Forgive Me
Just a quick apology to say forgive me readers for I have sinned. I haven't added to the blog for 3 weeks now.
I guess that you all know the reason for this, I have hardly done any caching. The weather hasn't helped, of course.
I have done four caches in 3 weeks, terrible isn't it?
The best one that I found was another FTF, called Secret Santa by caching friends Baira + Darkfonz, this was a memorable cache. The guys had loaded it with wrapped christmas gifts and labelled them, boy, girl, adult boy and adult girl. It was a really nice touch to a christmas cache. I met up just before Christmas and Steve had even been out to the cache to top it up with gifts again. There have been some good logs for this one, have a look. http://coord.info/GC2K580
Wemnog and I met up with Northking in mid December, another cold and snowy morning. We decided to go and check out the Two Anchors new series, Hills View. These were a follow up to their original Hills View series. These proved a very challenging set of caches. The first one took us an absolute age to find, and then we couldn't retrieve the cache itself, it hadn't so much frozen in the ground as something else. I can't say any more as it would give too much away! After phoning Rob from 2A he did let us have it as a joint FTF and went to sign the log on our behalf. This is Hills View # 3 http://coord.info/GC2K580. We then looked for another in the series Hills View #2 The Sequel http://coord.info/GC2JHQG we had no luck with this one at all and will have to return at some other time to find it. After leaving Northking he did decide to go back and try to find it. After another long period of searching he was lucky and managed to get a FTF on it. The easiest one in the series to do had already been found by some other well known cachers and proved easier to find, mainly because we know the Two Anchor's style. Jeff actually had his hand on the container first. This one is called Hills View The Sequel, just having looked at it again, it is still getting DNF's on it! http://coord.info/GC2JHR1
We decided that we would do one cache on Christmas Day, well you have to don't you? We went for Mainline To London http://coord.info/GC18T1F It really hasn't been the best caching few weeks, we didn't find it. We are off to Wales for New Year, hopefully we will have a lot more finds then.
GAGB Coin Race
The GAGB coin race has really taken off, a lot of people have now registered to see what it is all about. I won't go in to too much information here, nip over to the GAGB site and have a look. http://www.gagb.co.uk/
So that's it, last blog of 2010, I hope that you all have an enjoyable New Year and that you manage to keep caching throughout the year.
Take care and.............................happy caching.
27 Dec 2010
7 Dec 2010
S no W Caching and the GAGB Geocoin Race
S no W Caching
Well I guess a lot of us will have the same story. Over the last few days we haven't done any caching. It is been far too cold and most of the caches that we were wanting to do have been buried under snow! If you have been able to get out then I am very jealous.
We hope to get out this weekend, if nowt else we will be doing some drive bys, at least there are some nano's to grab out there that we haven't done yet.
GAGB Geocoin Race
Starting from January 1st, 2011 the GAGB are running a geocoin race. This is just for fun, there isn't a prize at the end of it. Basically, it is just to see how many miles a geocoin travels with you from cache to cache in twelve months. More details can be found on the GAGB website, http://www.gagb.co.uk/ and all you have to do is register a new coin on or as near as you can to January 1st. Mileage details will be updated once a week on the GAGB website.
Finally
No caching photos this week, so I am just going to leave you with a couple of photos of us out and about.
Until next week, happy caching.
Well I guess a lot of us will have the same story. Over the last few days we haven't done any caching. It is been far too cold and most of the caches that we were wanting to do have been buried under snow! If you have been able to get out then I am very jealous.
We hope to get out this weekend, if nowt else we will be doing some drive bys, at least there are some nano's to grab out there that we haven't done yet.
GAGB Geocoin Race
Starting from January 1st, 2011 the GAGB are running a geocoin race. This is just for fun, there isn't a prize at the end of it. Basically, it is just to see how many miles a geocoin travels with you from cache to cache in twelve months. More details can be found on the GAGB website, http://www.gagb.co.uk/ and all you have to do is register a new coin on or as near as you can to January 1st. Mileage details will be updated once a week on the GAGB website.
Finally
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| I love driving in these conditions |
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| I thought the colours looked good in the snow |
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| The site of a previous cache that we have done |
Until next week, happy caching.
29 Nov 2010
GAGB, Geocache Trails and The Last Few Caches
Hi and welcome to the latest installment of the blog.
GAGB
As I mentioned last week, I am now one of the committee members on the GAGB ~ the Geocaching Association of Great Britain. This is a great association to be a part of and if you are not already a member, please do think about joining us. It doesn't cost anything, unless you would be so kind as to offer a small contribution towards the cost of running the site.
The GAGB is a mine of information regarding landowner agreements, news about what is going on in your area, CITO, and much more, including monthly competitions and an extremely friendly, non judgemental forum, where you can express your views, ask questions and offer advice to others. The association web pages can be found at http://www.gagb.co.uk/ We are even having a geocoin mileage game next year, not a competition, this is just to see how far your personal geocoin and you travel from 1st January to 31st December. The details are again on the forum pages of the website.
GEOCACHE TRAILS
Geocache Trails http://www.geocachetrails.com/ is another website that is well worth a visit. If you want an easy way to find some caches in your area, or an area that you are unfamiliar with, this site can give you valuable information about cache trails, whether they are circular or linear. The caches range in number from 3 upwards. All you need to do is type in the location that you want and the site will give you a guide to different caches in that area. We recently found it useful when we visited Barrow and have used it on quite a few occasions now.
THE LAST FEW CACHES
We have been a bit quieter on the caching front since the last blog. We have only found 6 caches, having said that, two of the finds have been slightly different.
Following on from last weeks tunnel cache Tunnel-Tastic, we felt compelled to do another one, and seeing that it was only a few miles from home it had to be done sooner rather than later. This cache came in two parts, and without giving too much away the first cache that you needed to find, was virtually on top of the final part of the cache! Confused? Well read the logs and it may become a lot clearer, as clear as the mud we encountered getting to the final cache!!! The first part is called Shrodinger's Ghostly Paradox - The Happy Outcome http://coord.info/GC2HK2Q This was soon located on our trip out and we were soon transported to the second part Shrodinger's Ghostly Wormhole Paradox http://coord.info/GC2HJYV As we got transported to the second part we encountered all sorts, a ram that had seen better days, we couldn't work out whether it was the guardian of the cache or had entered the wormhole to die! We even encountered a very friendly toad, who was to lead us to ground zero! Here are some photos.
It was a great cache to find that was something a little out of the ordinary and a great way to spend a winter's morning. The two caches were created by Pinfold, who has obviously put some thought in to how to set them up. I even managed to leave a ghost geocoin in there that I picked up from the other tunnel.
Over the next few days we found a few more caches, the first of these was 'grave by bl4ck4dd3r http://coord.info/GC2JMDR We really made a meal of this one, I am blaming the cold weather for addling our brains. We worked out the hint, which had been further encrypted and headed off. We knew where it should be, the GPS pointed to where it should be and it still took us almost twenty minutes to find. We had hoped that we would be first to find after it was DNF'd just after publication. We got there though and Northking had beaten us by minutes.
Just driving around this week we also found Ruddington Grange by Fosiposi, http://coord.info/GC2DJGB
an easy drive by but with some history to where it is placed.
Then it was time to find another Northking cache, we are getting through them slowly but surely, this time we found Caching Practice 4 (waterlogged) A nice simple find for us on a cold winter afternoon, http://coord.info/GC27BAW The same day we found Dead Centre of Ruddington by seasoned cacher Angellica, http://coord.info/GC1YNJR this one has eluded us a couple of times as the area seems to be a magnet for the lads of Ruddington to gather for a kickabout.
Our final cache of the week came to my attention a couple of weeks ago and immediately made my MUST DO list. Bomber Command by well known cachers, father and son team The Bolas Heathens http://coord.info/GC21WYM is placed in one truly atmospheric locations. I am not going to say much more about it, other than Wemnog, his son Tom and I + the three dogs spent well over two hours just exploring. The cache was located in minutes, but if you cache and dash you are really going to miss out.The dogs were wary, I am sure that they could sense ghosts of times gone past. Here are some photos, I am pretty sure that if you are near this cache it will be one that you also say you must do.
As you can see from the photos, this place is too good to miss if you are around at any time.
FINALLY
I hope that the snow isn't hampering your caching efforts too much this week and that you manage to get out and about. Have a good week.
GAGB
As I mentioned last week, I am now one of the committee members on the GAGB ~ the Geocaching Association of Great Britain. This is a great association to be a part of and if you are not already a member, please do think about joining us. It doesn't cost anything, unless you would be so kind as to offer a small contribution towards the cost of running the site.
