June 2011

06/25/2011 NOTE You posted a note for Little Bow Peep

Grabbed Stellar's NAVSTAR Geocoin while doing a quick introduction to Geocaching with some friends. This appears to me my cache of choice for introductions to the hobby now got the newbies to sign the log and did a few swaps .

06/23/2011  See the Curse of the Hippo Post06/21/2011 See the Curse of the Hippo Post

06/20/2011  See 100th Cache!!! post

06/20/2011 Several Cache and Dashes nothing much to say about them

The Duke of Wellington

The Sportsman Arms

The Last One Left

The Old Tree Inn

The Three Pigeons

twixt Thame & Towersey

Vicarage View

06/20/2011  SideTracked - Haddenham & Thame Parkway

Been cruising past this one on and off for the last week to see if I could slip in to get it. It was never a good time the guard was always hanging about. Today I decided to man up, using jedi reflexes and ninja stealth I parked the car on the lower floor and went under the ramp right next to the guard. Suddenly he walks out of his box and I need new underwear, I did a really bad job of looking innocent and legged it. He ambled off I'm not sure if he noticed me or not, I was looking really suspicious and making lots of noise including banging my head on the ramp maybe he just didn't care anyway my small window of opportunity was open and I took full advantage finding signing and rehiding as quickly as possible. I ran back to the car heart racing and feeling like a proper crim. Grinding the gears on my getaway car I high-tailed it out of the car park... no one followed I guess I could be making too much of it . TFTC.

06/19/2011  INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 1 MOVING WITH THE TIMES

Nice easy one and great clue. Although I did feel a bit self conscious being observed by the weekend workers. The log was too wet to sign so took a photo. TFTC.

06/18/2011  See the Curse of the Hippo Post

06/17/2011  May-B It's Time?

This was a tricky one think this would have been more enjoyable on a less rainy day. The sundial is a thing of beauty it looks like it crash landed from another planet excellent stuff. This is a great spot would never have found this without a geocache being there. We visited the tourist information centre there as well who currently have a sale on OS maps (Christmas come early woot!). TFTC.

06/17/2011  Thames Path - Marlow Lock and Weir

Got absolutely drenched looking for this one. We found it and even took the time to pose for some photos including one with Fred the snail who befriended my daughter on route, I am very suspicious of snails these days and can often be seen examining them for geocaches

06/17/2011 You couldn't find Marlow Suspension Bridge

I believe this is out of order at the moment due to some repairs on the bridge , I didn't attempt to it once I saw the bridge footpath was closed. As they say "I'll be back"

06/17/2011  Out in the Sticks - Stokenchurch

Nice and straight forward which is just what the doctor ordered today there were a lot of dog walking muggles to avoid even though the rain was pretty heavy... dog walkers hey you have to admire their ethos of doing what must be done come rain or shine mind you dogs keep working after they get wet unlike GPS units. Thanks very much for the cache and the walk, this was a very well sign posted area it would be nice to follow some of the paths a bit further some time. Shame there was no view of the Opera in the Wormsley estate just over the way: http://www.garsingtonopera.org/

06/17/2011 You couldn't find Beginner To Black Belt - 10th Kyu

Made a half hearted attempt at this one this morning my daughter insisted on bringing her toy pram which made the going tough and when it started raining we bailed to go feed some ducks instead (as you do). I don't think it will be giving too much away to say there are several possible locations for this one (devilish idea, love it!). With one down (hopefully) there are several more to go so I will be back possibly on my own next time or at least minus the pram .

06/15/2011  Roberts Spooky Birthday Cache

This would have been wicked to do at night with the kids will have to remember this one for Halloween TFTC.

06/15/2011 You couldn't find Haddenham Round Again #1

Pretty sure I was in the right place. No sign of it despite a pretty good search while trying to look innocent with loads of mummy and builder muggles around

06/14/2011  The Ring Around Rycote (Oxon)

I have so much to say about this cache but for now until I finish my write up and edit the ridiculous amount of geotagged photos I took on the way I just want to put a quick log entry in to say found it and to say thanks for the cache.
There is a lot of maintenance to do on this which I am tempted to do myself. For now I have put a temporary replacement for:
Location 4: Leave nothing uncovered and a new best friend will tell you where to go.

