The coordinates of the final location are stamped into the heads of 10 coach bolts hidden in plain view along the cycle path. Rutland Water is Europes largest man-made reservoir and was completed in 1977. The Sunday Express Magazine describing a day's Cycle Hire at Rutland Water as "The Best Cycling Day Out In Britain...". Obviously this can be improved by the addition of a geocache to find.
| The final location is at: |
N 52° CJ.BGE |
W 000° AF.KHD |
The missing coordinates are located at:
|
A |
N 52° 40.046 |
W 000° 38.614 |
|
B |
N 52° 40.155 |
W 000° 40.022 |
|
C |
N 52° 40.077 |
W 000° 42.426 |
|
D |
N 52° 39.333 |
W 000° 42.217 |
|
E |
N 52° 38.531 |
W 000° 42.027 |
|
F |
N 52° 38.166 |
W 000° 40.592 |
|
G |
N 52° 38.638 |
W 000° 39.768 |
|
H |
N 52° 38.752 |
W 000° 37.277 |
|
J |
N 52° 39.335 |
W 000° 36.208 |
|
K |
N 52° 39.838 |
W 000° 37.680 |
And can be found stamped into the heads of 8mm coach bolts which are in plain view around Rutland Water. The missing numbers are 4mm tall so you need good eyesight or to bring your glasses. The cycle route is 15 miles so this is going to take some time and remember to bring something to drink or even better a picnic. You do not need to cycle around the central peninsula to complete the cache but if you have time and the energy it is perhaps one of the most attractive parts of the cycle path and adds 7 miles to the route. There is a pub in the village of Upper Hambleton but you have to detour from the cycle path some 300m. There is no longer a Lower Hambleton as it was flooded by the reservoir,
There is an excellent pub which serves food on the route at Manton. It is open all day at weekends and Bank Holidays in summer. At other times of year plan carefully so you arrive at lunch time. If you are bringing your own cycles or walking then making this the starting point allows one to finish at the only pub on the cycle route. Free parking is available near the pub ( N 52° 37.936 W 000° 42.204).
This is what you are looking for – Bolts from the Blue – BB and a single digit.
(Replaced bolts may have the BB replaced with RR or omitted altogether.)
Cycle hire is available at both Whitwell on the North shore and Normanton on the south shore. Information can be found here. During busy times booking may be advisable. For those bringing their own bikes, parking is available at both cycle hire sites as well as at Barnsdale and at Empingham. Parking costs £10.00 (2022) for all day including weekends but is transferable between all the car parks. The cycle route may be completed in either direction and from any starting point.
The final cache is located close to the cycle route and you will have passed nearby whilst looking for the coordinate bolts. It is suggested that having completed the cycle ride and gathered all the necessary information, that one drives to the final location where parking is available but watch out for cyclists! Of course you can cycle to the final cache location but depending upon where you started, it may be more cycling than you want in a single day!
If you intend to complete this cache by car/foot then be very careful parking at other than the designated car parks. Whilst the cycle route is mostly off road, nearby roads are busy and parking is not possible at the points nearest to the coordinate locations. Remember that the cache is designed to be completed by cycle!
For the first to find the cache contains three TBs including a rare geocoin.
Please hide the cache carefully and watch out for muggles!
FTF honours go to dakar4x4 (again) after 12 hours 55 minutes.
21/5/2017 - Bolt D relocated and bolt J replaced after some fencing work.
19/8/2017 - To avoid disappointment if one of the bolts is disturbed due to maintenance work, the sum of all the numbers is the answer to life, the universe and everything (42).
1/12/2022 - Bolt E replaced after Nature Reserve continues it's effort to prevent free bird watching.