The City of the Dead Multi-cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
All on established pathways with some inclines. Some paths may be muddy at times.
Please note the cache container is now too small for swaps. It does contain a log-book and pencil.
This is a cache located in the most historic part of “The Dear Green Place”.
Parking may be a problem at times due to the proximity of the hospital although on-street parking can be found at the above co-ordinates and there are public car parks close by.
The first place to visit is the “oldest” and is found at N55° 51.734 W004° 14.212.
This is open from 10.00 to 17.00 Monday to Thursday and Saturday and 11.00 to 17.00 Friday and Sunday. Admission is free. In here, find the “Aberdeenshire Burgher’s Oak Marriage Chair” and note the date. Subtract the first digit from the second digit. This is ‘A’. Subtract the third digit from the fourth digit. This is ‘B’. You now have a two digit number ‘AB’. Before you leave, make sure you take a copy of the fact sheet and note the year of death of John Knox. The second digit is ‘C’ and the third digit is ‘D’.
You may also wish to visit The St. Nicholas Garden behind the building. A description and explanation for this garden can also be found on the fact sheet.
If you are unlucky and chance upon this old place when it is closed, fear not. ‘AB’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ can be found on the statue diagonally opposite "the oldest" at the traffic lights where; 'A' is the 3rd digit of this person's year of death minus the 4th digit of the year of death. 'B' is the 4th digit of the year of birth. 'C' is the 2nd digit of the year of birth minus the 3rd and 4th digits of the year of birth. 'Finally, 'D' is the number of letters in this person's surname.
The address of the entrance to your next destination is situated at ‘AB’ Cathedral Square. Follow the cobbled entranceway and cross Glasgow’s own “Bridge of Sighs”, so called due to this being the entrance route for the funeral procession.
Now we are making for the memorial to “The Laureate of the Nursery” at N55° 51.7C3 W004° 13.9D6. Count the number of strings on the musical instrument carved at the top of the memorial. This is ‘E’. Note the second letter of the Laureate’s first and second names, which is also the second letter of the name of his most famous creation. Give this a numerical value as in A=1, B=2 etc. This is ‘F’.
Now we aim for N55° 51.(E+2)36 W004° 13.F27. This is the last resting place of John Henry Alexander, actor, theatre owner and manager.
Alexander was already managing two theatres (one in Dumfries and the other in Carlisle, both called the Theatre Royal) when he appeared on the Glasgow theatre scene in the early 1820s. He rented the basement of the Caledonian Theatre in Dunlop Street and ran it as a theatre called the Dominion of Fancy. This led to a certain amount of friction with the Caledonian Theatre above, and eventually the magistrates instructed the two rivals to open on alternate nights. In 1825 Alexander bought the whole building and after the Theatre Royal in Queen Street burnt down in 1829 was able to take that name for his own.
Glasgow theatre was fairly informal, but Alexander seems to have been particularly casual. He was famous for wandering round the stage during performances, moving the scenery, cajoling the band, scolding actors and counting the audience to make sure that the takings were correct. He would even perform "Alexander's Jig" on request from members of the audience! Modesty was not one of his attributes and when the theatre was rebuilt after a fire he had a statue of himself put up on the new facade, alongside all-time theatrical greats such as William Shakespeare.
Note the year of his death. The second digit is ‘G’ and the third digit is ‘H’.
The memorial to John Knox towers above everything else as it stands at the highest point of the cemetery, above the 3,500 tombs and approximately 50,000 people buried here.
There is also a small population of deer living in the cemetery. If you are very fortunate you may happen to see them.
We now have the final co-ordinates for the cache. Go to N55° 51.71(H+1) W004° 13.6GG.
The cache is a small container containing a logbook and pencil.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ubyr va jnyy oruvaq Pnpuref' Pnvea