Mourning the loss of a dear friend

Well I know accidents do happen but this one really upset me. Yes I know you think I must be absolutely mad but I am gutted. My wonderful caching companion, my pentax camera was fatally wounded in action in Southport after being dropped by my youngest daughter. It happened whilst she was taking a picture of the team by a sundial in one of the parks. I suppose I will have to replace it very very soon as I feel like my arm has been cut off as it went everywhere with me.

This is the last picture that was taken with my pride and joy.



Goodbye my friend xx

Caching in Lancashire

Ahhh Bank Holiday weekends, I love them. An extra day of caching. The kids wanted to go to the beach so as usual we planned our day around the caches that we could do around that area. I hadn't found a single cache in Lancashire before so this was an ideal opportunity to take the girls to Southport and Formby.

1st on the list of caches do to was the Earth Cache at Formby point. As with National Trust parks there's always an extortionate parking fee so after paying our £4 to get in, we duly parked the car and got cracking with the first cache. The weather was beautiful albeit a bit windy. We gained the relevant information, took the photos and then took the kids and the dogs to the beach. We let the pups off the lead for a change and they had a wonderful time running in and out of the pools on the beach getting completely soaked. As with our luck the weather changed in an instant and the rain came bucketing it down. Because it had been so nice we had left our waterproofs in the car so by the time we had made a run for the car, we were absolutely soaked through.

Caching after that was a bit soggy but we still managed to complete 29 caches on the Saturday and 170 miles later we returned home tired.

Sunny Formby Point
Soaking wet through

Sunday we decided to return to the area and try to complete the caches that we didn't get round to doing so after a little bit of a lie in we set off from Stoke at about 10am. I drove yesterday and today I was in the back seat with the kids and the dogs. We immediately drove to Leyland to start our days caching and after only a couple of finds, we managed to clock up some DNF's as well. A little disheartened we continued getting the caches slowly when the rain hit again. Actually caching in the rain is incredibly dull and as a team we don't particularly like completing drive by's but in the recent weather, needs must I suppose. By the time we managed to get home we had completed 35 caches, some of them in the dark.

Alleghnee (Cheeky Bopper)

Cheeky Bopper & Fairy Bopper in Southport

Some more random cache containers

Personally I really like something that is really different from the norm. The following pictures are some of the different micro caches which we found whilst caching in Lancashire. I won't put which caches they are just in case you come across them on your travels.

Middlewich Favourite

GC1KXRP - Big Lock Pound - Croxton aqueduct and Flash by Bargee

This one was our favourite cache of the day for many reasons. We parked on the layby alongside the main road and had a very short walk to the canal. Kyla my eldest is always reluctant to do caches by canals as for some reason she is fearful of falling in, so we had to coax her a little.

The walk along the canal started just like any other canal but a short wander around the bend and it opened up into Croxton Flash. It was such a surprise and made even more lovely by the fading light. The Canadian Geese were all marching in a group out of the water and up the field, there looked like there were hundreds of them, all on a mission.

At this time of evening it was relatively quiet with only the odd dog walker around. Within no time we were at the GZ and a short search later we had the cache in hand. The girls were extremely pleased to see a big container so grabbed the cache to see what they could swap. This is what keeps them interested in caching and both have their own swap bags full of goodies. The adults in the group all like the larger caches as it gives us a chance to move the TB's and Geocoins around and all too often we are finding micro's just plonked at the side of roads with no thought at all.

The return walk was very quick and all in all it was about a mile round walk. A great cache, recommended to all.


Information Board


Croxton Flash


Kyla and Alleghnee at the GZ with the Cache

Silly Caching Pics

How is it I try to get some nice pictures whilst out caching, get back, upload them to the computer and what do I get......pics where nobody is ready or where all are pulling funny faces. Well that was another evenings caching photos and only a couple are half decent. Here's the rest................

Killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Geocaching and Trigpointing

Moor Top Staffordshire Moorlands





Its funny, the more you get into the websites, the more you find. It's absolutely amazing what you can find out there and what we drive past everyday without even noticing.

On this occasion I had been looking at the trigpointing site and as we were heading towards Dovedale we decided to pay this site a visit. Not only could I log my visit on Trigpointing but also the trig had been featured on the YOSM on Geocaching. So we were able to log a virtual cache as well. Unfortunately as we pulled up at the location, it started to rain. Just typical really as on a good day I would expect the view to be stunning, overlooking the Roaches and Leek. But today, all we got was low cloud.