The GAGB is a mine of information regarding landowner agreements, news about what is going on in your area, CITO, and much more, including monthly competitions and an extremely friendly, non judgemental forum, where you can express your views, ask questions and offer advice to others. The association web pages can be found at http://www.gagb.co.uk/ We are even having a geocoin mileage game next year, not a competition, this is just to see how far your personal geocoin and you travel from 1st January to 31st December. The details are again on the forum pages of the website.
GEOCACHE TRAILS
Geocache Trails http://www.geocachetrails.com/ is another website that is well worth a visit. If you want an easy way to find some caches in your area, or an area that you are unfamiliar with, this site can give you valuable information about cache trails, whether they are circular or linear. The caches range in number from 3 upwards. All you need to do is type in the location that you want and the site will give you a guide to different caches in that area. We recently found it useful when we visited Barrow and have used it on quite a few occasions now.
THE LAST FEW CACHES
We have been a bit quieter on the caching front since the last blog. We have only found 6 caches, having said that, two of the finds have been slightly different.
Following on from last weeks tunnel cache Tunnel-Tastic, we felt compelled to do another one, and seeing that it was only a few miles from home it had to be done sooner rather than later. This cache came in two parts, and without giving too much away the first cache that you needed to find, was virtually on top of the final part of the cache! Confused? Well read the logs and it may become a lot clearer, as clear as the mud we encountered getting to the final cache!!! The first part is called Shrodinger's Ghostly Paradox - The Happy Outcome http://coord.info/GC2HK2Q This was soon located on our trip out and we were soon transported to the second part Shrodinger's Ghostly Wormhole Paradox http://coord.info/GC2HJYV As we got transported to the second part we encountered all sorts, a ram that had seen better days, we couldn't work out whether it was the guardian of the cache or had entered the wormhole to die! We even encountered a very friendly toad, who was to lead us to ground zero! Here are some photos.
 |
| The entrance to the Ghostly Paradox |
 |
| Torture Cages in the Ghostly Paradox |
 |
| A most helpful toad! |
It was a great cache to find that was something a little out of the ordinary and a great way to spend a winter's morning. The two caches were created by Pinfold, who has obviously put some thought in to how to set them up. I even managed to leave a ghost geocoin in there that I picked up from the other tunnel.
Over the next few days we found a few more caches, the first of these was 'grave by bl4ck4dd3r http://coord.info/GC2JMDR We really made a meal of this one, I am blaming the cold weather for addling our brains. We worked out the hint, which had been further encrypted and headed off. We knew where it should be, the GPS pointed to where it should be and it still took us almost twenty minutes to find. We had hoped that we would be first to find after it was DNF'd just after publication. We got there though and Northking had beaten us by minutes.
Just driving around this week we also found Ruddington Grange by Fosiposi, http://coord.info/GC2DJGB
an easy drive by but with some history to where it is placed.
Then it was time to find another Northking cache, we are getting through them slowly but surely, this time we found Caching Practice 4 (waterlogged) A nice simple find for us on a cold winter afternoon, http://coord.info/GC27BAW The same day we found Dead Centre of Ruddington by seasoned cacher Angellica, http://coord.info/GC1YNJR this one has eluded us a couple of times as the area seems to be a magnet for the lads of Ruddington to gather for a kickabout.
Our final cache of the week came to my attention a couple of weeks ago and immediately made my MUST DO list. Bomber Command by well known cachers, father and son team The Bolas Heathens http://coord.info/GC21WYM is placed in one truly atmospheric locations. I am not going to say much more about it, other than Wemnog, his son Tom and I + the three dogs spent well over two hours just exploring. The cache was located in minutes, but if you cache and dash you are really going to miss out.The dogs were wary, I am sure that they could sense ghosts of times gone past. Here are some photos, I am pretty sure that if you are near this cache it will be one that you also say you must do.
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| Don't think this will switch any lights on now! |
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| The glassless window |
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| The usually hyperactive dogs weren't too sure |
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| Ghostly |
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| The final parking spot |
As you can see from the photos, this place is too good to miss if you are around at any time.
FINALLY
I hope that the snow isn't hampering your caching efforts too much this week and that you manage to get out and about. Have a good week.
22 Nov 2010
News, Quality Caches, New Caches and the World Release Register
News
Two great bits of news for you this week. Firstly I was asked to become a moderator on the Staffs geocachers site. This is a fairly new site which welcomes members from all over the country, not just from Staffordshire. You can find the site at www.staffs-geocachers.webs.com
Secondly, and I am very excited about this, I have just become a committee member of the GAGB ~ the Geocaching Association of Great Britain. http://www.gagb.co.uk/
If you aren't already a member have a look at the website and do seriously think about joining. Not only does it offer some great advice and friendly banter, but gives up to date information on land owner agreements for the placement of caches, There is also a monthly competition with some great geocaching prizes.
Quality Caches
We haven't done as many caches as we would have liked this week. Having said that, the ones that we have done have been a really good quality.
We have also managed to continue to catch up on some more of Northking's caches.
The first cache this week was Slip Not, one of Northking's. A nice simple cache to start the week. On the banks of the River Trent this was found on the first really foggy morning of the winter. http://coord.info/GC1Z600
Not too far away were another couple of caches that we decided to nab. Coppers Cache by Riktor http://coord.info/GC2EB46 This cache was placed in memory of his grandad, a policeman whose beat was in the area. The final cache that morning was Dave and Andy's Duck Hunt http://coord.info/GC2FKFH The coords seemed to be a bit off for this one, but the subsequent photo from GZ is quite atmospheric!
On Wednesday we travelled down to Portsmouth for a family reasons. We had Wemnog's son Tom with us. We couldn't resist but do just one cache when were down there. This is definately one to calla quality cache, Toadstool Trail 3 by AP&T http://coord.info/GC2DC3J It was definately a very wet and very muddy trek to this one. Luckily we cheated a little and drove as close as we could in the Jeep. Here are a couple of pics of the cache. I am sure some of you readers will be able to take some ideas from it and develop similar caches in your own style!
This was a very clever cache that blended in well with the surroundings.
Over the course of the next few days we did a few more caches, a new one by Noords, I mentioned the clever cache of his that we did last week. He has put another clever one out, quite large in a very public place on the banks of the River Trent. Almost in full view, especially if you are looking for it. This one is called Fire In The Hole! http://coord.info/GC2J993 You get a really good view of Trent Bridge from this one.
After doing this cache we ventured over the river to another of Northking's caches. The appropriately titled Spender. This one had us scratching our heads. We searched for a good half hour before having to give up on it and got home only to log a DNF on it. It pleased me somewhat to note from previous logs that some very experienced cachers had also logged DNF's on it. It is certainly one of those caches that has you scratching your head, you know where it should be, you know where it is, but you just can't find it. We went back a day later and found it. Even if you never venture over to Nottingham, the logs are worth reading, purely for entertainment value http://coord.info/GC2HDDA
I have been keeping an eye on some of the bookmarked listings for a while now and have been wanting to do a tunnel cache. My wish finally came true yesterday and we did this one. Tunnel-Tastic by Chilli Slim Kid http://coord.info/GCRRB0 This is an old cache that has been up and running since December 2005. It isn't the oldest cache that I have ever done, but certainly an enjoyable one. Here are some photos.
We were armed with wellies and torches to do this cache and really enjoyed it. Us being us we didn't reach the tunnel by the suggested access point, that would have been far too simple. We parked up and descended to the entrance via a very slippery wet slope. We managed to stay on two feet though and didn't have to resort to sliding down! Armed with wellies as we had read in previous logs that the tunnel could get flooded we were pleased that it wasn't. We soon reached the cache, picked up a ghost geocoin that had been in there since the last visit on halloween and left a polar bear TB hibernating there until the next visitor ventures in. It was good fun this one, though we did say that it would have been even more fun doing it in the dead of night when it was really pitch black! We are already planning on doing another tunnel cache soon.
To finish off we did three drive by caches, two of which were called Nantwich to Castle to Nantwich 1 and two. Number two was placed very close to this little feature which I thought was worth a photo.
New Caches
I have had three new caches published this week, two drive by's and one in the centre of Nottingham
Suspension ~ http://coord.info/GC2JDGF
Off Yer Trolley - Carlton ~ http://coord.info/GC2JECT
and
Beggar's Belief ~ http://coord.info/GC2JDG0
All three were found within a short while of being published.
World Release Register
If you have a new TB or geocoin that you want releasing in a particular part of the country, or world for that matter, it may be worth having a look at the world release register. Someone listed on it may just be able to help your traveller to begin its journey. I have just joined this register and am able to help people out if they want something to start in Nottingham/shire. The address for this is http://www.geocoindesign.com/wrr2.htm You will find out all the details there.
