Chelmarsh

Mercian Way

Chelmarsh Reservoir

Caches - 18 + 2
Distance - 4.6 miles

A series of 18 caches plus 2 others en route around the Chelmarsh Reservoir.

This series has been on our to-do list since it was published a year ago, the forecast looked dry for today so we thought we'd have a drive out here to do it.

Parked near the church and did the Shropshire Church Gems cache first before continuing on to the series.

At the first cache we realised we were following another caching team, Pindemonium, and wondered if we'd catch up with them.  They weren't very far ahead and we caught up with them at #4.  Enjoyed a chat before continuing on the walk.

Chelmarsh Church

Really enjoyed the series with a good mix of hides and sizes which we completed in a little over 2½ hours which included a lunch stop

We noticed there was a trigpoint nearby so at the end of the series we went off to bag it.  The first field was quite muddy as it looks like there are normally cows in it, luckily they were safely in the cow shed .  The path into the field with the trigpoint was dry and as we approached it  we could see what we thought was a large bird sitting on top of it, but it didn't fly off and as we got closer we realised it was a statue of a GNOME.  Definitely a first for us, have never seen one like this before.  The gnome is mentioned on the trigpointingUK site as far back as 2006, would be interesting to know why it was put there and by whom.

Chelmarsh

On our way home we parked up and crossed the road to SVR Permissive Path and Field and there was a photographer waiting to film the steam train, so we stood about with our camera so he'd think we were doing the same thing , we were able to retrieve the cache whilst he was fiddling with his equipment, then as soon as the train had passed through we continued down to SVR Stand and Wave.  How lucky that we timed it just right to see the train!

Stand and Wave

Then it was time to head home, what a beautiful day it turned out to be.

Caching near Church Stretton

BEEline to Wentnor

33 caches plus a bonus on a 6 mile circular walk

Fabulous Views

33 traditional caches and a bonus set on a 6 mile circular walk starting from Wentnor and taking in the hamlets of Norbury and Whitcot.

Yes they are running towards us :-)

Today was the hottest October since records began and didn't we know about it, it certainly was a slog at times with the hills but we took plenty of water with us and had plenty of rest stops.  Thoroughly enjoyable series with fantastic views and some great caches, all easy to find with various sizes and hides.  A lot of thought and effort has gone into setting this series which we completed in about 4 hours.  We didn't have our dogs with us today but we remember passing a few dog proof stiles so bear this in mind if you are taking dogs.

 Then we headed off to Marshbrook for the second series of the day. 

BEEline to Marshbrook 
19 caches plus a bonus on a 3.6 mile circular walk.

We parked at the outdoor activity centre where we understand permission has been sought to use the parking and toilet facilities which is great. 

Great scenery

We were lacking energy due to the heat but we soon got into it once we tackled the first hill.  Once again great caches and great scenery.  All the caches were easy to find apart from one that we had a DNF on but it was quite close to a private dwelling so we didn't give it as long as we usually would.  Some of the fields had cows/bulls in them but not sure if it's because we didn't have our dogs with us today or they are just  friendlier around here, or maybe it was the heat but we didn't have any bother from them at all and at one of the caches had to pass very close to a herd that were blocking a gate.


Once again a thoroughly enjoyable series which we completed in 2 hours and 20 min and would recommend to anyone that enjoys a good walk in the countryside.

Our 8000th and a walk around Dudmaston Hall

28 + 2 caches on a 6 mile circular walk

Curly Tree

We had been keeping an eye on the weather forecast all week as we were hoping to go to the Brecon Beacons but they had forecast rain for that area so we decided to postpone our trip (again) and hopefully before the winter sets in we can take a walk up PenyFan.

So today we took a trip to Bridgenorth for a 6 mile walk on the paths around Quatt , an area that we have walked previously on caching trips and close to Dudmaston Hall.  We parked at the free National Trust car park to start the walk and where there is also a cache Dudmaston Parking.

Our 8000th Cache!

We soon came to the first cache, J MCENROE which was rated as 4½/4½ , Mark had packed some specialist equipment but it would seem that maybe the cache has moved as it was much easier to retrieve than expected so specialist equipment was not actually needed.  Then on with the walk.

An enjoyable walk with great views along good footpaths.  We stopped part way round near the ferry at Hampton Loade which was running today and quite busy.  We realised that the cache was in a perfect location to sit and have our lunch whilst we signed the log book.  We'd just finished our lunch and were about to set off again when we were joined by our geo-friend Harry The Furry Squid, so we joined forces for the rest of the walk and enjoyed catching up on news.  The rain held off for the walk and we were soon back at the car park. Including a lunch stop, we completed in a little under 4 hours.  All the caches were easy to find and were a good mix of hides and sizes.  There were only 2 fields with cows but they were no trouble at all.

