It may look like a village but Godmanchester
was granted its town charter in 1212 and for many years was a more
thriving
settlement than Huntingdon which now is the dominant town
across the river. It was occupied long before this and was
known by the Romans as
Durovigutum straddling, as it did, Ermine Street.
The town is undeniably pretty and boasts
several pubs which serve excellent food after a hard day’s caching
(my own favourite is the Black Bull). Parking is plentiful
and free. The River Great Ouse flows by the town and the
cache is situated in a location which may, occasionally, be
inaccessible due to flooding.
Speaking of flooding the cache overlooks
Portholme, the largest water meadow in the UK and the site of
both the original horse-racing course in Huntingdon and a venue for
aircraft manufacture and air races in the early part of the last
century.
While you’re in the area take time out to walk
around and have a look at the old buildings here: Earning
Street, the North end of Post Street and the splendid Island Hall
(not open to the public except for a few days a year). Also
there are two excellent micros of Sweepy’s nearby and for the more
energetic a nice walk to Houghton with more caches to be found.
The placing of this cache is entirely due to
the good offices of the Town Council who spent some time finding
out about geocaching before approving it, for which many
thanks. The cache location is
NOT accessible by
vehicles and is a popular area for locals to walk and play.
It can get very muddy but is flat and accessible to wheelchair
users when dry, although the final cache placement may be more of a
problem. It would be appreciated if cachers could pick up any
rubbish on their travels and deposit it in the many bins
thoughtfully provided, but ignored by many.