10/4/11 - Micro Trail from Stourport to Bewdley

Distance - 7.6 Miles
Number of Cache - 9
Number found - 8
Number of Brummies eating chips with their tops off, showing tattoos - 394
First Cache

Crobba Cache Trail

This is a first for us - a caching trail out on our bikes.  Weather is glorious, bored to tears by the Villa vs. Newcastle game, so at 5:30, we get the bikes out the garage and head off to take in this newly laid trail.

Down canal to chav central that is Shipley's and the head upstream to Bewdley.  Convinced there is a sale on at a Burberry's hat shop.

We don't get off to a great start - cache 1 has to be logged as a DNF.  We spent 20 mins there going through every angled post but no joy.  In reflection, I reckon its in a hollowed out hole on the underside of one of the posts as we had a thorough look.  There was a previous find today, but they had to phone a friend, so maybe they will offer advice!

Cache 2 is straigtforward and Cache 3 is the highlight.  Another lengthy hunt, but what views.  I have been here many times but never clambered up the rock face.  Really pleased to eventually get the cache.

Camera lady said breathe in... believe me, I was.

Cache 4 put a smile on my face and then its carry the bikes up to the bridge and back down the other side for the return trip.

All the caches here to the bridge at stourport were easy enough and well placed / hidden.  The path was just about passable on a bike, but I do feel like I have been in the grand national now I am writing this an hour on my return.  Think I need to upgrade my bike.  There were a couple of stiles to hioke the bike over and of course, getting it up the metal steps when we get to cache 9.

Then a quick blast through town.  Road riding, avoiding souped up corsas with big fat exhausts.

Very nice trail - thanks crobba.  Get home and find out I missed nothing on the football.

09/04/11 - Flyford Flavell - Geocaching

Distance - 4 Miles
Number of Caches - 9
First Cache
Most unusual animal observation - Llama

Flyford Flavell - Geocaching

No-one told me this starts at Worcestershire's pub of the year.  If I had known, I surely would have saved this round of caches for a nice Summer's evening, where a pint would have been most welcome.  As it was closed, I had to make do with a ginger beer from the village stores and watch Sonia attempt to eat a Bakewell Tart in one go.

There are a lot of Geocache rounds in this area and I have had my eye on this one for a while.  Parked up at the pub, head down the lane and then left onto Fields.

Couldn't have picked a better day for it.  Beautiful blue skies and the first walk of the year without a fleece.

Foot Bridge at Cache 3

After cache 3 we walked along a path that ran adjacent to a field of Llamas.  They were interested in the labradoodle and she was interested in them.  I can only think that the Llamas felt she was one of their own that we had cruely experimented neck shrinkage on.

Talk Necked Labradoodles?

Perfect circular walk that brings us onto the Wychavon way.  Can't go wrong with directions or caches, although the last one of the series appeared to be in a car showrooms car park.  As there were a couple of people in the office, I felt it inapproapriate to go looking.

Perfect way to spend a Saturday morning and has set me up for the weekend now.  Thanks to unowho67 for the setup and maintenance of this one.

04/04/11 - Capital Ring - Stage 1

Distance - 4.5 Miles
Walk Details
Start - Woolwich
End - Falconwood
Geocaches - None (Surprisingly)

Capital Ring - Part 1 at EveryTrail


Here's some new goal to aim for... walking around London in 15 different stages.  The light evening are with us, so if I manage to get one a month in whilst down in London working, I should be able to finish it in three years.

Leave London Bridge and arrive at Woolwich Docklands in 20 mins.  The walk gets off to a very dodgy start... well sign posted from the station but taking you straight through bandit country as you walk through a high rise estate.  Lots of suspicous hoodies hanging around on street corners.  At one point a man in a russian bear trappers hat comes out and shouts at some youth - "Oi - why keep running from me - you know I am going to get you sooner or later".

Doesn't exactly fill you with confidence.

Soon in Maryon Wilson park.  Proper jumpers for goalposts here with the next generation of Wayne Rooney's practising their swearing.  Who would have thought the first animal that I see today would be deer as you walk through the middle of a urban farm.