Looking into the other site waymarking. I managed to find one that I had visited whilst completing an Earth Cache back in July. So my planning for a day trip out has gone from looking for geocaches, to looking for Geocaches, Waymarks and Trigpoints. How much more time do you think I'll spend planning eh....OMG loads!!!!

Biking the Forgotten Track

GC1T3VD Forgotten Track Series - Start

What a great series to do on a Mountain Bike. A nice flat track which we clocked as being 5.4 miles long having the added bonus of having 12 caches along the way. For the beer enthusiasts there is even a pub half way along. We decided that we were going to go straight past this today though even though the weather was lovely enough to sit in the beer garden and have a nice long glass of the cold stuff.

All of the caches were easy finds for us, most being rock micros although there were some small caches for swaps along the way. The track runs from the edge of Stafford near the castle all the way to Gnosall in South Staffs. Lucky for us today it was nice and quiet and we were able to search undisturbed by muggles.

We completed the series in under 2 hours and made our way back along the track to the car. The return 5.4 miles was completed in just 20 minutes, all of us having a nice steady speed of 16 mph. We even rumbled a couple of cachers from Essex trying to look discreet with their GPS but any cacher can spot another cacher a mile off. It was great to spend 10 minutes chatting about the joys of caching before continuing to the car.

A nice couple of hours out finished off by another 3 caches in the centre of Stafford.



The Forgotten Track



Me and My Bike



Logging one of the finds

Another day out in Dovedale

GC1VKFY - SOTL Thorpe Cloud




What can I say...Awesome Awesome Awesome Earth Cache. After completing a few of the SOTL series this was next on the list to do. The view of Thorpe Cloud as you approach is spectacular! The area was crawling with walkers and families just enjoying a day out in the sunshine with many kids splashing around in the river. Looking up at the cloud, there were a lot of people already on top and attempting the climb the hard way.

Looking at the map we decided to follow the public footpath round the back of the cloud hoping for an easier ascent on account of having the 3 puppies with us. Most of the walk was a fairly easy up hill climb until the last 500 metres or so where it really started to tell on our legs. We made it to the top quite quickly and was amazed at the views we got. The wind was extremely strong at the summit making my hair stick right up and looking like I was wearing a wig!!!

We made our calculation of the questions that were required and took a few minutes to look around at the great views taking the opportunity for a few pics as well.

Again it was decided that rather than attempt to go scree surfing on the way down, we made our way back the safer way. The noise from a nearby field where all the sheep were being herded into a neighbouring field was quite loud especially with the farmer beeping his horn ruining the nice peaceful sounds of the countryside.

All in all, it was one hell of a climb, an amazing view and certainly well worth the effort. One that I would recommend to all.

Many Thanks to PopupPirate for making this Earth Cache.

Keele Caches

GC1QR5N Dead Roman's Society
This was my second cache of the day. I parked in the Students Union carpark, a place that I've been to many times. Got out the trusty GPSr and followed the arrow. Well this is where I made my first mistake, as I had come into the woods in the wrong place and made a right old hash of it. I looked at the clue as where I was the co-ords seemed to be right out. Yep I'd gone through a tunnel and to a clearing but no cache. So I phoned a friend who had completed the cache and it all turns out that I was through the wrong tunnel. It seems bizaare that there would be tunnels in a wood like this but hey, there was a few. So after a few instructions I found where I was supposed to be and to be honest, I really should have trusted my GPS as the co-ords were pretty spot on. What a wonderful place to visit, it was amazing. There was a bridge with 4 little archways on it and up above was the tunnel that I had gone through. I so wish I had taken my camera for this one but I really wasnt expecting anything so spectacular especially on a university campus. This cache comes highly recommended from me.


GC14P9Y Keele Woods and Mud
This was my next on the list after Dead Roman's Society and thankfully I found the right track immediately. Another surprise for me, I hadn't realised there was a really impressive hall on the campus. The walk took us right past the hall and into the grounds passing a really lovely lake. I was fully expecting to get into the woods and as the title said....so get caked in mud. I found that the path had recently been done properly with a hardcore surface so was able to walk there with nice clean shoes. Got to the GZ and started looking at the likely places but nothing so resorted to the clue. I'm glad I did as my GPSr was showing 120ft out when I finally located the cache. The woods were really quiet so searching wasn't an issue.
Again the walk back was even more impressive as you got the full view of the hall with its lake and little weir with stepping stones going across it. What an ace place. Caches that I would certainly recommend.

