Braughing Su Doku

Su Doku is a logic puzzle. At the moment it's all the rage with most national newspapers printing daily puzzles. If you have no idea what Su Doku is then have at look at this strategy guide by the BBC. Normally Su Doku puzzles start partially filled with numbers. I have replaced the digits with letters in the puzzle below. You will have to visit a number of locations in the village of Braughing and find the answers to some questions. The answers will give you a digit to replace each of the letters A to T with numbers. I think this should be relatively straightforward.

Braughing is a lovely village I hope you enjoy exploring it. Of particular note is the butchers (D White) which are famous for miles around for their sausages. But everything I have had from there is excellent and the best bit is to see an old family business prospering. The location is 51° 54.510N 0° 01.440E.

The first stage should take you about half an hour to do. You can then solve the puzzle, which may take another half hour. This Su Doku is classed as hard so will take you a little time to solve. Once you have finished the puzzle you will need the numbers in the squares identified by the letters u, v, w, x, y and z. These are used to provide the coordinates of the final cache site, which is a few minutes walk from the centre of Braughing.

To start you will need to drive to the village of Braughing near Puckeridge just off the A10. I suggest you park in the middle of the village near 51° 54.464N 0° 01.808E. Sunday afternoon between Easter and October is a particularly good time to visit as there is afternoon tea with home made cakes on offer at the village hall (51° 54.459N 0° 01.680E).

Firstly, here is the Su Doku grid. Remember you will find clues to replace the letters A to T with numbers. When you have solved the puzzle the letters u to z provide the position of the cache.

Here is a small table to help you as you collect the data

Now for the clues.

Part 1 51° 54.464N 0° 01.808E

At this site look for Brigadier RN Hanbury who served on the council between EFDO and 1971. This provides the first four digits required.

Part 2 51° 54.462N 0° 01.696E

Take a walk down towards the church for the next clue. There is a novel time keeping device here with an inscription above it which reads "1JHR mox nox 1971". The letters JHR from the first date provide the next three digits for the puzzle.

Part 3 51° 54.468N 0° 01.680E

Close by you will be able to have a short rest with Queen Elizabeth. There are two dates here 19S2 - A00I. SA and I are the next three digits for the puzzle.

Part 4 51° 54.459N 0° 01.667E

Just over the road you will find a name plate with the date of the Old Boys School. The date on the name plate is 1KCP. I'm sure you will have noticed that this is the village hall where the afternoon teas are provided. If you are there on a Sunday it might make a good spot to rest whilst you solve the puzzle.

Part 5 51° 54.494N 0° 01.556E

A short stroll away in a different church yard you will find the resting place of Herbert Leader who died in 19G5 aged NM years. GN and M are the next three digits for the puzzle.

Part 6 51° 54.457N 0° 01.451E

The local postoffice is the next stop. Here you are looking for a bell but I don't think you will get a very good sound from it. The date on the bell is 187B. B is the next digit for the puzzle.

Part 7 51° 54.395N 0° 01.587E

For the final part of the puzzle take a stroll past the ford and rest your legs. You are looking for George Smith and his wife. George passed away in 19LT whilst his wife was born in 191*. LT and Q=* - 5 are the final 3 digits of the puzzle.

Finale

So now you have all the information to solve the Su Doku. You can rest here to do it or if you planned well you can go an have tea. A third alterntive is to head off to one of the pubs. The Axe and Compass is particularly good (location 51° 54.465N 0° 01.833E). To check you have got all the correct digits you can add up all the digits you have A to T. The total should be 99. If it isn't you've made a mistake somewhere.

When the puzzle is finished you need to find the digits labled u, v, w, x, y and z from the Su Doku. The final cache location is at 51° 54.u v w N 0° 01.x y z E. This is a few minutes walk from the position of the last clue or the village hall. The location is at the side of a footpath.

The location should be easy to find but I think many people will need the clue to actually find the cache. The cache itself is a medium size tupperware style container. The cache is not at ground level so there is no need to go thrashing around in the undergrowth. Please make sure that the cache is replaced carefully where it is safe and properly concealed. There is no need to cross the fence or wire to find the cache.

I hope you enjoyed this geocache and the Su Doku. If you are interested there are other Su Doku based geocaches including:

Sudoku(Shropshire)

Su Doku - go Wyld in the Country

Chesfield Sudoku Part 1

Chesfield Sudoku Part 2

Buckhurst Hill Sudoku