First bit of impressive architecture can be seen in Charlton Park.  Across the playing fields that say "No Dogs" and the people walking their dogs on them, you can see the impressive Charton House.  One of London's finest Jacobean buildings. 

Charlton House

A little bit of road walking before coming out on the wilds of Woolwich Common.  This is soon crossed as you come out at the wonderfully (for South London) named Shooter's Hill.  A stiff climb up through Eltham Common in woodland brings you to the equally wonderfully named Severndroog Castle.  Sounds like its out of "A Clockwork Orange".

Where the Droogs Live

This had some droogs hanging around on BMX's practicing being American Gangsters.  Didn't fancy tolchocked by these bolnoy vecks, so I scuttled away, going downhill from the sweeping views to Falconwood Station.

Stage 1 complete - the walking was good, and wild for an inner city.  The signposts were so good, I didn't have to use satnav once.  Nice to be out in the fresh air on an evening but I would be lying if I said I felt 100% safe.

2/4/11 - Cadair Idris - Fat bloke on a mountain

Distance - 5.5 Mile
Ascent / Descent - 3100 Ft
Walk from - Classic Mountain Walk in numerous guides
Geocaches - 4

Cadair Idris at EveryTrail

Works out Panoramic on Camera

Spent the week looking at the weather forecasts, hoping for clear skies to make the effort worth while.  The prediction was good, but was changing on a hourly basis.  By close of play on Friday, it was cloudy until 1pm, clearing for the afternoon.  Having plotted the route, acquired company for the walk and most importantly, invested in sandwich fillings, the only option was to go ahead with the plan.

Alarm went at 6:30am and we were in the car for 7am.  Car covered in rain and we headed west into increasingly omnious looking black clouds which did clear to leave low lying grey miasma.

Parked up at the Minffordd... first question that Sonia always asks is "do they have toilets". I passed the first test of the day by responding in the positive.

There is a sign to Cadair Idris, which takes you steeply up the side of a waterfall stream. The path soon opens out into a beautiful wooded glen and the going is made better by having steps built in. Bit like walking a giant staircase

I know that we are coming back on this route from Mynydd Moel (go on, get that through the spell checker) - so check out that there is a bridge across the waterfalls before forking left onto the hill proper.

There are no views, and everything is in mist. This is not a bad thing, as although there is no danger, you are gaining heigth at a rapid rate, walking along a sheer cliff drop as you make the way to Penygadair. Sonia would have been pooping it if she could see the drops to Llyn Cau.

Stop off for Malt Loaf (the taste of my youth) and see our next other party. About six blokes of the same age as us who overtake whilst Sonia finds the cream eggs. They say that if we see a fella who looks like Santa, tell him they are on the way up. Seems like they have left the oldest member of the party lagging behind - but they are in radio contact with him.

Not much to say until we reach the top. I am convinced that the clouds will lift but when we first get to the Trig Point, it is a white out.

Cadair Idris Summit

We eat the rest of our excellent packed lunch, I find the second cache of the day and as if God has heard our plaintive cries the clouds are blown away. It is as though a curtain has been moved to show what is behind and the views down to Barmouth Beach and across Snowdonia are incredible. It would have been a real pity not to have had these views - having climbed from 300ft to just short of 3000ft.

Don't push me, cause I'm close to the edge...

The clouds disappear.

My new friends

Having taken advantage of the views and the lunch, we have an easy cross to Mynydd Moel before dropping down back to the stream on a descent that seemed to take for ever.  Sonia demonstrated her mountain credentials by leaving me for dead, galloping down like some of soft shelled mountain goat.

I caught up with her at the bottom for more photo opps of the route that we had just taken.  She did not believe that we had just conquered the route that was now completely visible and probably wouldn't have attempted it if she could have seen it.

We did that!

Legs failed to get me back before camera went off

Another rest at the bridge before more descent back to the car park.

Nearly Home

On jelly legs, we returned to the car park and spoke with some other people who we had been following.  They lived in the back of a transit van and are touring the country living off love.  That gives me an idea, with work looming as I write this.

Stop of at the Cross Foxes for a pint, listen to the Albion beat Liverpool and then get home and Ellie has made us our tea. 

Could we have had a better day?  I don't think so.