Finally
The travelbug knockout race goes on apace. My TB is currently in California and so far has covered a distance of 5218 miles since I released it in Barrow a couple of weeks ago.
If anyone ever has any questions about either the blog, geocaching or the GAGB, please don't hesitate in contacting me, and if I can help you out I will.
All for now, until next time.............Happy caching.
Two great bits of news for you this week. Firstly I was asked to become a moderator on the Staffs geocachers site. This is a fairly new site which welcomes members from all over the country, not just from Staffordshire. You can find the site at www.staffs-geocachers.webs.com
Secondly, and I am very excited about this, I have just become a committee member of the GAGB ~ the Geocaching Association of Great Britain. http://www.gagb.co.uk/
If you aren't already a member have a look at the website and do seriously think about joining. Not only does it offer some great advice and friendly banter, but gives up to date information on land owner agreements for the placement of caches, There is also a monthly competition with some great geocaching prizes.
Quality Caches
We haven't done as many caches as we would have liked this week. Having said that, the ones that we have done have been a really good quality.
We have also managed to continue to catch up on some more of Northking's caches.
The first cache this week was Slip Not, one of Northking's. A nice simple cache to start the week. On the banks of the River Trent this was found on the first really foggy morning of the winter. http://coord.info/GC1Z600
 |
| Near Slip Not |
Not too far away were another couple of caches that we decided to nab. Coppers Cache by Riktor http://coord.info/GC2EB46 This cache was placed in memory of his grandad, a policeman whose beat was in the area. The final cache that morning was Dave and Andy's Duck Hunt http://coord.info/GC2FKFH The coords seemed to be a bit off for this one, but the subsequent photo from GZ is quite atmospheric!
 |
| Viewe from Dave & Andy's Duck Hunt cache |
 |
| Toadstool Trail 3 ~ closed |
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| Toadstool Trail 3 ~ open |
Over the course of the next few days we did a few more caches, a new one by Noords, I mentioned the clever cache of his that we did last week. He has put another clever one out, quite large in a very public place on the banks of the River Trent. Almost in full view, especially if you are looking for it. This one is called Fire In The Hole! http://coord.info/GC2J993 You get a really good view of Trent Bridge from this one.
 |
| Trent Bridge |
After doing this cache we ventured over the river to another of Northking's caches. The appropriately titled Spender. This one had us scratching our heads. We searched for a good half hour before having to give up on it and got home only to log a DNF on it. It pleased me somewhat to note from previous logs that some very experienced cachers had also logged DNF's on it. It is certainly one of those caches that has you scratching your head, you know where it should be, you know where it is, but you just can't find it. We went back a day later and found it. Even if you never venture over to Nottingham, the logs are worth reading, purely for entertainment value http://coord.info/GC2HDDA
I have been keeping an eye on some of the bookmarked listings for a while now and have been wanting to do a tunnel cache. My wish finally came true yesterday and we did this one. Tunnel-Tastic by Chilli Slim Kid http://coord.info/GCRRB0 This is an old cache that has been up and running since December 2005. It isn't the oldest cache that I have ever done, but certainly an enjoyable one. Here are some photos.
 |
| The light at the other end! |
 |
| Wemnog and three hyperactive geodogs ready to enter the tunnel |
 |
| Cache In Hand |
 |
| The return journey |
We were armed with wellies and torches to do this cache and really enjoyed it. Us being us we didn't reach the tunnel by the suggested access point, that would have been far too simple. We parked up and descended to the entrance via a very slippery wet slope. We managed to stay on two feet though and didn't have to resort to sliding down! Armed with wellies as we had read in previous logs that the tunnel could get flooded we were pleased that it wasn't. We soon reached the cache, picked up a ghost geocoin that had been in there since the last visit on halloween and left a polar bear TB hibernating there until the next visitor ventures in. It was good fun this one, though we did say that it would have been even more fun doing it in the dead of night when it was really pitch black! We are already planning on doing another tunnel cache soon.
To finish off we did three drive by caches, two of which were called Nantwich to Castle to Nantwich 1 and two. Number two was placed very close to this little feature which I thought was worth a photo.
New Caches
I have had three new caches published this week, two drive by's and one in the centre of Nottingham
Suspension ~ http://coord.info/GC2JDGF
Off Yer Trolley - Carlton ~ http://coord.info/GC2JECT
and
Beggar's Belief ~ http://coord.info/GC2JDG0
All three were found within a short while of being published.
World Release Register
If you have a new TB or geocoin that you want releasing in a particular part of the country, or world for that matter, it may be worth having a look at the world release register. Someone listed on it may just be able to help your traveller to begin its journey. I have just joined this register and am able to help people out if they want something to start in Nottingham/shire. The address for this is http://www.geocoindesign.com/wrr2.htm You will find out all the details there.
Finally
The travelbug knockout race goes on apace. My TB is currently in California and so far has covered a distance of 5218 miles since I released it in Barrow a couple of weeks ago.
If anyone ever has any questions about either the blog, geocaching or the GAGB, please don't hesitate in contacting me, and if I can help you out I will.
All for now, until next time.............Happy caching.
15 Nov 2010
Staying Local, Isle Of Man Schools, New Caches, DNF's and UK Podcast
Staying Local
Last Monday we travelled up to Yorkshire to remap a car. The weather wasn't too nice so we decided to just do one cache http://coord.info/GC1R036 We were looking forward to this one as it had had good comments in the past. Knowing it had just been replaced after a muggling incident we thought that we were on to a winner. Sadly after a prolonged search we had to record a DNF on it. I emailed the CO when I got home and the next day had it confirmed that the cache had gone missing again.
As far as distance with caching was concerned that was the furthest that we have been in the last week. We have indeed been staying local. We have been very lax in mopping up local caches, including those of friends Northking and Baira. So as the week went on we ventured out and found a few. It is a sad state of affairs when it has taken us so long to do some caches that are only a mile or so from home. One of Baira's caches that I particularly enjoyed was this one, only for the fact that the cache was located somewhere different from the norm. http://coord.info/GC1XNYQ I really do need to get out locally, I have visited the park many times, but didn't know this existed!!!
Over the next few days we did a few more caches. One that intrigued us after reading comments about it was Time For Tea? by new cacher Noords. The cache http://coord.info/GC2ER2N was a real surprise. A lot of thought has gone in to the placement and design of this one. I am not going to give anything else away about it. It is in the memorial gardens just off the Embankment here in Nottingham. If this cache from such a new cacher is anything to go by then s/he is definately going to be surprising us in the coming months.
The gardens where it is placed are lovely, no matter what time of year you visit, so if you are ever in Nottingham, pop in and have a wander round. The statue of Queen Vicoria that is in the photograph (below) was originally in the market square in Nottingham but was moved when the square was redeveloped back in 1953, it had been in the market square since being unveiled in 1905.
Also over the weekend we have done some of Northking's caches. Not as many as we planned to do. We really have waited far too long to do these and we aim to try and finish his by Christmas. We did his A-Road Anarchy caches this weekend. In the past we have found some ARA caches very boring. A film canister chucked in to a lay-by. These had a bit more about them and larger containers. I was able to leave some trackables in a couple of them and also retrieve one from another. Jeff, aka Northking has a reputation for putting out quality caches and I look forward to reporting in the next few weeks on some of his other caches. From reading logs, they may just have Wemnog and I scratching our heads!
Isle Of Man School
Whilst up in Barrow last week, I picked up a trackable TB3QHVJ, I won't give the actual tracking number for it on here for obvious reasons. This trackable is owned and being followed by a group of school children from the Isle Of Man. Having picked it up I decided to set a bit of a quiz for the children, not actually telling them where I was going to take it, but giving them hints. So, at the moment I have brought it home to Nottingham, some Robin Hood hints for them there. In the next few days I am moving it down south, so again I have given them some hints without actually saying where it is going. I had a lovely email yesterday from their teacher thanking me for doing this. Now I enjoy moving trackables anyway, but this has made it a bit more special, especially as the kids are enjoying it so much. This is a photo of the trackable in question, so if you see it out and about, please try and take it somewhere interesting for them.
New Caches
Following on from doing the A-Road Anarchy caches by Northking, I felt inspired to put one out myself last night. So far it hasn't been published so I can't say too much about it apart from the title A-Road Anarchy - A612 - Time For A Picnic! I'll report next time on how it is doing. I have another cache ready to go out in the next few days, this is a nano cache in a well loved area of Nottingham. Going back to the ARA caches, I do already have one which has been in place for a while http://coord.info/GC24942
DNF's
Many cachers seem to be reluctant to record a DNF when they have been unable to find a cache. Whether they are embarrassed to say that they haven't found it, or simply don't feel that it is important to register that they haven't found one. As far as I am concerned recording a DNF on one of my caches, or my recording one on a cache that I haven't been able to locate is important. Not only does it inform the CO that there may be a problem with their cache, it also informs other cachers that they may have to either look that little bit harder or be prepared for a DNF themselves. The same goes for Needs Maintainance reports. Sometimes, rightly or wrongly cache owners don't get a chance to go and check on their caches, so a NM report is their only way of knowing if some work needs doing. So please, don't be emabarrassed about reporting. We all have DNF's at some point!