Before returning home we headed off to Comer Wood to find some of the Arboreal Advenures caches, which are really great fun if you like tree climbing (luckily Mark does), we only had time for 2 of them so we will return another day to complete the rest.  The caches are set in beautiful woodland and it was a pleasure to return to this area.

Then it was time to head home, we timed it just right as the heavens opened and it chucked it down as soon as we got back to the car.

Quatt

Shifnal, Telford and Stourbridge

Shifnal Butts Walk, Manor Walk and Lodge Hill Walk

21 + 7 caches - 6 mile walk

We woke up to another beautiful sunny morning so really looking forward to a good walk .  Our son Steve (aka drempels) had asked if he could come along with us today (anything to get out of revising ), I was really pleased as it's not often we all go out caching together these days.

Decided to start the day off with this new series in the small market town of Shifnal, which is situated about 3 miles East of Telford.

We parked at the co-op which has free parking all day and set off, starting at  #6, then we were soon out into countryside.  An enjoyable walk, all caches were fairly easy to find with good co-ords.

We met cachers Spekey and Anniepeg on our way round and bumped into them a couple of times after that too, towards the end of the walk we bumped into BrilloBrigade, it's always great to meet new people out caching.

Towards the end of the walk it got a little confusing, some of the routes weren't obvious on the map and we probably ended up walking further than we needed to but we got there in the end and after 3 hours we were back at the car for our lunch.

Shifnal

View from 'Telford Town Park'

Then it was off to Telford.  A few weeks back a new series had come up - Goosey's Trail and Wild Goosey series, we had read mixed reports on whether the series was bikeable so thought we'd go and reccy the area for suitability ready for our return another day.  We plotted a short circular walk of 2 miles and found 10 caches.  We have to say that the park is very pleasant to walk in and is very popular with dog walkers and families and looks great for cycling.  A lot of the caches were very well hidden and took quite some searching and were hidden well off the main paths, we can appreciate that a lot of thought and expense has gone into setting this series all with great containers.  Part of the walk takes you very close to Wonderland a theme park aimed at young children, you can see dinosaurs and gnomes sitting in the trees as you walk by.  We completed this part in about 2 hours then everyone was getting hungry so we headed off to McDs for a well earnt cachers tea.

Arboreal Adventures

On our way home we stopped off at Bunkers Hill Wood near Stourbridge to do the Arboreal Adventures caches, our son wasn't able to join us on our last visit so was really keen for a spot of tree climbing to round off the day.  All the Arboreal Adventures caches we'd done previously had been archived and republished so we decided this time, for the ones that required climbing or anything else extreme, Steve could find and retrieve the caches.

Eeek a bull!

A thoroughly enjoyable walk around Bunkers Hill Wood until the sun went down then it was home. A great way to finish off a fantastic family day out.

The end of a great day!

Bomber Command & Meretown Meander

The World Famous Bolas Heath :-)

Stopped off to do a couple of caches in Bolas Heath on the way.  We parked on the verge to do The Bolas Heathens have been Frogged and then walked up to What the Heck.  We were hoping to have a chat with The Bolas Heathens and made sure we made plenty of noise but there was no sign of them being at home and think that as it was Saturday John and Isaac had probably gone out caching, oh well we're sure it won't be long before we're bumping into them again.

Bomber Command

Telephone Exchange

We had been wanting to do this cache ever since it was published, we had planned a trip to the area today and decided to join our caching friend G6LPB to do this one today.

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The cache is located at RAF Tilstock 3 miles south of Whitchurch, Shropshire, amongst the derelict buildings of a disused army base which have had various uses throughout the 20th Century.  You can read more here.

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Interestingly one of the nissen huts contains the remains of vintage car which on research when we got home appears to have been a Sunbeam Talbot 90.

Possibly an old Sunbeam Talbot 90

 

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We love doing caches at places of historical interest and thoroughly enjoyed exploring around the old army base and going in and out the old buildings, great fun and highly recommended!

Meretown Meander
23 caches
7 mile circular walk

Next we headed off to do the Meretown Meander.  We'd planned it as an afternoon walk as we thought it was only 6km as stated in the cache listing but once we arrived at the parking and had a closer look at the map we realised it was more like 6-7 miles!

We set off in the drizzle and soon came to heavy marshland, managed to find our way around it without getting our feet too wet.

Marshland

 
Then it was into cow territory, also part of the route seemed to differ from the footpaths shown on our OS mapping and was taking us across game keeper stiles and onto private land.  When we arrived at #6 we could see very boisterous cows racing around in the field so as we have two Labradors we decided to go our separate ways, Mark continued the walk alone and I took a safer route back to the car with Pegz and the dogs.  Just as we got to the church we spotted a couple of familiar faces, it was the Stag Ramblers, they'd just completed the walk and confirmed it had been just under 7 miles .   We enjoyed a nice chat then went our separate ways.

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We had planned to do more caching in the area but cut the day short as the rain had well and truly set in.  When we arrived back home it looked like there hadn't been any rain at all!

