The caches contain the usual items PLUS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION so that you can find out more about the archaeology and history of this interesting and beautiful area.
The co-ordinates for the Hawes Highways multi-cache are NOT THE ACTUAL CO-ORDINATES for the cache site, but for the Dales Countryside Museum and National Park car park in Hawes (charge). The museum has interesting displays about the history of the Dales and is well worth a visit.
The co-ordinates for the actual geocache are:
N 54° A . B C D, W 002° E . F G H
Your task is to complete the co-ordinates for the Geocache by taking a little walk round the old market town of Hawes and then on to the lovely nearby village of Gayle.
First of all find the Quaker Burial ground - it is almost next to the car park.
The first Quaker meetings in Hawes were held in members’ houses. After the Act of Toleration was passed in 1689, Quakers were allowed to worship unhindered and build their own meeting houses. As early as 1680 Oswald Routh left land in Hawes for a Quaker graveyard lying beside the Hardraw road junction. By 1700 a cottage had been converted into a meeting house nearby. This continued in use until the 1920s. The property was demolished in advance of road widening but the graveyard still remains although now disused.
A: A plaque marks the dates of the burial ground.
Add the digits of the second (latest) date to get A.
B: Make your way to the cobbled street that passes over picturesque Gayle Beck with its falls. There is a number on the metal plaque on the bridge.
Add the first and last digits together to get B.
C: Toward the end of the cobbled street find the time of RC Mass and add the digits to get C NB this has now been deleted so we will give you the answer which is 9.
Take the covered passageway a short way past the church and cross fields to Gayle Lane. Then make your way to the road bridge over Gayle Beck.
The large building on the other bank is Gayle Mill, finalist in the BBC Restoration programme. It was built as a water-powered cotton mill around 1784. It was one of the earliest cotton spinning mills in Wensleydale and was built for Oswald and Thomas Routh who were local hosiers and land owners. It survived as a cotton mill until 1813 when John Readman of Gayle Mill was declared bankrupt and the mill was then turned over to spinning flax and wool for the local knitting industry. It was converted into a sawmill in the 1870s. Soon after, the water wheel was replaced by a Williamson turbine. In the early 20th century the turbine was used to supply electricity, first to the mill, and then to Gayle. It continued to provide hydroelectricity until 1948, while the sawmill went on working until 1988. The mill has now been bought by the North East Civic Trust who are restoring it as a working saw mill and traditional craft skills centre.
Be careful of traffic when you look for the next three clues in the centre of Gayle village.
D: Beyond the lovely old house of AMW find a cow mosaic.
Next to this the mileage to Marsett will give you D.
E: The road bridge you just crossed has a numbered plaque. Please note that the plaque is currently missing so use the number 13 for E.
Add all the digits to get E which is 13 .
F: How many miles it is to Kettlewell?
The first digit only will give you F.
G: Return over the bridge and take the first road to the left and find the Wesleyan Chapel.
The second digit of the date the chapel was erected will give you G.
H: After passing an architecturally interesting house with large chimneys and an ornate porch with a Whaley Coat of Arms over the front entrance you will come to an Old Barn with a recently repaired roof built by HW.
Add the first and third digits of the date it was built to give you H.
When you have found all of the above you have the co-ordinates to enter into your GPS and away you go for a short walk along the country lanes to find the cache (for peace of mind the total sum of the digits A to H is 66)
To find out more information about this and other ancient routes in the area, visit our archaeology website, www.outofoblivion.org.uk.
This cache involves a there and back walk of just under 3 miles. It can be included with three of the others to make a good circular walk of about 7 miles, starting at Hawes National Park car park (charge). If you plan to do this walk with a dog, please note that there are some very narrow squeeze stiles along the way. It may be necessary for you to lift your four legged friend over them!
There is a regular bus service to Hawes.
The four caches in the correct order for the walk are:
Hawes Highways (multi-cache)
West Cam
High Rail
The Black Stuff
The fifth cache in this series is High Cam. This can be visited on a steep there-and-back walk from Hawes of about 6.5 miles.