06/14/2011  Fern"Hill" or is it

Forth time lucky! Woot! Yay! I was looking for another cache in the area and stumbled upon familiar ground so I thought what the heck lets have a quick look for my old nemesis. Within about 5 minutes of looking I had the elusive micro and was off to find the final cache. The tree cover and lack of battery left in my GPS made the last one harder than it should have been but nowhere as tricky as the micros I had problems with before. So pleased to be able to cross this one off my list you have no idea! Thank you so much for the series.

06/13/2011  Bernwood Jubilee Way Cache No 1

That's not a parking spot that's a giant pothole! Also will someone tell the local farmers that thistles are NOT A CROP! As for the cache itself... brilliant and a work of evil genius, I can well see why there are DNF's on this one. Absolutely deserves the favourite point and a nice find for my 80th cache. This is one to be very proud of but as for a cache and dash no not unless you are very lucky or have a keen eye! My advice bring a picnic and make a day of it while you watch your loved ones become more and more frustrated

06/13/2011 See Thame Micro Madness Post

06/13/2011  Harroell

Quick cache and dash mopping up some local ones that I've either not found yet or could not find on the first attempt. This one was in the easier category although was very nearly muggled. TFTC.

06/11/2011  See Chilterns Ramble post

06/05/2011 You couldn't find Haddenham Round Again #2

Didn't get shot. Had a very quick look for this one and didn't find it had to abandon the hunt as it started raining and one of the party had a toilet accident... oops Will be back for this another day.

 06/05/2011  Haddenham Round Again #3

Wasn't expecting that. Found after the rest of the guys had a rummage. TFTC.

06/05/2011  Haddenham Round Again #4

Unable to sign as it's only a small log I have photo evidence if required. TFTC

06/05/2011  Haddenham Round Again #5

Nice location. TFTC

 06/05/2011  Haddenham Round Again #8

All that remains of this cache other than a lid is the log book in a holey bag.
I've put it in a second bag to protect it from the elements and hidden it in a crack in the tree and covered it with some sticks, it might survive until it can be maintained now

 06/05/2011  Haddenham Round Again #9

First of the series as we are doing it backwards (Apart from two in the middle we found last month). Nice and easy. TFTC.

06/05/2011  Church Micro 1233 - St. Mary - Haddenham (Bucks)

Grabbed this on the way to do the Haddenham Round Again Series. What a beautiful church and pond the pushy ducks own the place they are not there for you... you are there for them and they demand to be fed! TFTC

06/02/2011  Old SideTracked - Towersley Halt

Quickie cache and dash. TFTC.

100th Cache!!!

This was logged on the 20th of June 2011

Thame Town Teaser [Oxon]

Not only my 100th cache, but also my last one in Thame (that is capable of being done at the moment) my caching started in Thame at St Marys so it seems fitting that I'm back here for the 100th. I have been doing this one on and off for the week. Starting on Thursday the 16th I spent a lovely morning in Thame. I thought I knew Thame really well I live nearby and spent much of my youth here but this series has not failed to surprise me with each step, I swear I must walk around with my eyes closed!! I managed to find all of the numbers up to P pretty quickly but I could not find the micro at St Marys. I left it for the day (I thought) and entered a DNF to let track my progress. Later that day at home I thought about it a bit more and decided to abandon the micro. After using Google and some local knowledge I found the next bit of the trail and I was off again to check for the next micro even though it was getting quite late. I hadn't realised but I was much further on than I thought and I spent a fair amount of time looking in a place that had been muggled (which was why the cache was deactivated). As I scratched my head I got an email from the owner of the cache. The first of many it turned out! Team Hippo are probably the most friendly and helpful owners I have ever encountered since starting this hobby. The email wasn't very detailed and certainly didn't tell me exactly where to look but it was more than enough to help me to find the micro at St. Marys, it was actually dark when I found it that night. I had left the grid until this point figuring that something later on would help with that giving it no more than a cursory glance. At the prompting of Team Hippo I took a better look and solved it quickly while lying in bed at about midnight (not that I was obsessing about it or anything). From there it was a wait until the cache was reactivated. This happened some time on Sunday and I flew out the door as soon as I saw it come up. I found the relocated micro without too much drama and carried on from there... which I won't go into so I don't spoil it for you. Suffice to say I needed several other tidbits of help from the owner and had a brilliant adventure involving often needlessly laying face down on the ground (planking?), a newfound mistrust of animals, stinging nettles, a crown of thorns, cannibalism, mud / water and near death. I will be actively looking for more team hippo caches I love the way this cache has stretched me, it has been annoying, challenging, and hard work but utterly rewarding and it never failed to make me smile and shake my head at the genius / evil of the cache owner and has been really funny in places it absolutely deserves it’s place as a special milestone in my caching history it’s safe to say this has permanently changed the way I look at caching as well as inspiring me to do my own someday. I can’t recommend this highly enough. Thank you so much for the cache and all of your help Team Hippo you are legends.

