Getting here:
The cache is 10 minutes drive from Junction 19 of
the M5. You can follow the A369 from Bristol to
Portishead. Once in Portishead look for the Esso/Waitrose petrol
station and then take the second left turn which leads you uphill
onto the Nore Road.
You can park at the Windmill Pub at N 51'29.186 W
002'46.895 and follow the costal path to the cache site. The
pub car park is not just for customers, as golfers, drinkers and
walkers (or some who could be all three!) can park here. You can
also park at N 51'29.143 W 002'47.588 further up the Nore
Road, near the Sailing Club.
If you are caching by public transport, the #358 bus runs
at least hourly from Bristol bus station. You can also get on
opposite the Hippodrome (St.Augustine's Parade). The bus stops
right outside the Windmill Inn, and from there it's a 200 metre
walk.
Unfortunately the cache is not wheelchair accessible and
pushchairs may have difficulty in Autumn or Winter if the path is
wet and muddy (wear your boots!). I have found that approaching
from the Sailing club tends to be less muddy.
Depending on the council maintenance, the path can get a little
overgrown in Summer. Keep an eye on young children as there may be
some rogue nettles growing near the small footbridge.
When you park or arrive at the pub, walk around to the right of
the pub and not across the golf course.
If you wanted to do a very interesting but lengthy walk
incorporating this cache, there is an informative .pdf from Bristol
City Council about the Portishead-Clevedon Coastal Path
avaliable here.
The Cache title (lyrics here) is a quote from my favourite
Manic Street Preachers song.
Richey James Edwards was most famous for his
membership of the Manic Street Preachers. He was last seen in the
early morning of February 1, 1995, when, on the eve of a
promotional visit to America, he walked out of the Embassy Hotel in
Bayswater Road, London, leaving behind a packed suitcase and
assorted medications.
It is believed he then drove via the M4 to his flat in Cardiff
Bay, where his passport, credit cards and the Prozac he had been
prescribed to combat long-term depression were later discovered. On
February 2, Edwards was reported officially missing by his manager
Martin Hall. Fifteen days later, Avon and Somerset Police
discovered his silver Vauxhall Cavalier (L519 HKX) parked at Aust
motorway service station. Because of its location, close to the old
Severn Bridge - the scene of countless suicides - it was inevitable
that many felt the case to be solved.
No body was ever found, however, and when it was revealed that
the musician had withdrawn £32,000 from his bank account over the
ten-day period preceding his disappearance, others were relieved to
take the opposing view. Although the bank account remained
untouched subsequently, he had enough cash with him for an escape,
they pointed out. Surely it must have been a carefully planned
disappearance, some kind of scam even. Since his disappearance, his
bandmates have been paying royalties and album sales revenue into a
trust account in Richie's name. The account now holds several
million pounds.
He was legally declared dead in February 2002, seven years after
his disappearance. No evidence to prove that he is dead or alive
has come to light.
If you want to visit the services at Aust where Richie's Cavalier
was found, the Severn View geocache is nearby. You park at the
services to reach it.
The Windmill Inn has some interesting history - the
stone round tower is what remains of the local windmill which was
in operation from 1832 to 1840. In 1905, Bristol Corporation
decided to develop 83 acres of their Portishead estate into an 18
hole golf course designed for them by Harry Vardon, winner of the
British Open six times and also the U.S. Open. A Golf Club House
was built, incorporating, the tower of the former windmill, and the
course opened for play in 1907.
Part of the course was dug up during both World Wars to grow
food crops and the club house was used as a Home Guard Headquarters
during the Second World war. After the last war the golf club was
dissolved, and for a time the building was used by Lexicon
Libraries as a regional office. In the 1960's the club house became
a licensed premises, trading as the "Hole in One" until its
refurbishment and re-opening in 2000 as the "Windmill Inn".
Although I find the staff to be a little stand-offish, it serves
good local ale* and is childfriendly. In summer the beergarden at
the rear of the building is very pleasant.
* Runner-up in the CAMRA Bristol & District Pub Of The Year
2004
You may be lucky enough (check the high tide
time here - add 20 minutes for Portishead) to
see a large ship pass by the cache site or the pub. The reason is
the deep water shipping channel close by the coast, flowing between
Battery Point and the red port-hand Newcome Buoy 1000 yards (915
metres) off-shore. Large ocean-going vessels sailing out of
Avonmouth pass closer to the land at the cache site and Battery
Point than to any other part of the British coastline!