A Sunny Day in Shropshire

Caer Caradoc

 
As the forecast was so good for today we decided to head over to Church Stretton for a walk around Caer Caradoc Hill (1,506 ft) and also to do the series of caches that were set for the gFab event last year. 

Circular walk starting at Chatwell Hall

16 caches
3.9 miles

What more could we ask for - beautiful weather and out caching, the perfect day.  A great walk in lovely countryside with fab views the whole walk.  The only downside were the dog proof stiles, there were about 7 or 8 in total but in fairness this is mentioned in the listings but we just hadn't noticed until we'd already set off.  Quite a bit of mud on the route too but this all adds to the fun.

One of the caches was called Lawley View, coincidentally my maiden name is 'Lawley' so it was unusual to see it on so many of the signs in the area.

Lawley View

It was great to see so many signs of spring today - lots of lambs, snowdrops, daffodil shoots getting longer - very uplifting to think that winter will soon be behind us.

Circular walk near Cardington

We completed the walk in 2 hours and 20 minutes, then it was back to the car for our lunch before repositioning the car and heading off for a walk on Caer Caradoc Hill.

A walk up, over and around Caer Caradoc

8 caches - 3.9 miles

Drove along the unclassified road towards matt misson 4, parked in the obvious parking place and set off.  The walk up to Three Fingers Rock was very steep and we were glad to reach the top where we were rewarded with stunning views of Church Stretton, we spent quite some time here before heading down the other side to find more caches and continue along the route for the climb up to Caer Caradoc.... and it certainly was a climb, quite a short climb but very steep, once again at the top the views were just amazing, you can see for miles around, well worth the climb up. Of course, apart from the view, the other reason for slogging all the way to the top of the hill was to look for the cache Caradoc which was inside a small cave, luckily we had our headtorches so it was an easy find, would've been difficult without torchlight.

Three Fingers Rock

This was our first visit to the Shropshire hills and we were amazed at how peaceful the area is without any intrusive motorway noise in the background, also there were hardly any other walks around today.  Then it was back to the car for a well earned cuppa.  Completed the second walk in 2 hours 50 mins.

Caer Caradoc

While planning today's  outing we realised that we'd be able to find a few caches to fill gaps on our Difficulty/Terrain statistics grid.  Tres Digiti rated D2 T4 was one of them.  After leaving Caer Caradoc we drove a few miles South to find WW2 Series - A Bridge too Far - Pole Cottage. The cache (rated D1 T4.5) is on an island in a boggy pond thing and we had to balance some planks across a series of wobbly partially submerged logs in order to reach it! We really enjoyed this cache as it was a really novel idea and it would be great to see more caches like this...

We headed home via McDonalds in Shrewsbury and the M54. Just as we though the day was over with regards to Geocaching, we received a notification of a new cache about nine miles from home. This was nine miles in our direction but still a good 45 miles away! Yup! You guessed it! 45 minutes later Mark had a nice blank logsheet in his hand!

The end of a fabulous day out.

Telford

Granville Country Park

Granville Country Park

6 mile walk
22 caches

We completed the first half of this series back in July 2009 then the second half was released in the August and we've been meaning to come back ever since, today was the day.

Parked in the car park for Granville Country Park and headed up the hill to do Pirates Treasure: Granville 2. A bitterly cold morning and we had to keep moving to try and stay warm.  We spent quite a bit of time exploring the old canal basin and old blast furnaces near Pirates Treasure: Granville 3, a really interesting location, hard to believe that once upon a time this was a hive of industrial activity.

All that remains of the blast furnaces

The canal basin was once connected to the Donnington Wood Canal, one of the earliest canals to be built in England.

The old canal basin

On the way back to the car we met 'the griswalds n dogs' they'd spotted our GPSr so we stopped for a chat, it's always great to meet other cachers, would've stopped and chatted for a lot longer but we were frozen through and looking forward to a hot drink back at the car.

Early on in the walk Mark noticed he'd lost his glove, not expecting to see it again but I thought I'd keep my eye out for it on the way back to the car, amazingly we found it, it was next to the 6th cache we'd done near the old canal basin.

We really enjoyed our walk, it was completely dog friendly, no stiles or cows to contend with and all of the caches were fairly easy to find.  If we had to make one criticism it would be that after #28, even though the caches were all numbered, there didn't seem to be any logical order and the route was not at all clear but all in all a great walk which we completed in 4 hours.

Granville Country Park

Wrockwardine Wood
14 caches
2.6 miles

How Nozi are you?

The second walk of the day was a short drive from Granville Country Park at Wrockwardine Wood around an area called The Cockshutt to do a series called How Nozi are you? The Cockshutt Caperz

A very enjoyable walk around an area we'd never been before, lovely woodland, all easy to find caches and once again completely dog friendly with no stiles or cows. 
Completed the walk in 2 hours.

Wrockwardine Wood