the hills.

Molly looking East - The route to the south ahead.

I am walking all the way down to the foot of British Camp.  Molly meets a 2 year old labradoodle that looks identical to her, but with much more hair.  Almost before and after shots.

At the Malvern Hotel, I bear west to drop down on the farms and green lanes to Colwell Stone, picking up the Worcestershire Way along the Brockhill Road.  Being below the hills provides the opportunity to view them from a different angle and see all the walkers silhouetted on the ridge that I have just come from.



The hills from ground level on the way to Colwell Stone.

Cache three of the day is a diversion down a nice little path of Brockhill Road.  Never would have come down here if it wasn't for caches.  Having gone down, I know that I have to go back up and over the hills to the car.  A bit of a slog up to the gap between Sugarloaf Hill and Worcestershire beacon (taking in cache 4 at the road at the bottom).

Then I drop back down to St Annes Well.  Go to fill up my water bottle at the always running spout - when I get the lid off the bottle, the flow instantly stops.  The people behind me say that they have never seen this happen before and I hope I don't get the blame for breaking it.

Back down through the town and to the car where I drive around the corner for a nice Sidetracked cache at the station.  Much better than the usual ones!

All in all an excellent walk in a well known area for me.  Nice to be out on a walk, rather than just hunting caches.