21/12/13 - All Around the Wrekin

Distance - 7.25 Miles
Number of Caches - 26 Found.  7 Not Found.  4 TBS Taken.  1 TB Dropped.
First Cache in Series

Much Wenlock Caching at EveryTrail


It was always going to be a caching day.  North has been neglected of late, so whilst looking towards one of the monster trails around Telford, I notice that there is a series in Much Wenlock. 

Looks perfect for my needs.

There was a competition in Country Walking Magazine to submit a route and win the chance of being a regular contributer.  I gave it a go.  I selected Much Wenlock for the route, trying to take advantage of the 2012 topicality of the Olympics.  After all, this was the place that gave birth to the modern Olympics.

The CO of this trail has had the same idea.  Each cache is named after an Olympic Event, with some information in the cache listing telling a story about the sport. 

The only Olympic event I have previously been interested in was the breakfast at the Little Chef.

I am not sure on where to park for this round, so check out google maps and decide on 52°36.282'N, 2°33.429'W, where there is a little carpark.  It also means that I can take in a few other caches before I get stuck into the main event.

So across fields and find the first cache of the day.  Then failed on the next two.

2 DNF - Allowed to record a Doh!

I know we have been having some storms this December, but I was surprised at what happened to this fella's shed.

Where's the lawn mower gone?

Drop down into a copse and back up the other side through sheep.  Pick up the lane, where there are a couple more caches before I can get on the trail proper.

A couple of early observations - not one micro or nano - there are some huge boxes on this round.  This has encouraged people to drop TBs and I have snaffled them all up.  They will be moved on quickly.

From a walking perspective, its a quiet lane but with good views to the Wrekin.  Glad I am not tackling this today.  Too steep for Xmas.

The Wrekin is always in view

Low Winter Sun

The walking picks up as we leave the lane.  I am surprised, yet delighted, to be on the Severn Way.  I was only reading about this long distance plan today.  Through the trees, I can see the early stages of Ox Bow Lake creation, as the Severn snakes it's way to Worcestershire.  Shame that I couldn't get a photo as the view was obscured.  You'll just have to go and have a look yourself.

Get my first DNF at Number 6.  I find a fallen tree that maches the clue at the exact co-ords, but it has been recently chopped up and taken away.  I was going to log a photo, suggesting that it has disappeared, but I can see that two people have logged it from the field this morning already.  Just Mappiman's incompetence then.

The path through the trees gives way to a metalled road.  I see two walkers with a small dog.  From this point on, the caches are signed as found today, so if you were G8 - a belated hello.

I am caching under the noses of a shooting party.  All along the land at uniform locations, men are there with their shotguns and hounds.  As they are looking for pheasant, they fail to notice a lone man messing around at posts and in hedges.

Shooting Wagons on the way to Iron Bridge Power Station

The Fruits of their labours

At the abbey remains, we turn right and have a short amount of walking along the busy A4169.  This is the reason that I left my hound at home - it looked a touch dangerous.  That and the fact that she snook out whilst I made my breakfast and has spent the morning warming the sofa in my office.

The road walking is soon safely out of the way and we are up into the beeches, a mixture of green lane, woodlands and fields.  I start to pick up a few DNF - one at 23, where I am the first (I'll check out G8's logs later) and some others where it looks safe to assume they have disappeared.

This includes the very last one - 26.  But I am not going to finish on a fail, as there is another micro on the way back to the car.

I've just got to work out how to get there.  The OS Map shows clear footpaths but when I get on the ground, they cross Farley Quarry.  There is no easy way through, but I am not going back to the main road.  Instead, I work very hard to do a Bear Grylls and fight my way through the undergrowth.

Not my finest moment.

Glad when I have made it through to the road for the last find and then a quick jaunt to get back to the car.

A super round - thanks to STEVETHEMOBILEDJ & THE HILLBILLIES1  for setting it up. 

And the results of my competition entry?  They told me to keep on practicing with the blog.