Your initial target is Mursley Church Gate at N51° 56.980 / W000° 48.718. There's convenient parking off the main road in a cul-de-sac called The Beechams. It's named after the man behind Beechams Little Liver Pills, Beechams Powders, etc. He used to own a big house at the end of this road, now demolished and built over. Some exotic trees from the grounds can still be seen in the gardens of the less grand homes which now share the site. The church also has a colourful history. It's said to be haunted by an armless wailing ghost. The story (which I heard in the great local pub, The Green Man, so it must be true) goes like this: A young woman's body was dug up not long after she was buried by grave-robbers. For some reason they removed her arms and made off with them. One can only assume the corpse was wearing some fine jewelery which just couldn't be removed at the graveside. I seem to remember there's some swelling after death... Anyway, I'm being ghoulish. The legend is that her ghost haunts the tower of the church, still looking for her missing arms. More historic, and less hysteric, is the fact that many Fortescues are buried here. They were the local gentry, building a mansion (for £33,000 at the time!) complete with a bowling green and its own windmill at nearby Salden. Sir John Fortescue was a cousin of Elizabeth I (A White Queen if ever there was one. Not just for her virginal status, but also for the lead makeup which she wore, as was the fashion of the day. The rich liked to look pale. Only peasants were brown, through both mud and outdoor toil) and she's said to have visited Salden House in 1602, the year before her death. Back to the business in hand: The church gate has a date on it, 1ABA
Now walk to your second target at N51° 56.AAB / W000° 48.(A-4)(A-3)(A-4). To get here you have to pass a handsome red brick wall made from very small, weathered bricks. It's said these were reclaimed from the tudor Salden House when it was demolished. They certainly look like they could be 450 years old. At the target you should find yourself standing in front of a house with a remarkable display in the front garden. This is house number CD.
Your third target is a single dwelling called Vine Cottage which oddly has two addresses, both of which are a bit 'obvious'. A serious lack of imagination over road names has been demonstrated in this village! It can be found at N51° 57.C(C+D)C / W000° 48.(C+D)AA. It's both number 1 and number ED. Getting here will take you past some lovely old thatched properties, plus the most school-like school I've ever seen. It even has a proper school bell.
Passing a Best Kept Village sign, and two buildings that suggest the Baptist movement isn't currently enjoying its heyday, the fourth location is at N51° 57.(D-E)BD / W000° 48.A(D-C)(E+C), where you can't fail to spot a date in Roman Numerals. This year is 1FFA.
Now the big one! No need for coordinates, just go to the water tower. You can't miss it, it hangs over the whole village like something from War of the Worlds. Near the front gate you can read the tragic story of four men who met their maker here. In the day/month/year date format, they died on (A+G)/E/1AEH
Your final target, the Cache, is located at:
N51° 5(A-G).HCD / W00° 4F.GF(H+E).
To reach it, return to the village and follow the appropriate footpath.
Hopefully you'll notice a degree of irony at the hiding spot. The tower, which is a landmark for dozens of miles around, is nowhere to be seen. However, other silent sentinels are watching, so be quick about your business here!
Happy hunting!
The cache originally contained:
1x Thing for getting crumbs and fluff out of your keyboard
1x Party Popper
2x Candles
3x Postcards
1x Simply Paul Compilation CD - Warning, contains 'Parental Advisory' lyrics!
Plus the usual: Log book, pen, pencil, and cache note.
While you're in the area, I suggest you check (another vague Chess reference there. Did you spot it?) out rp44's
Third London Airport? or Station X by Lunchbox.
Both are only a 10 minute drive away.
A small experiment - Please feel free to rate your visit to this cache out of ten in your log.