CC1 Cefncarnau (RVR1) Traditional Geocache
Write and Mane: Passing on a permitted daily exercise, checked accessibility, in view of the last log. The tree had been down for some time and at least two other people had shown it to be accessible, but it has become much more difficult. Log book was still serviceable, but contents otherwise were wet and were, in any case of negligible value. (Whatever happened to the principle of exchanging equal or better?)
In line with our policy to run down our "cache estate" as and when caches need maintenance, cache collected and archived.
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is the first of a series, the "Caerphilly Collection", that will explore the whole Borough Council area. This cache is also the first of a subset along the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Footpath. This is a fairly easy conventional cache, about ¼ mile from the A469 along a good track. The container is a medium sized plastic lunch box.
The Caerphilly Collection is distinguished with a unique CC number and is made up of 50 caches. The caches vary in difficulty and type and usually have other "C" word connections - castle, cheese, coal, canal, etc. There may even be Cryptic Clues for Clever Clogs! The current Caerphilly unitary authority grew out of the former Rhymney Valley and Islwyn Councils and stretches from the outskirts of Cardiff and Newport in the south to the Brecon Beacons, north of Rhymney. Despite a past dominated by coal and heavy industry, it has a diverse history and varied and dramatic scenery. We hope you will enjoy exploring it with us.
Towards the end of the Collection is CC48 The Accumulator, the location of which is given in coded form. The translation details of the code are distributed around the whole Collection, but only about a third of the caches will contain a piece of the code, which is on the back of the Log Book. To do the Accumulator, you will need to keep a note of each piece of code that you find. Unless you are very lucky, you will need to find the majority of the Collection in order to do the Accumulator. The Accumulator cache is hidden in an area of difficult terrain and demanding navigation, with a 5,4½ rating.
CC1 is also the first of a subset of the main series, which will visit locations on the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Footpath - hence the RVR1 suffix. It is first because of its proximity to our home in Cardiff. In this case, CC could stand for Cefncarnau or, more appropriately, for calcium carbonate, for this section of the RVR Footpath follows a ridge of carboniferous limestone and the "lumpy" ground alongside the track is the result of quarrying the outcrop. About 200m east of the cache, the remains of a limekiln give away the use to which the rock was put. There are some wonderful mature beech trees in the vicinity - but they may inhibit GPS reception in the summer.
There is a convenient lay-by on the main road opposite the start of the track, but please take care crossing the main road. This may be treated as a quick cache-and-go, but we hope that you may be tempted to explore more of the long distance path, perhaps by linking caches (CC2 is less than a mile away). If you call in at the nearby Travellers Rest, do not miss the opportunity to take a look at the ruins of Castell Morgraig, which is about 100m outside the back of the car park - yet most passers by are unaware of its existence.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)