UK Podcast
I am glad to report that after a brief hiatus, the UK Podcast is back online. If you haven't heard the podcast before, it is very informative and worth a listen. You can find it here http://www.ukpodcast.com/ Not only does it inform you of what's going on in the caching world, it also contains news from cachers around the UK.
Finally
Having entered the Great Travel Bug knockout race that has been organised by Slightly Tall Paul, I am pleased to say that my TB was picked up in Cumbria and having been placed in an event cache in Scotland has now been picked up and is on it's way to America. If you want to follow the knockout you can find it here http://www.travelbugknockout.blogspot.com/ My TB is called Knockout Ferrari, Wemnog also has a TB in the race, his being The Skylark. Keep your fingers crossed that these two TB's travel far, we both quite fancy winning the final prize of an engraved glass paperweight.
That's it, another weeks news over, so until next time...............have a great caching week.
Last Monday we travelled up to Yorkshire to remap a car. The weather wasn't too nice so we decided to just do one cache http://coord.info/GC1R036 We were looking forward to this one as it had had good comments in the past. Knowing it had just been replaced after a muggling incident we thought that we were on to a winner. Sadly after a prolonged search we had to record a DNF on it. I emailed the CO when I got home and the next day had it confirmed that the cache had gone missing again.
As far as distance with caching was concerned that was the furthest that we have been in the last week. We have indeed been staying local. We have been very lax in mopping up local caches, including those of friends Northking and Baira. So as the week went on we ventured out and found a few. It is a sad state of affairs when it has taken us so long to do some caches that are only a mile or so from home. One of Baira's caches that I particularly enjoyed was this one, only for the fact that the cache was located somewhere different from the norm. http://coord.info/GC1XNYQ I really do need to get out locally, I have visited the park many times, but didn't know this existed!!!
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| Keep Crossing Clear cache site |
Over the next few days we did a few more caches. One that intrigued us after reading comments about it was Time For Tea? by new cacher Noords. The cache http://coord.info/GC2ER2N was a real surprise. A lot of thought has gone in to the placement and design of this one. I am not going to give anything else away about it. It is in the memorial gardens just off the Embankment here in Nottingham. If this cache from such a new cacher is anything to go by then s/he is definately going to be surprising us in the coming months.
The gardens where it is placed are lovely, no matter what time of year you visit, so if you are ever in Nottingham, pop in and have a wander round. The statue of Queen Vicoria that is in the photograph (below) was originally in the market square in Nottingham but was moved when the square was redeveloped back in 1953, it had been in the market square since being unveiled in 1905.
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| Not too far from the Time For Tea? cache, Memorial Gardens, Nottingham |
Also over the weekend we have done some of Northking's caches. Not as many as we planned to do. We really have waited far too long to do these and we aim to try and finish his by Christmas. We did his A-Road Anarchy caches this weekend. In the past we have found some ARA caches very boring. A film canister chucked in to a lay-by. These had a bit more about them and larger containers. I was able to leave some trackables in a couple of them and also retrieve one from another. Jeff, aka Northking has a reputation for putting out quality caches and I look forward to reporting in the next few weeks on some of his other caches. From reading logs, they may just have Wemnog and I scratching our heads!
Isle Of Man School
Whilst up in Barrow last week, I picked up a trackable TB3QHVJ, I won't give the actual tracking number for it on here for obvious reasons. This trackable is owned and being followed by a group of school children from the Isle Of Man. Having picked it up I decided to set a bit of a quiz for the children, not actually telling them where I was going to take it, but giving them hints. So, at the moment I have brought it home to Nottingham, some Robin Hood hints for them there. In the next few days I am moving it down south, so again I have given them some hints without actually saying where it is going. I had a lovely email yesterday from their teacher thanking me for doing this. Now I enjoy moving trackables anyway, but this has made it a bit more special, especially as the kids are enjoying it so much. This is a photo of the trackable in question, so if you see it out and about, please try and take it somewhere interesting for them.
New Caches
Following on from doing the A-Road Anarchy caches by Northking, I felt inspired to put one out myself last night. So far it hasn't been published so I can't say too much about it apart from the title A-Road Anarchy - A612 - Time For A Picnic! I'll report next time on how it is doing. I have another cache ready to go out in the next few days, this is a nano cache in a well loved area of Nottingham. Going back to the ARA caches, I do already have one which has been in place for a while http://coord.info/GC24942
DNF's
Many cachers seem to be reluctant to record a DNF when they have been unable to find a cache. Whether they are embarrassed to say that they haven't found it, or simply don't feel that it is important to register that they haven't found one. As far as I am concerned recording a DNF on one of my caches, or my recording one on a cache that I haven't been able to locate is important. Not only does it inform the CO that there may be a problem with their cache, it also informs other cachers that they may have to either look that little bit harder or be prepared for a DNF themselves. The same goes for Needs Maintainance reports. Sometimes, rightly or wrongly cache owners don't get a chance to go and check on their caches, so a NM report is their only way of knowing if some work needs doing. So please, don't be emabarrassed about reporting. We all have DNF's at some point!
UK Podcast
I am glad to report that after a brief hiatus, the UK Podcast is back online. If you haven't heard the podcast before, it is very informative and worth a listen. You can find it here http://www.ukpodcast.com/ Not only does it inform you of what's going on in the caching world, it also contains news from cachers around the UK.
Finally
Having entered the Great Travel Bug knockout race that has been organised by Slightly Tall Paul, I am pleased to say that my TB was picked up in Cumbria and having been placed in an event cache in Scotland has now been picked up and is on it's way to America. If you want to follow the knockout you can find it here http://www.travelbugknockout.blogspot.com/ My TB is called Knockout Ferrari, Wemnog also has a TB in the race, his being The Skylark. Keep your fingers crossed that these two TB's travel far, we both quite fancy winning the final prize of an engraved glass paperweight.
That's it, another weeks news over, so until next time...............have a great caching week.
10 Nov 2010
Lucky
Lucky
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Jacaru-Geocoins
http://jacaru.co.uk/
For more information on remapping visit:~ http://www.antondigital.co.uk/
Just packed sandwiches, made a flask and loaded the Jeep. I am now sat here thinking how lucky we are that we can just take off for a days geocaching. It must be awful for people out there stuck at home for various reasons, kids or relatives with disabilities for example who can't just take off on a whim to go caching. Or those who hate their jobs but still have to go in, or those housebound with various debilating ailments.
This is one reason why we place so many magnetic nano's in places that can be done as drive by's. At least that way, people who don't have the time for one reason or another can often access them by driving up to them, without the energy, time or health to do lengthy walks. So for anyone out there feeling miserable, don't get stuck in feeling that you are alone and forgotten. There are people out there who plant caches just for you. If you don't have access to a car, try and persuade a relative, friend, neighbour to take you out, even if it is just for a couple of hours. A change is as good as a rest and it may just be all you need to stop you feeling isolated. .
Finally, all content of this blog is protected by copyright and always has been. No part should be copied on to any other site without my express permission.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Jacaru-Geocoins
http://jacaru.co.uk/
For more information on remapping visit:~ http://www.antondigital.co.uk/
Just packed sandwiches, made a flask and loaded the Jeep. I am now sat here thinking how lucky we are that we can just take off for a days geocaching. It must be awful for people out there stuck at home for various reasons, kids or relatives with disabilities for example who can't just take off on a whim to go caching. Or those who hate their jobs but still have to go in, or those housebound with various debilating ailments.
This is one reason why we place so many magnetic nano's in places that can be done as drive by's. At least that way, people who don't have the time for one reason or another can often access them by driving up to them, without the energy, time or health to do lengthy walks. So for anyone out there feeling miserable, don't get stuck in feeling that you are alone and forgotten. There are people out there who plant caches just for you. If you don't have access to a car, try and persuade a relative, friend, neighbour to take you out, even if it is just for a couple of hours. A change is as good as a rest and it may just be all you need to stop you feeling isolated. .
Finally, all content of this blog is protected by copyright and always has been. No part should be copied on to any other site without my express permission.
7 Nov 2010
Back In The Saddle, Ebay, TB Knockout
Back In The Saddle
Yay, after a long period without doing any caching at all, the visit to Barrow last week certainly got Keith (Wemnog) and I back in the saddle.