Thame Micro Madness

This is a series of 12 mostly tiny caches scattered all over Lee Park in Thame, Oxfordshire. They are ideal as separate cache n dashes or complete them all in about two hours (if you can find them all!). We did this series over a period of a couple of months and in no particular order I have included the dates attempted and found.

From the owners description:

If you are not a huge fan of small / micro / nano caches with no room for swaps, then I would stay clear from this series and only do Lee Park Micro Madness ONE. All the rest are TINY and have logbook only, some have a pencil but most do not. THESE ARE SMALL GUYS – and in some cases REAL SMALL. Please only use one line of the logbook and fit in what you can, maybe just initials in some cases... Also avoid this series if you are afraid of caching where muggles may see you...

04/27/2011  Lee Park Micro Madness 1

Way too many muggles had to wait for them to disperse, after that a nice easy find.
This was a cache and dash will be back to do the full trail sometime soon. TFTC

 05/01/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 2

Nice and easy first place I looked.

06/13/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 3

Had a nice walk around the estate here and found the wall was knocked down... overzealous cacher?

05/01/2011 Lea Park Micro Madness 4

Did not find. Had a long look around the ramps lots of muggle skaters. Spent a good hour there with the boy on his scooter enjoying the ramps. We'll be back to this area again soon geocaching or not might even get my skateboard out! Very nostalgic series and enjoying it very much.
UPDATE 06/13/2011 - Yay! very glad to be able to cross this off my could not find list. TFTC and thanks for maintaining a great series woowooneenor

05/01/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 5

Nice little cache. Enjoying this series more than I thought I would. TFTC

04/30/2011  Lee Park Micro Madness 6

Nice little cache took TB. TFTC

04/30/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 7

Bless this is so cute. Thanks!

05/01/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 8

Losing track of which ones I've found now! Logging them as I go. TFTC 

06/13/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 9

Feel a bit guilty as I tore a little bit off one of the bags while getting into this, its all fine but might revisit to put a forth bag on the cache. This marks the last in the series for me. Thanks again!

05/01/2011 Lea Park Micro Madness 10

Did not find. I also used to visit these places often as a boy very nostalgic. Got nothing from this one but some scratches spent a fair amount of time looking... No joy.

UPDATE 06/13/2011 - Second time lucky, much easier without having to worry about my little "helper" getting run over found this in seconds this time!

05/01/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 11

Took a while but found it nicely tucked away. TFTC

06/13/2011  Lea Park Micro Madness 12

So tiny! Didn't even attempt to sign this but took a photo for evidence if required. TFTC

Chilterns Ramble

This is a series of caches located a mile or so north of Nettlebed in South Oxfordshire and towards the south west end of the Chilterns. The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment that stretches in a south-west to north-east diagonal from Goring (Oxon) to Hitchin (Herts) but is most prominent in Buckinghamshire. The chalk ridge approximately coincides with southernmost extent of the ice sheet during the last ice age and its highest point is located in Halton Woods near Wendover. The Chilterns landscape was recognised as amongst the finest in the country and was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1965.

