22/12/15 - Solstice Caching

Distance - 3 Miles
Geocaches - 12
First Cache

Only 8 hours of daylight today, but good news - moving forwards, the days increase in length. An 11 cache round in less than 3 miles from a Doomsday Book mentioned village with two pubs sounds just about perfect for my needs.

Park up in the centre of Fladbury.

Where are we?

A narrow lane dissects the two pubs.  I have the caching round to decide which one will be deserving of my custom.  The previously visited Chequers or the slightly shabbier looking Anchor.

The lane takes me down to the River Avon and the permissive path that is unmarked on the OS map.  6 caches, 2 which will be rewarded with a Fav and a TB drop off.

The River Avon

Walking is muddy underfoot, so I slop my way to the Jubilee Bridge by following the U-Shaped bend in the River.  There's a cache on the opposite side that I have been previously unable to get due to flooding.  A bonus smiley to the round.

The Jubilee Bridge - Opposite GZ.

The field adjacent to the road back to the village is open to walkers, courtesy of the owners of Fladbury Mill.  Cache 11, the last of the day, proves to be the elusive one.  I walked that many times around the willow tree that a) I got dizzy and b) its a wonder that a resident did not call the police.

To make up for the fail, there is a last smiley to be grabbed at a gap that leads to the mill above the weir.

Fladbury Mill

So decision time.  The Anchor has better on-line reviews but I remember that the Chequers has Timothy Taylor.

But its not the Landlord that I know so well.  Its Timothy Taylor Golden Best.  A rare find in Worcestershire.

I'll have to return for another crack at #11.

The Chequers

A Festive TT Golden Best