Chess themed Geocache No.6 - BLACK BISHOP (Bucks)
I suggest you park somewhere near 'The Black Boy' pub, which is also a fine place to have a small drink or some food after you've cached. There's a very good infomation
point in their car park. It informs us that there's been over twenty different ways of spelling Oving since it was recorded in the Domesday Book.
Your starting point is behind the pub, below the church, near a small pond at N51° 53.157 / W00° 51.913.
Here you'll find a telephone number - 08457 ABCABC.
Your second location is at N51° 53.(B-4)(C+B-A)(B+C) / W00° 51.(A+C)(A)(C-B-A). To get there you'll pass a church with a famous
name near the entrance and the village pump. Opposite a 'comedy street sign' you'll find an engraved stone with some dates on it:
DE June AFBG. Make a note and head towards the third location: the telephone pole which is at
N51° 53.(F-E-D)BC / W00° 51.GB(E-A). The easy way to get here is via a gate you'll find around to your left, off Baulk Road.
If you look back while walking down this path you may spot an unusual rusty tower, as pictured below.
The path becomes a lane which would live up to its 'black themed' name if you had your eyes shut. But don't do that because you'd miss the fine houses
(including one with a clock tower on its roof, one with busts in the window and one which seems to be on fire, but never burns)
and other interesting sights.
Locate the pole which has some numbers on it, two double-digits. I've called the plastic ones AG and the smaller tin embossed ones below EH.
Your fourth waypoint is something to sit on at N51° 5D.FF(H+3) / W00° 5A.F(E-A-H)F. To get there, cross the road with care
(Can you 'spot the dog' on the roof as seen below? Was he the black boy's? Did the black boy grow up to be a black bishop?) pass a lonely tree and follow the arrow down a little lane. At the end you'll discover a rough wooden
bench which seems to have been here since before 1919, as that's the date on it.
It also has the words 'Frendship's *something* crudely carved into it. Take the five letter 'something' and convert it into numbers in the time honoured
way. i.e. A=1, B=2, etc. Add your five numbers together to get a three digit number. I hope you're keeping up. I've called this number i ii iii.
Your final target, the Cache, is located at:
N51° 52.(iii³)(ii+C)(ii) / W00° 51.(iii³)F(iii³).
To get to to the cache, follow the path over a slightly shakey stile to the road and then follow the arrow.
You may see some lumps in the path here, no doubt made by local children looking for the ultimate in air-bourne bicycle hijinks.
Happy hunting!
The cache originally contained:
1x A VideoCD (VCD) of my trip to Scotland in July 2003. Note: For over 18's only. Contains the F word, while talking about how big Ben Nevis is
1x Small plastic thingy
1x Eraser
2x Keyrings
1x Pack of sticky fishes from 'Finding Nemo'
2x Tealite candles
1x Plastic slinky
Plus the usual: Cache notice, log book, pen, pencil, all in a bag to keep them dry, or to pinch to use 'Cache In Trash Out'-ing.
While you're in the area, I suggest you check (another vague Chess reference there. Did you spot it?) out Dan & Pid's Nuclear Bunker cache, or my Chess themed Geocache No.5 - WHITE KNIGHT (Bucks) one which is just up the road in Whitchurch. They're both within short driving distance.
A small experiment - Please feel free to rate your visit to this cache out of ten in your log.