During the week we did in total 33 caches, we could have done more, but it was also nice to relax in the hotel and we seem to have encountered a years worth of wet weather in one week whilst up there!
So where do I begin? Well after doing a route planner for Warrington to Barrow we actually did a couple of caches on the way up. We left the main start of the caching until Tuesday though. One of them, Nuns In A Bunker? http://coord.info/GC1K7JT was strange, if you ever do it, see what you make of it. This pic shows GZ.
Barrow In Furness doesn't have the best of reputations as an area to visit for a week, but the caches certainly are worth it. We spent some time on Walney Island and did a couple of caches over there. It was very windy and the dogs cetainly got blown about. We left Meg at Keith's mum's as she is in season and Rum was taking too much notice of her.
Here is a pic of the dogs on the windswept walk to a cache. It wasn't a long walk, but what with wind, driving rain, and my new hiking boots making a nice blister on my heel, it was long enough.
All this for a nano! There again, I don't have anything against nano's and too be fair, GZ wouldn't really have allowed for anything else.
Over the next few days we cached, then cached some more. One of the more interesting ones was called On The Right Track, http://coord.info/GC2D8C1 it is a pity it isn't an actual sidetracked cache as it is about the nearest to a railway line that you could get.
Over the road from GZ three warships are moored. Deciding that we wanted to know more about how they got to be there, once we got back to the hotel we googled them and found out that they belong(ed) to Brunei. There has been an ongoing legal argument between BaE systems who built the ships and the Sultan of Brunei who ordered them. He says that they aren't up to his specifications. They have been moored at Barrow since 2007. For more information on these ships, you can visit this link .
The photos below show Wemnog and I at GZ and also with the ships in the background.
I chose to leave my new TB CP1MDK here, it is a North West Mega 2012 tag attached to a turtle which I want to stay in the North West of the UK, as I write this blog up, I have read that it has been picked up by someone who is going to take it home with them to Norway!!!!! I have emailed them, asking them to leave it in a cache more local to its mission! We'll see.
We did a series of caches called Woodland Wander. http://coord.info/GC2CYW6 A nice little series, that took us to some woodland very close to Barrow itself, close to the main road in to the town, but a little escape from the hustle and bustle elsewhere. I decided to leave another of my new trackables in this cache, my Knockout Ferrari, more of that story later. No sooner was the TB in one of the caches and the cache replaced I heard a scottish lilt asking "So which one of you is Jacaru then"? It turns out that another couple of cachers had been following us around Sue from Perth Pathfinders and Snaik. We knew that they were in the area as they had already spotted the mobile TB on the Jeep, we read that log the night before. Sue picked up the Ferrari and said that she would get some miles added to it.
We walked on together to the last cache in the series, before parting ways, the Scottish contingent back up to Perth and us off for a spot of lunch.
After lunch we did a few more, one of the more interesting places, although quite a boring cache was Bow |Bridge, http://coord.info/GCR4DX this medieval stone bridge carries an old route to Furness Abbey, which was founded by Stephen, later King of England. This is all the more interesting for us at the moment as we are engrossed in watching Pillars Of The Earth on TV, which is about that period of time.
The next day found us doing a series called The Old Slaggies, not the most endearing name that I have ever heard for a series. This was a good morning's outing and gave us some good views (well it would have done if not for the driving rain) We did see a light aircraft battling the wind though to land on the airstrip over at Walney Island, which belongs to BAE systems. Wonder who was on it?
The series actually took us for a wander around the old slag heaps. The mountain of slag,known locally as "The Slaggy"was waste from the old iron and steel works,which in the 1870's was the biggest Bessemer steel production plant in the world,employing over 5,000 men. http://coord.info/GC1YPPD Only seven caches in the series. but enjoyable none the less.
The final afternoon of our break took us to Walney Island again. There was a cache that I really wanted to do Sheep Island http://coord.info/GC11M6Y This was probably not attempted at the best time of day, especially with my ankle being a mess, but we did it anyway, just before dusk, again in driving wind and rain, it cried out to us. Armed with torches and mobile phones, in case we got stuck in the sand, we set forth. It took us a little while to get to the cache, but once in the right area it was soon located. The walk back seemed to take longer, us two and the dogs were caked in sludgey sand. In the distance we could see the wreck of an old car, obviously one that had got stuck at some point and couldn't be recovered before the sea claimed it.
We did a few more drive by's on the way home, but the caches that I have mentioned are the main thrills of the week for us. If you ever get to Barrow they are worth doing, along with a visit to the nearby Dock Museum.
Ebay
Now that I am back home I have updated the Ebay shop, it now has self inking rubber stamps in it as well as some new sign caches that have always proved popular. As Christmas is only a few weeks away these would make ideal pressies for any cacher out there.
TB Knockout
My caching friend Slightly Tall Paul has set up a new TB knockout race. Information on it can be found here travelbugknockout.blogspot.com I have entered a Ferrari in to the race, hopefully it will travel far. As I mentioned above Sue from Perth Pathfinders grabbed my TB from the cache up in Barrow and is going to pass it on to someone who is going to take it to America, not a bad start for its journey, let's just hope the miles continue to clock up once it is over there.
Well, you must be getting bored by now, this has been the longest entry in the blog for a long time.
Back soon, with more caching news and views.
Yay, after a long period without doing any caching at all, the visit to Barrow last week certainly got Keith (Wemnog) and I back in the saddle.
During the week we did in total 33 caches, we could have done more, but it was also nice to relax in the hotel and we seem to have encountered a years worth of wet weather in one week whilst up there!
So where do I begin? Well after doing a route planner for Warrington to Barrow we actually did a couple of caches on the way up. We left the main start of the caching until Tuesday though. One of them, Nuns In A Bunker? http://coord.info/GC1K7JT was strange, if you ever do it, see what you make of it. This pic shows GZ.
Barrow In Furness doesn't have the best of reputations as an area to visit for a week, but the caches certainly are worth it. We spent some time on Walney Island and did a couple of caches over there. It was very windy and the dogs cetainly got blown about. We left Meg at Keith's mum's as she is in season and Rum was taking too much notice of her.
All this for a nano! There again, I don't have anything against nano's and too be fair, GZ wouldn't really have allowed for anything else.
Over the next few days we cached, then cached some more. One of the more interesting ones was called On The Right Track, http://coord.info/GC2D8C1 it is a pity it isn't an actual sidetracked cache as it is about the nearest to a railway line that you could get.
Over the road from GZ three warships are moored. Deciding that we wanted to know more about how they got to be there, once we got back to the hotel we googled them and found out that they belong(ed) to Brunei. There has been an ongoing legal argument between BaE systems who built the ships and the Sultan of Brunei who ordered them. He says that they aren't up to his specifications. They have been moored at Barrow since 2007. For more information on these ships, you can visit this link .
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| Wemnog at Ground Zero (couldn't get much closer!) |
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| Jacaru and the Sultan's Warships |
I chose to leave my new TB CP1MDK here, it is a North West Mega 2012 tag attached to a turtle which I want to stay in the North West of the UK, as I write this blog up, I have read that it has been picked up by someone who is going to take it home with them to Norway!!!!! I have emailed them, asking them to leave it in a cache more local to its mission! We'll see.
We did a series of caches called Woodland Wander. http://coord.info/GC2CYW6 A nice little series, that took us to some woodland very close to Barrow itself, close to the main road in to the town, but a little escape from the hustle and bustle elsewhere. I decided to leave another of my new trackables in this cache, my Knockout Ferrari, more of that story later. No sooner was the TB in one of the caches and the cache replaced I heard a scottish lilt asking "So which one of you is Jacaru then"? It turns out that another couple of cachers had been following us around Sue from Perth Pathfinders and Snaik. We knew that they were in the area as they had already spotted the mobile TB on the Jeep, we read that log the night before. Sue picked up the Ferrari and said that she would get some miles added to it.
We walked on together to the last cache in the series, before parting ways, the Scottish contingent back up to Perth and us off for a spot of lunch.
After lunch we did a few more, one of the more interesting places, although quite a boring cache was Bow |Bridge, http://coord.info/GCR4DX this medieval stone bridge carries an old route to Furness Abbey, which was founded by Stephen, later King of England. This is all the more interesting for us at the moment as we are engrossed in watching Pillars Of The Earth on TV, which is about that period of time.
 |
| Bow Bridge |
The next day found us doing a series called The Old Slaggies, not the most endearing name that I have ever heard for a series. This was a good morning's outing and gave us some good views (well it would have done if not for the driving rain) We did see a light aircraft battling the wind though to land on the airstrip over at Walney Island, which belongs to BAE systems. Wonder who was on it?