The Chiltern Ramble covers approximately 5 miles over quite hilly terrain and will take about 3 hours to finish (and a little more if you prefer a relaxed pace with lunch). Most of this series is dog friendly but unfortunately there are a number of stiles to negotiate if you wish to complete the series without relocating your car or retracing your steps. Please also note that at the time of placing there were some very muddy sections of footpath and good pair of walking boots is a minimum requirement. The intended route is from CR1 to CR16 although dog walkers may struggle with the stiles between CR10 and CR11 so may prefer to relocate to the additional parking location for caches CR6 – CR10.

All completed in the following order on the 11^th of June

Chilterns Ramble 1

A rather ambitious series for a fat knacker with two kids aged 5 and 3, regardless we forged ahead with the intention of completing the series in one fell swoop. Probably should have done some research first but throwing caution to the wind we headed off parking was the first hurdle we ended up leaving it at the top of the side road in front of the houses. We headed down the road and promptly got lost... yeah obvious now we should have turned down the right hand fork rather than going straight on. We found a little side turning and watched a remarkable aerial fight between a crow and a red kite. Anyhoo we found the first cache after a couple of fence hops. Not the most promising start.

Chilterns Ramble 2

A nice straight forward one, hid this a bit better as it was very exposed.

Chilterns Ramble 3

Both the kids had a good rummage for this one but couldn't find it. It's surprisingly well camouflaged even though it's just sat there. I found it very quickly which my boy found very suspicious.

Chilterns Ramble 4

Keen to prove himself after being blind as a bat on the last cache the boy found this one in double quick time. My daughter was much more interested in the beautiful pony in the next field.

Chilterns Ramble 5

Nice and straight forward starting to wonder if my phone is going to make it all the way around. Starting to actively save battery power... hmm might have to get one of those portable battery charger things.

Chilterns Ramble 6

Nice walk through the woods the kids heard a funny noise they think it could have been a bear I told them it was zebras.

Chilterns Ramble 7

Wow steep hill we thought we had found it hard going until we saw the cyclists. When you are peddling and moving slower than a walk is it really worth it? This cache was not in the obvious places and took us a little while to find.

Chilterns Ramble 8

More hill OMG when will it end! Oh there we go.

Chilterns Ramble 9

Nice easy one sent the boy in and had a little rest here.

Chilterns Ramble 10

The tree cover and many possible hiding places made this one really tricky. We had to use a photo posted by an earlier cacher which made it obvious.

Chilterns Ramble 11

Okay this is where a little bit of reading ahead would have saved us a long and exhausting walk and a telling off by a farmer. Whatever you do don't head in the direction of the next geocache there is a stile waypoint which you should instead head for. We took a direct route then turned right and headed up toward the houses before doubling back jumping several barbed wire fences and going down a scarily steep hill. The cache itself was easily found but I was really annoyed with myself for taking us so off route especially when we were already tired.

Chilterns Ramble 12

Very nearly went the wrong way again turned right to head up the hill but decided it wasn't up there and headed back down the kids were proper tired by then. Thankfully this was a nice easy find in the end.

Chilterns Ramble 13

Founds this in seconds great but obvious hiding place. I hid it a little bit better for the next cachers but is still really obvious.

 Chilterns Ramble 14

NOOO! More hill walking my 3 year old lost it about here insisting that I carry her. My 5 year old son lost it a little further up. May promises of ice cream and xbox playing time later we reached the cache location. Three likely places but my first guess found it.

Chilterns Ramble 15

Felt like we were heading onto private property but it soon turned out okay. The cache was an easy find and then MORE HILL'S! Having nothing else to promise we trudged on some of us more miserable than others The cache was a nice easy find.

Chilterns Ramble 16

Hang on this looks familiar! No red kites or crows this time but at least we knew where we were and the batteries on the phone / GPS were still working which is a testament to my battery preservation skills (Although I should have used some batter power earlier when we lost). With a cache in hand and laughs all round we gave ourselves a literal pat on the back and a sandwich hug with me as the filling for finding all 16 we headed home for a well deserved KFC, Ice cream and Xbox time SIX hours after starting this most epic of series (well for us anyway ). Thank you so much for the cache and the series we had a great day out finding all these and will recommend this series to everyone especially those with energetic kids .