In total I completed 10 local caches today, ones which had been on my closest to home for such a long time. There are many more to get around the area, but I keep being pulled to other areas.

Tomorrow is another caching day, I'm all prepped and have planned a couple of Earth Caches, about 18 traditionals and 5 Virtuals. We shall see if we get round to them all...especially with all the pups in tow. And this time I won't be forgetting my camera.

Different types of Cache that I've visited

Cache explanations courtesy of Geocaching.com


Traditional Caches - This is the original cache type consisting, at a bare minimum, a container and a log book. Normally you'll find a tupperware container, ammo box, or bucket filled with goodies, or smaller container ("micro cache") too small to contain items except for a log book. The coordinates listed on the traditional cache page are the exact location for the cache.

The general rule of thumb is, "If you take an item, leave an item, and write in the logbook." Some caches are themed, so make sure to read the description before going on a hunt.



Multi-Cache -A multi-cache ("multiple") involves two or more locations, the final location being a physical container. There are many variations, but most multi-caches have a hint to find the second cache, and the second cache has hints to the third, and so on. An offset cache (where you go to a location and get hints to the actual cache) is considered a multi-cache.



Unknown Cache or Puzzle Cache - The "catch-all" of cache types, this form of cache can involve complicated puzzles you will first need to solve to determine the coordinates. Due to the increasing creativity of geocaching this becomes the staging ground for new and unique challenges.



Earth Cache - An EarthCache is a special place that people can visit to learn about a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our Earth. EarthCaches include a set of educational notes and the details about where to find the location (latitude and longitude). Visitors to EarthCaches can see how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage the resources and how scientists gather evidence to learn about the Earth. For more information about EarthCaches, visit http://www.earthcache.org/.



Virtual Cache - A virtual cache is a cache that exists in a form of a location. Depending on the cache "hider," a virtual cache could be to answer a question about a location, an interesting spot, a task, etc. The reward for these caches is the location itself and sharing information about your visit.

Because of the nature of these geocaches, you must actually visit the location and acquire the coordinates there before you can post. In addition, although many locations are interesting, a virtual cache should be out of the ordinary enough to warrant logging a visit.



Letterbox Hybrid - A letterbox is another form of treasure hunting using clues instead of coordinates. In some cases, however, the owner has made it both a letterbox and a geocache and posted its coordinates on Geocaching.com. If there is a stamp inside a letterbox hybrid, it is not an item intended for trade; the stamp is meant to remain in the box so that visitors can use it to record their visit.




Event Cache - Occasionally, local geocachers and geocaching organizations designate a time and location to meet and discuss geocaching. After the event the caches are archived


Mega Event -
A Mega-Event cache is similar to an Event Cache but it is much larger. In order to qualify as a Mega Event, the event cache must be attended by 500+ people. Typically, Mega Events are annual events and attract geocachers from all over the world.


Wherigo -
Wherigo is a toolset for creating and playing GPS-enabled adventures in the real world. By integrating a Wherigo experience, called a cartridge, with finding a cache, the geocaching hunt can be an even richer experience. Among other uses, Wherigo allows geocachers to interact with physical and virtual elements such as objects or characters while still finding a physical geocache container. A Wherigo-enabled GPS device is required to play a cartridge. Learn more at Wherigo.com.



Now what are my favourites.....pretty hard to decide really. I've completed some fantastic Traditional Caches - generally the ones with higher difficulty/terrain ratings. Puzzle caches I love especially when the weather is dire or its evenings and I can't get out so I'll sit there at my computer and try and solve the different puzzles to get the co-ordinates. Can be very time consuming and also frustrating.

I absolutely love Earth Caches, Its amazing how much you can learn from just doing one cache about the history or geology of a particular area. I've also come across some amazing multi-caches that have had loads of stages but haven't been boring or repetitive.

But then again....a cache is a cache, it really doesn't matter to me what it is, it's about the enjoyment of getting outdoors and exploring new places that I never knew existed. Its also about the buzz of the hunt as well, and if you have ever seen a geocacher in action the head is down following the arrow and the closer they get, the quicker they move.....and that's still certainly the case with us.