The series actually took us for a wander around the old slag heaps. The mountain of slag,known locally as "The Slaggy"was waste from the old iron and steel works,which in the 1870's was the biggest Bessemer steel production plant in the world,employing over 5,000 men. http://coord.info/GC1YPPD Only seven caches in the series. but enjoyable none the less.
The final afternoon of our break took us to Walney Island again. There was a cache that I really wanted to do Sheep Island http://coord.info/GC11M6Y This was probably not attempted at the best time of day, especially with my ankle being a mess, but we did it anyway, just before dusk, again in driving wind and rain, it cried out to us. Armed with torches and mobile phones, in case we got stuck in the sand, we set forth. It took us a little while to get to the cache, but once in the right area it was soon located. The walk back seemed to take longer, us two and the dogs were caked in sludgey sand. In the distance we could see the wreck of an old car, obviously one that had got stuck at some point and couldn't be recovered before the sea claimed it.
We did a few more drive by's on the way home, but the caches that I have mentioned are the main thrills of the week for us. If you ever get to Barrow they are worth doing, along with a visit to the nearby Dock Museum.
Ebay
Now that I am back home I have updated the Ebay shop, it now has self inking rubber stamps in it as well as some new sign caches that have always proved popular. As Christmas is only a few weeks away these would make ideal pressies for any cacher out there.
TB Knockout
My caching friend Slightly Tall Paul has set up a new TB knockout race. Information on it can be found here travelbugknockout.blogspot.com I have entered a Ferrari in to the race, hopefully it will travel far. As I mentioned above Sue from Perth Pathfinders grabbed my TB from the cache up in Barrow and is going to pass it on to someone who is going to take it to America, not a bad start for its journey, let's just hope the miles continue to clock up once it is over there.
Well, you must be getting bored by now, this has been the longest entry in the blog for a long time.
Back soon, with more caching news and views.
22 Oct 2010
It's Oh So Quiet
It's Oh So Quiet
It has been another cacheless week! There have been a couple of days when we have got up and planned to go caching this week. On both days other more pressing things (work) cropped up! Yesterday we spent the day baking for the Country Market, so that was another opportunity out of the window.
Ebay
Ebay has also been quiet this week, the current economic climate worldwide certainly seems to be hitting sales, September was the worst month, sales wise, that I have had since I opened the Jacaru Geocoins shop. Hopefully things will pick up on the run up to Christmas. I have some new stock, including stocking fillers arriving soon. I also have some new signs that will be in the shop from the middle of next week. These make excellent caches and I have a couple of them out and about. It is fun reading the logs for these caches as people do sometimes struggle with them, especially as they are usually placed in high muggle areas! The photo above shows how one design looks. They are magnetic and come complete with a log book in a sealed bag.
Only a couple of weeks now until we are in Barrow and caching can once again become a priority for a few days at least.
More news next week, until then...............Happy caching.
It has been another cacheless week! There have been a couple of days when we have got up and planned to go caching this week. On both days other more pressing things (work) cropped up! Yesterday we spent the day baking for the Country Market, so that was another opportunity out of the window.
Ebay
Only a couple of weeks now until we are in Barrow and caching can once again become a priority for a few days at least.
More news next week, until then...............Happy caching.
12 Oct 2010
New Coins On Ebay
Well it has been another week without finding any caches. We don't seem to have stopped, travelling up to Warrington to visit Keith's Mum and then I went on to New Mills to see my son Cameron. Between all this we have been remapping and doing other bits and pieces that needed catching up on. The motorhome failed its MOT so needed a bit of work doing on it. It is booked in for a re-test on Friday so fingers crossed.
I have had time to put some new coins on Ebay though, here are a couple of pics of the latest coins that I have up for sale.
All these coins are available through the Ebay shop:~ http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Jacaru-Geocoins
Barrow In Furness
I'm not sure what caching we will be able to do beforehand, but we are off for a few days break to Barrow In Furness on the 1st November. We have got one of the cheap Travelodge deals, a room for £9.00 a night so we are having four nights up there. Keiths son Tom is going with us as well. Having looked at what caches are in the area it looks ripe for doing a load, so hopefully we can make up for the last few weeks.
Muggled
I have been out this afternoon to replace one of my caches that has been muggled. It was an excuse for a break from the daily grind and we got the dogs out for a walk as well. It was more like walking on a spring day by the canal, lots of midges out and a nice warm breeze. It seemed appropriate to drop off a DNF geocoin in the new cache as it hadn't been found for a couple of times.
So, for now that's it, no more news. Sorry this hasn't been the most exciting blog entry that I have written, maybe next week there will be more to tell.
For now, have a good week, and happy caching.
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| Colours Of Geocaching Geocoin |
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| Enigma Geocoin |
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| Caching Kids Geocoin |
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| Geocachers Star Geocoin |
All these coins are available through the Ebay shop:~ http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Jacaru-Geocoins
Barrow In Furness
I'm not sure what caching we will be able to do beforehand, but we are off for a few days break to Barrow In Furness on the 1st November. We have got one of the cheap Travelodge deals, a room for £9.00 a night so we are having four nights up there. Keiths son Tom is going with us as well. Having looked at what caches are in the area it looks ripe for doing a load, so hopefully we can make up for the last few weeks.
Muggled
I have been out this afternoon to replace one of my caches that has been muggled. It was an excuse for a break from the daily grind and we got the dogs out for a walk as well. It was more like walking on a spring day by the canal, lots of midges out and a nice warm breeze. It seemed appropriate to drop off a DNF geocoin in the new cache as it hadn't been found for a couple of times.
So, for now that's it, no more news. Sorry this hasn't been the most exciting blog entry that I have written, maybe next week there will be more to tell.
For now, have a good week, and happy caching.
6 Oct 2010
Normal Service Resumes Shortly!
Just to let people know, I haven't disappeared off the face of the Earth! Due to illness and a heavy workload, I haven't been caching over the last few weeks. Hence there hasn't been any updates on the blog. Hopefully over the next few days we will be back up and running and getting out there caching.
I am just about to update the Ebay shop as well, there will be some new cache containers and also some different coins up for sale. The new UK coin is selling well and I am getting some good feedback about the design.
I am just about to update the Ebay shop as well, there will be some new cache containers and also some different coins up for sale. The new UK coin is selling well and I am getting some good feedback about the design.
14 Sept 2010
Summer's End, Hacked Account and A Few Caches Too!
Summer's End
Well, the event is over, Summer’s End has been and gone. Wemnog and I arrived on Thursday afternoon and set up camp. One campervan, one Jeep, one gazebo, three dogs and us 2. After setting up we had to go over to pick Keith’s mum up from Liverpool Airport. By the time we got back to the campsite it was too late to go and check that the new caches were all in place.
Friday morning dawned wet and horrible. Still by 7.30am we were out checking the caches, the three were still all in place... http://coord.info/GC2BKV7 http://coord.info/GC2C80K and http://coord.info/GC2C7M5 The last one has been fun for people and the logs from it have been entertaining since they started to come in. Our first camper arrived mid morning and more arrived through the rest of the day and evening. I think our final campers arrived during another heavy shower and in the dark. After meeting and greeting everyone, some retired to their tents, others to the pub and us off in the van. The Bridge Over The River Wye cache was found on Friday night by The Imp, a brave cacher indeed as this was a 5- 5 rating and it was getting dark as he went out. We did contemplate going out to check that he was okay, just as we were thinking about it, he arrived back, with chips in hand, he had even got some for us.
Saturday, well, can you guess? Yep, more rain. It didn’t stop people getting sorted and going off caching though. We stayed on site for most of the day, mainly due to the fact that we knew people were coming over just for a day visit. We welcomed quite a few new faces. We nipped out in the afternoon and did a few though. Wemnog and I did our first Earthcache too. It was one of The Imps, called Winnats Pass - The Coral Reef, details are here http://coord.info/GC1JPEQ As people started to gather back at the site and as the weather had cleared a little, it was time to get the kites out.
Quite a few were up in the air, although some struggled to get theirs up! As the evening progressed it was time to start the barbeque, everyone had something to put on and the weather continued to stay dry for us. After the barbeque was finished, it was time to set the Chinese lanterns off, we let 10 off to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of geocaching.
On Sunday we woke to a very mixed day, it seemed more like April showers than an early September, with frequent heavy rain showers and sunny spells. Everyone began to pack away and say their goodbyes. All in all it was a very successful weekend and we are already thinking about our next one. It is likely to be called Summer’s Coming and will be sometime in the spring. Here are a few pics of the camp.
