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As this cache has been placed so as to be
accessible to wheelchair users, this inevitably means that a
compromise has been made between being well hidden to passing
muggles and being easily reached by someone in a wheelchair. Please
ensure that you replace it exactly as found - Thank
you. Handicache rating = H31111. |
This cache can be done on its own or with the 3 other accessible
caches in the Line of Strawberries
series:
A Line of Strawberries – Mini Multi
A Line of Strawberries - Twitcher’s Paradise
A Line of Strawberries - Mischievous Micro
Cyclists can complete this series then follow the Strawberry
Line via Winscombe (7 miles), where Shrubbery Man has placed 3
further accessible caches along the cycle track (
1. Red Dot Nano
2. Brer Rabbit
3. Strawberry Tunnel), then on to Cheddar for a cream tea (10
miles). There are also several other caches near to the cycle
path.
Access
The access route follows the Strawberry Line, a branch line built
in 1869 to connect with ‘Gods Wonderful Railway’ to export the
world famous Cheddar strawberries grown on the southern slopes of
the Mendip Hills. This branch line was closed in 1963 and is now a
public right of way currently being upgraded to open as part of the
National Cycle Network in 2007. The track bed is firm and
cycle/wheelchair friendly in all but the wettest weather.
The main start point is at Yatton station N51°23.3929'
W002°49.6540' (British Grid ST 42516 66089). This station is now
managed by First Great Western and can be used by those not wishing
to travel by car - click here for train
times. 
There is also car parking here. The cache is just
over ½ mile from the station.
An alternative start is via Chescombe Road, Yatton, park at
N51°22.9599' W002°49.3832' (British Grid ST 42729 65223) though
access from here can be muddy for wheelchairs following heavy rain.
The cache is under ¼ mile from here.
The Area
In its hey day Yatton Station was a significant junction employing
200 staff. Branch lines ran off South East to Cheddar then on to
Wells (the Strawberry Line) and West wards to the coastal towns of
Clevedon and Portishead. There were 4 main lines at Yatton to allow
the heavy traffic of the coastal excursions to pass.
The walk along the trackbed of the former Strawberry Line to the
cache takes you over Somerset levels wetlands and is a paradise for
bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts.
Biddle Street which crosses the Strawberry Line a very short
distance after the cache was an ancient cattle drove used to bring
stock to the once significant Yatton market. The area surrounding
the cache has rhynes and ditches which fall within the Biddle
Street SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) because of their
associated aquatic and marginal plants and invertebrate
communities. If you continue past the cache site a wildlife pond
can be found on the left - the access to which is further along the
path. Whilst you can get a wheelchair in here it is not wheelchair
friendly - young children will also need to be supervised by the
water.
Further information links:
The Cheddar Valley
Railway Walk Society
National Cycle Network (Sustrans)
To see an Ordnance Survey map showing the parking options copy
the coordinates (below) and paste them into this website