Travelling Geocaches

GC45CC - Ye Ole Survey Monuments

Mmmmmm a travelling geocache...different...well yeah, it is!!

Ye Ole Survey Monuments is a travelling geocache that is owned by outforthehunt. The cache moves around the country and you could be looking for a specific survey monument, pillar, surface block, rivet or bolt. Unlike conventional geocaches with this cache you need to record the co-ordinates you find and make a note of them on your log. (Explanation taken from http://www.yosm.co.uk/)

I completed the cache over the Mega weekend whilst the cache was located at Brean Down in Somerset. As with a lot of pillars and trigpoints, the view was absolutely breathtaking however getting there wasn't particularly easy. It was one hell of a climb up the side of the hill.

So unlike the usual fixed caches, this one can be logged many times as long as you visit each location and take the required details.


Overlooking Brean Sands


Overlooking Weston Super Mare

So.....where is my next YOSM...actually not far up the road from my house so I think a caching visit is in order to log some more.

Fun Caching

GC1VK8N - Splish, Splash Cache & Dash






This has to be my favourite cache of the whole weekend. It definately begs the question "What would you do to get a cache"?. Luckily for a few, it was completed when the fountain was switched off, but for the rest of us great fun was had, not only grabbing the cache ourselves, but watching the fun of others doing it as well.

All packed and ready to go!!!

Well I had so many good intentions of being really really organised for going away this time, but as always it ends up as lastminute.com.

Now it really is my fault. I had spent a couple of evenings getting my laptop upto scratch and had loaded all my favourite geocaching programs onto it. There were only 2 problems with it.

1. Knackered battery - But this I managed to over come by use of an inverter in the car. Problem solved

2. No internet access -

So this resulted in a trip to carphone warehouse with all good intentions of buying myself a pay as you go mobile internet dongle but if you're anything like me, you can't resist something new.

So to cut a long story short, I ended up coming out of the store with not only a dongle, but a new netbook which was free with the contract, which actually is only about a tenner more than I would have been paying for PAYG. So you tell me....just how could I resist.

Next was get it home, after completing a local cache of course...oh with my new netbook still in its box, which was suprisingly good to lean on to sign a log sheet. I then had to start the process of uploading all of my stuff to it.

Mmmmmm 7 hours later I can gladly but very frustratedly report that it is now complete. Silly old me wanted this very small little gadget that would go in my rucksack and didn't even think about how I was going to get the software onto the damn thing. All I can say is thank you Dad...we certainly got there in the end after a lot of words unrepeatable for this blog. We ended up doing it by using our external hard drive and if those companies are going to try to stop us copying from one laptop to another...then think again....We did it!!!!

We even learnt tonight how to create a route on GC.com and now have them all uploaded to our trusy GPSr's and Nuvi.

So am I excited.....OOOOOOOO YES I AM!!!!

MEGA HERE WE COME!!!!! YEEHAH!!!!

My Caching Companion

My wonderful working Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel SPROCKET. Pedigree name Warburton's St Louis born on the 22/06/08.

Sprocket loves going caching especially as the team that I cache with, The Bignall Boppers who are also my parents have 2 Cocker Spaniels of their own from the same family. Little Sinders is Sprocket's sister and Harley who is 2 weeks older is their half brother.

All 3 enjoy nothing more than a really good walk and love leaping though long grass, jumping on and off rocks and swimming in rivers and streams. Yes they may get us absolutely filthy and often in knots but it just wouldn't be the same caching without them.

I vowed I would never get another dog as I have often felt tied in the past by not being able to go to certain places but I had my mind changed on a local walk. We had decided to do a couple of local caches when we first started and were minding our own business on a quiet lane when a huge dog came bounding out of a local yard. We didn't know what to expect especially when its a huge Rottweiler however he turned out to be about 9 months old and the friendliest thing you have ever come across. Apparantly he was supposed to be training as a guard dog. We tried to take him back but he kept running out with us and eventually followed us all the way on our 5 mile walk. We had a great time with him and he was absolutely hilarious. He was also really well behaved and considering we didn't know his name and had no lead, he obeyed our commands. At the end of the walk we put him in the back of our truck and took him home. I wish I hadn't bothered really as one of the workmen shut him in a barn...you should have heard him cry, it was awful. If I wasn't such an honest person, I would now be the proud owner of a really really huge friendly rotty.