Unfortunately there are some people in the caching world who seem to get their kicks from trying to spoil things for others. This happened to me earlier last week when my GC account was hacked and my caching name changed. Not only was my name changed totally but it was also homophobic. Whether the people who did it wanted to just try and upset me, or actually try to out me I don’t know. In fact they failed on both counts. As I am already openly gay what they did was totally pointless, and as far as upsetting me they didn’t. In fact what they did was actually force me in to going to the police to report not only the hacking, but the homophobia. The constable I talked to was absolutely brilliant and I was able to give him the names of two people whom I suspect are behind this. Interestingly, I posted what had happened to me on some of the geocaching forums and I was both overwhelmed by the amount of support that I have had off people and also amazed at how many people throughout the country came back and asked me if I believed it was these two people as they had received abuse of them in the last few months. Some of these people are high profile and well known cachers. Thankfully a police investigation is still ongoing and Groundspeak have been very helpful throughout. I now have the Jacaru name back up and running.
To give you a bit of a chuckle, my temporary caching name that the hackers gave me was the-mincing-gaylord! Well, at least they made me a Lord eh?
A Few Caches Too
With one thing and another I have been pretty quiet on the caching front. I have only done a few, the most memorable of these was whilst we were at the event. This cache http://coord.info/GC1NNN7 threw up some strange things. This is a quote from the web page that is linked to the cache page.
Well, the event is over, Summer’s End has been and gone. Wemnog and I arrived on Thursday afternoon and set up camp. One campervan, one Jeep, one gazebo, three dogs and us 2. After setting up we had to go over to pick Keith’s mum up from Liverpool Airport. By the time we got back to the campsite it was too late to go and check that the new caches were all in place.
Friday morning dawned wet and horrible. Still by 7.30am we were out checking the caches, the three were still all in place... http://coord.info/GC2BKV7 http://coord.info/GC2C80K and http://coord.info/GC2C7M5 The last one has been fun for people and the logs from it have been entertaining since they started to come in. Our first camper arrived mid morning and more arrived through the rest of the day and evening. I think our final campers arrived during another heavy shower and in the dark. After meeting and greeting everyone, some retired to their tents, others to the pub and us off in the van. The Bridge Over The River Wye cache was found on Friday night by The Imp, a brave cacher indeed as this was a 5- 5 rating and it was getting dark as he went out. We did contemplate going out to check that he was okay, just as we were thinking about it, he arrived back, with chips in hand, he had even got some for us.
Saturday, well, can you guess? Yep, more rain. It didn’t stop people getting sorted and going off caching though. We stayed on site for most of the day, mainly due to the fact that we knew people were coming over just for a day visit. We welcomed quite a few new faces. We nipped out in the afternoon and did a few though. Wemnog and I did our first Earthcache too. It was one of The Imps, called Winnats Pass - The Coral Reef, details are here http://coord.info/GC1JPEQ As people started to gather back at the site and as the weather had cleared a little, it was time to get the kites out.
Quite a few were up in the air, although some struggled to get theirs up! As the evening progressed it was time to start the barbeque, everyone had something to put on and the weather continued to stay dry for us. After the barbeque was finished, it was time to set the Chinese lanterns off, we let 10 off to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of geocaching.
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| The Jacaru Enclosure |
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| The Imp Pitch |
Hacked Account
Unfortunately there are some people in the caching world who seem to get their kicks from trying to spoil things for others. This happened to me earlier last week when my GC account was hacked and my caching name changed. Not only was my name changed totally but it was also homophobic. Whether the people who did it wanted to just try and upset me, or actually try to out me I don’t know. In fact they failed on both counts. As I am already openly gay what they did was totally pointless, and as far as upsetting me they didn’t. In fact what they did was actually force me in to going to the police to report not only the hacking, but the homophobia. The constable I talked to was absolutely brilliant and I was able to give him the names of two people whom I suspect are behind this. Interestingly, I posted what had happened to me on some of the geocaching forums and I was both overwhelmed by the amount of support that I have had off people and also amazed at how many people throughout the country came back and asked me if I believed it was these two people as they had received abuse of them in the last few months. Some of these people are high profile and well known cachers. Thankfully a police investigation is still ongoing and Groundspeak have been very helpful throughout. I now have the Jacaru name back up and running.
To give you a bit of a chuckle, my temporary caching name that the hackers gave me was the-mincing-gaylord! Well, at least they made me a Lord eh?
A Few Caches Too
With one thing and another I have been pretty quiet on the caching front. I have only done a few, the most memorable of these was whilst we were at the event. This cache http://coord.info/GC1NNN7 threw up some strange things. This is a quote from the web page that is linked to the cache page.
"The carving itself is on the large flat rock in the foreground with the Edge itself further west beyond the trees which also hide the stones of the Neolithic enclosure walls"
I don’t know what happened to the original stone, but on touching this stone as seen in the picture, it soon became apparent that it isn’t stone at all, but a replica. It sounds hollow and feels decidedly plastic in texture. This is something that I definitely want to find out more about. Last time I was at Gardom’s Edge was a few years ago when I worked for Derbyshire Social Services. We took a group of service users up there to help out Sheffield University with a small archeological dig. Sadly, we didn’t find anything of interest whilst we were up there.
The Carvings At Gardoms Edge, I Wonder What They Mean
So that’s it, all the news from the event and a bit more too. I’m finished for this week, so until next time, Happy caching.
6 Sept 2010
A Quiet Week, Jacaru, Stats and The Build Up
A QUIET WEEK
It has been a quiet week on the caching front. Only five caches this week. Time has really not been kind to us, we seem to have been chasing our tales all week. Having said that, three of the caches that I found I did get FTF on. Regular readers will probably recall that a while back I said that I didn’t actively go searching for FTF’s. These have all virtually been on my doorstep though and I have managed to get them all when they have just been published. So these are the caches that I have done this week. The cache at Brooklands GC22MFR was a little disappointing. I thought more could have been made of it. It was basically a plastic takeaway tub just dumped in some bushes. Not even well hidden. The location cried out for something a bit more special.
http://coord.info/GC2EDQ8 FTF
http://coord.info/GC2B7GJ
http://coord.info/GC2EDZ4 FTF
http://coord.info/GC22MFR
http://coord.info/GC2EJ75 FTF
MORE ABOUT JACARU
So, seeing that it has been a quiet week on the caching front, I will tell you a bit more about me.
The caching name came from the first two letters of each of my children, Jacob, Cameron and Ruby.
I have been caching since January 2009. For the first few months going out to actually cache came and went in fits and spurts before becoming the full on hobby that it is now.
People often ask how I got in to having coins made. The simple answer is that my Dad died and left me some money. He was a dog lover and always enjoyed spending time with our dogs. I had a good photograph of one of our collies, Meg, and decided that I would have a coin made as a kind of memorial to my Dad. From there it really took off to being what it is today. The first coin sold well and I decided that I would get some more made. I love traditional things and decided to go along with that kind of theme. Hence the post boxes and phone box coins. The collie coin sold out, I got emails asking if I would do some more, so I changed the colours slightly and had a new run made. The latest UK coin came about just from the fact that we travel so much around the UK remapping, that it seemed like a good idea to have a coin made showing a map of the British Isles. Now here’s an exclusive, still in the initial stages, I am thinking of having a coin made to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain. I have some photos of Spitfires and I am thinking that this may be a goer. There is also a new collie coin in the pipeline. New picture, this time of the puppy, Fen.
STATS
I happened on a new site the other day. Since the demise of It’s Not About The Numbers I haven’t had any stats on my GC profile pages. Now I have, and it’s thanks to this site http://www.mygeocachingprofile.com/ This one is very simple to use and you can add a lot of detail to it. Well worth a look. For instance, rather than having to trawl through all my cache finds to locate my milestones this site loads them for you. To give you an example, this is the list of my milestones:~
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| It really is a very handy tool. |
THE BUILD UP
We are building up ready for this weekends Summer’s End event. The information sheets, new cache sheets, kids activity sheets and quiz sheets are all printed and packed. As are all the things that are going in to goody bags. These include keyrings, bookmarks, a new trackable geocoins and other bits and pieces. I only have 20 trackables to give out in the goody bags, another 20 are on the way, but have got lost in the post. The manufacturer has posted out replacements, but as they are coming from America, I really don’t know if they will arrive on time. I have a quiz prize sorted and packed and we are now having a silliest hat competition at the barbeque on Saturday night, so there is also a prize for that. We are just hoping that the weather holds, not looking too promising at the moment after checking the BBC forecast for the area. Fingers crossed though.
The next blog should have some photos of the event, hopefully everyone will enjoy themselves. Wemnog and I are heading up to the campsite on Wednesday, we have decided that it would be quite nice for us to have a few days just relaxing as we don’t seem to have had too much time off during the last few weeks.
That’s it, all for now. Have a good caching week dear readers.
1 Sept 2010
500, Kidnapping, Distributor & More.
