Chester has been out on many cache
hunts with us and has rather got to enjoy this pastime, so much so that he now
recognises our GPSr and gets excited on seeing it. Recently he has been asking
if we could help him create some caches of his own, so of course we agreed as he
is not too good at this internet thingy (and if the truth be known he is only
really any good at three things, walkeeees, spotting squirrels and burying
bones, but don't tell him I told you that). He said that he would like them to
be located in some of his favourite types of places that his doggie friends
would like and suggested that one in each of the Oxford City Parks would be a
good place. Foolishly we agreed to this before checking out how many parks
Oxford actually has, and to our surprise their is eighteen of them. I hope you
all enjoy this series of eighteen caches, and do post some picies for Chester,
especially if you have one of his canine friends with you.
South Park
South Park occupies over 50 acres of
open space on a slope between Headington Hill and Morrell Avenue. Separated from
Headington Hill Park by the main road to Headington and London beyond, the park
once belonged to the Morrell family who lived in Headington Hill Hall from 1831
until 1939.
The Oxford Preservation Trust
acquired South Park with the help of the Pilgrims trust and of David and Joanna
Randell McIver. There is a stone at the foot of Headington Hill that records
this. The Trust then gave the land to the City Council in 1951 with the covenant
that it be preserved as an open space for the benefit of the public.
Today South Park is a popular
location for a number of events that include the Lord Mayor's Parade and the
annual fireworks display organised by the Oxford Round Table. At the top of the
park there is a stunning view across the City, the location of which was used
for countless films and television series. There is also a children's play area
and a fitness trail.
I liked this park as it had lots of
space and plenty of trees with, yes you guessed, squirrels. The rest of the clan
seemed to think the views of Oxford city are good from here, not so sure about
that. Near to the cache site it can be a bit boggy so make sure you wear
suitable footwear if you want to keep your paws dry. I found a nice big puddle
here for a drink, I think it might be a spring. Parking can be a bit of a
problem here but their is some at N51 45.099, W001 13.419.
Chester has hidden a Bone'us cache
full of special doggy treats for all those cacher's who have managed to complete
his COPQ series. To find this cache you will need to collect the letters on the
lids of all the COPQ caches, and use them to work out the start location for
Chester's Bone'us. Be warned, you will have to go for Chester's favourite
type of walkieeees to complete it; a long one.
When first placed the cache contained
the following:
-
One USA Cent
-
Cord Grip
-
Officer's Shoulder Pip
-
Roman Soldier
-
Paper Clip