But now I have my Sprocket...my little boy who is asleep on my bed by the side of me.

Mega Event....or just a Mega Caching Weekend?????

Well the Mega Event in Weston Super Mare is nearly upon us but sitting here thinking, its not just the journey down there that I have to prepare for. My to do list just seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

I sat down for the first time today to plan which caches we are going to complete on our 3 days away. Then the enormity of the situation hit me....how many caches are there around and which ones do we choose. We have opted out of completing any unknown or multi caches as they are just too time consuming to complete many in a day so it will be down to earth caches, traditionals and virtual caches.

But where do I start. I ran pocket queries through GC.com for a number of areas and rather than use my normal prefered method of database with GSAK, I opted for a more simplified EasyGPS to upload the caches to my GPS. I find it easier this way to upload all the caches then to memory map to have a look at for easy drive-bys along the route that we'll be taking. I've still not mastered GSAK fully yet but thats a job for another day. I'm sure its easy when you know how.

Next is choosing the caches...I havent got that far yet apart from some on the journey down the M5 taking quick detours off to go to Cheltenham and Gloucester, areas which I have never cached in before. Then there's South Wales where were staying and the Mega in Weston Super Mare.

So best I get my skates on and actually do some planning......but I'm still pondering over...do I take my laptop with me to run via an inverter in the car so we can run memory map, or do we do it the old fashioned way and print off maps with the caches on. Now theres a thought for me!!!!!!

So is mega number caching easy....no its not as its just so time consuming planning the routes and caches. But for me, thats just as enjoyable as the caching itself.

Drive by's - Worth it for not????

Do I like drive-by's......No not at all, in fact they drive me up the wall!!!!!

So why do I do them? Personally they're number boosting caches, plain and simple. There's nothing challenging about them in the slightest. Stick the co-ords into the Garmin Nuvi....follow the directions.....park up....get the GPSr and find the cache. Bingo and if you're lucky you get to walk more than 100ft.

But how can you write an interesting log as there's nothing worse than getting a TFTC on the log page. Well its really really hard...unless of course you cause an accident by shameless driving or caching exploits and then at least you have something to write about.

After completing 22 caches today.....the majority being drive-by's, I came home still full of energy but also fed up because all I can write is Easy Find, TFTC., and I didnt take a single photo.

And I don't like it one bit!!!!

GOTN - Ghost of the Navigator Series

Today we completed 11 caches, 8 of them belonging to the GOTN series on and around the Tissington Trail. In each of the 8 caches are clues for a bonus cache to be collected. We will find out what they are on the way round.

The weather was as usual murky, typical of the Great British Summer. We had all our kit with us and were actually wearing our waterproofs when we started the walk for a change. The dogs were wet within about 5 minutes of starting.

First cache was only around 360ft from where we parked the car on the side of the road in a layby (why pay for parking to walk 200ft less). The series was one with no clues so you have to trust the GPSr and hope that the co-ords are pretty spot on and trust your instincts as to where someone would hide a cache. This one was fairly easy and located just over a drystone wall.

Next was a fairly easy walk through open fields onto the road. There has been so much rain over the last few days that the lane was flooded. we had a short walk to the next cache however the GPS was pointing us through a church yard which really is a big no-no. So a quick rethink took us back to the road. Sometimes it just helps to stand back and take a look around and this was the case with this one. I spotted a lot of footprints in the mud by the wall and on closer inspection, there was the cache.

Next one was a bit of a nightmare, just a huge hill and with the cloud being very low you couldnt see much of the lovely countryside that I know thats around. We continued over the fields picking up the next few caches before we turned back onto the road and onwards back to the trail. By this time we were pretty wet, the dogs were soggy but happy prancing around.

We took a bit of a detour to pick up another cache along the way before heading back for the last few of the series. Most of the caches were fairly easy finds apart from 1. Not that it was a hard cache but the terrain was most challenging. The banks were really slippery and Mum came a right cropper on it really hurting her shoulder. Sometimes you really do risk life and limb if you're not careful or sensible.

The last caches in the series were uneventful and to be honest, we were glad they were finished as we were all soaking wet.

We now have the SOTN series to complete before picking up the bonus cache and knowing the terrain of the area....this is one to be left for a sunnier day.