500
It has taken 20 months, but I finally did my 500th cache at the weekend. Whilst Wemnog was busy down at Wembley watching the Rugby final (his team, Warrington, won) so a very happy chappy, I decided that there really was only one place to go for the 500th cache. It was http://coord.info/GC2ADPH . If you click on the cache page it will come up as being an archived cache. In theory it is, but in reality it is still up and running and there for everyone to discover.
It was good to meet up with Kathy again and have a good old natter. The shop is looking really good since they moved next door and the stock range is fabulous. It really is like being a kiddy in a sweetshop.
Kathy very kindly agreed to stock the new UK coins for me and took another 10 Border Collie coins to sell for me.
Here is a pic of Kathy and I, don’t know how it happened but the conversation seemed to revolve around poo, of one type or another for quite a lot of the time!!! Also pictured is the cache itself, a real treasure chest!
Kidnapping
Distributor
Just before the start of the bank holiday weekend I received notification that I have been granted official merchandise distributor status from Groundspeak. This means that I will be able to stock more of their goods in the Ebay shop and on the website, and get a link to the website on their own site. Hopefully it means that I will get more custom and be able to step sales up a notch or two.
Website
The Jacaru website has now been updated and is available for viewing. It means that people who don’t like, or want to use Ebay can order directly from there. The site address is http://www.jacaru.co.uk/ Click on the geocaching button and see what is on offer. I haven’t so far linked a PayPal account to the site as I wanted to see what kind of sales it generated beforehand.
Caching Buddies
I have been reading on some of the forums this week that people think it would be an idea for established cachers to link up with new people. It helps to show them the ropes and gives them the opportunity to go out caching with someone with more experience of differing types of cache. This isn’t to say that anyone thinks that new cachers aren’t any good, it just gives them another opening in to the caching world.
I know that when Wemnog and I started caching we were lucky enough to meet up with people at Notts Geocachers. We got to know more established and knowledgeable people and it also gave us an opportunity to ask questions. Having said that, it was still quite daunting walking in to a group who already knew each other. Our second experience wasn’t so nice. We went to an Emcache meeting and found that we were very much on the outside, neither welcomed or spoken to. Needless to say, we didn’t attend any of those meetings again. Having said that, there are people who are very happy within this group, but cliqueness certainly isn't for us.
If you can find a friendly local group, do pluck up courage and go, hopefully you will be welcomed with open arms and get to know what is happening in your area. If there isn’t one, it may be time to set one up. All you have to do is set an event cache for an evening or weekend in a local pub. You’ll be amazed at just how many people attend and how many people you get to know in a short amount of time.
Caching
So, towards the end of last week I had only done No. 499 and 500. Then we got a phone call to go and remap a car down in Tilbury. Setting off early on Bank Holiday Monday to avoid traffic we decided to do a pocket query before hand and set the route along the A1.
We managed to bag 9 caches before deciding that we really should carry on and get to the customer. Our plan was to remap the car and then do some on the way back. Things in J & W’s life are never that simple though....(oh to be a meerkat)! The remap didn’t take so we had to stay overnight in a Travelodge and get the car sorted on Tuesday. We did really well though and the manager of the Travelodge let us have all three dogs in the room with us. Anyway, back to the caches, they were all drive bys, so nothing major about them. Apart from three of them. One was at an old Norman cross which had quite a bit of history attached. There is a photo of the information board, unfortunately the print isn’t clear enough to read. Just prior to finding this cache, we did two very close to the Nene Valley railway. Again, both were drive bys, but I think we will be back to do the rest of the series at some point.
The two Nene Valley Railway caches that we did were:~
http://coord.info/GC1V84B and http://coord.info/GC13KAQ
Finally
I have had quite a few preorders for the new coin and will be posting those out on the 8th of this month so that people get them in time for the release date.
As usual, we don’t know what the plans are for caching this week. We are down at Brooklands on Saturday for the SMART festival. That’s an early start so I don’t think we will be doing anything on the way, or the way back for that matter. We’ll see. Once we get back from Brooklands we will be making the final preparations for the camping event. If any of you know who I need to contact so that I can order decent sunny weather, please do let me know.
Until next time caching friends
Have a good week.
It has taken 20 months, but I finally did my 500th cache at the weekend. Whilst Wemnog was busy down at Wembley watching the Rugby final (his team, Warrington, won) so a very happy chappy, I decided that there really was only one place to go for the 500th cache. It was http://coord.info/GC2ADPH . If you click on the cache page it will come up as being an archived cache. In theory it is, but in reality it is still up and running and there for everyone to discover.
It was good to meet up with Kathy again and have a good old natter. The shop is looking really good since they moved next door and the stock range is fabulous. It really is like being a kiddy in a sweetshop.
Kathy very kindly agreed to stock the new UK coins for me and took another 10 Border Collie coins to sell for me.
Here is a pic of Kathy and I, don’t know how it happened but the conversation seemed to revolve around poo, of one type or another for quite a lot of the time!!! Also pictured is the cache itself, a real treasure chest!
  |
| Kathy & I at the UK Geocachers shop. My tee shirt kindly supplied by Geotogs.com |
For want of a better word, I know it isn’t just me who this happens to, but it is really frustrating when someone picks up one of your coins or TB’s, logs that they will move it on quickly yet 6 months later it is still in their hands. During the last few days I have contacted 12 people where this has been the case. Some of them I have had decent replies and apologies off, a couple more have basically said that they have “misplaced” them and don’t know where they are. No apology, just that! No less annoying are those that don’t bother to reply. Granted it is still holiday season and folk may be away. All I can say to you is that if it does happen to you, keep on at them and don’t let it go. This is your personal property that they have at the end of the day.
Distributor
Just before the start of the bank holiday weekend I received notification that I have been granted official merchandise distributor status from Groundspeak. This means that I will be able to stock more of their goods in the Ebay shop and on the website, and get a link to the website on their own site. Hopefully it means that I will get more custom and be able to step sales up a notch or two.
Website
The Jacaru website has now been updated and is available for viewing. It means that people who don’t like, or want to use Ebay can order directly from there. The site address is http://www.jacaru.co.uk/ Click on the geocaching button and see what is on offer. I haven’t so far linked a PayPal account to the site as I wanted to see what kind of sales it generated beforehand.
Caching Buddies
I have been reading on some of the forums this week that people think it would be an idea for established cachers to link up with new people. It helps to show them the ropes and gives them the opportunity to go out caching with someone with more experience of differing types of cache. This isn’t to say that anyone thinks that new cachers aren’t any good, it just gives them another opening in to the caching world.
I know that when Wemnog and I started caching we were lucky enough to meet up with people at Notts Geocachers. We got to know more established and knowledgeable people and it also gave us an opportunity to ask questions. Having said that, it was still quite daunting walking in to a group who already knew each other. Our second experience wasn’t so nice. We went to an Emcache meeting and found that we were very much on the outside, neither welcomed or spoken to. Needless to say, we didn’t attend any of those meetings again. Having said that, there are people who are very happy within this group, but cliqueness certainly isn't for us.
If you can find a friendly local group, do pluck up courage and go, hopefully you will be welcomed with open arms and get to know what is happening in your area. If there isn’t one, it may be time to set one up. All you have to do is set an event cache for an evening or weekend in a local pub. You’ll be amazed at just how many people attend and how many people you get to know in a short amount of time.
Caching
We managed to bag 9 caches before deciding that we really should carry on and get to the customer. Our plan was to remap the car and then do some on the way back. Things in J & W’s life are never that simple though....(oh to be a meerkat)! The remap didn’t take so we had to stay overnight in a Travelodge and get the car sorted on Tuesday. We did really well though and the manager of the Travelodge let us have all three dogs in the room with us. Anyway, back to the caches, they were all drive bys, so nothing major about them. Apart from three of them. One was at an old Norman cross which had quite a bit of history attached. There is a photo of the information board, unfortunately the print isn’t clear enough to read. Just prior to finding this cache, we did two very close to the Nene Valley railway. Again, both were drive bys, but I think we will be back to do the rest of the series at some point.
The two Nene Valley Railway caches that we did were:~
http://coord.info/GC1V84B and http://coord.info/GC13KAQ
Finally
I have had quite a few preorders for the new coin and will be posting those out on the 8th of this month so that people get them in time for the release date.
As usual, we don’t know what the plans are for caching this week. We are down at Brooklands on Saturday for the SMART festival. That’s an early start so I don’t think we will be doing anything on the way, or the way back for that matter. We’ll see. Once we get back from Brooklands we will be making the final preparations for the camping event. If any of you know who I need to contact so that I can order decent sunny weather, please do let me know.
Until next time caching friends
Have a good week.
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