The Elgar Enigma series celebrates the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth, the countryside that so inspired him and his first widely recognised work, Variations on an Original Theme, more commonly known as The Enigma Variations.
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Variation XI (Allegro di molto) GRS was dedicated to George Robertson Sinclair, friend of Elgar and organist at Hereford Cathedral. It was while on a visit to Hereford that Elgar and Sinclair were walking along the banks of the river Wye close to the Cathedral when Sinclair's bulldog, Dan, rolled down the bank and tumbled into the water. 'Set that to music!' remarked Sinclair. In due course this appeared as one of the Variations in the 'Enigma'. Elgar wrote: "The first few bars were suggested by his great bulldog, Dan, (a well-known character) falling down the steep bank into the River Wye; his paddling upstream to find a landing place and his rejoicing bark on landing!"
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George Robertson Sinclair and Dan
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Hereford Cathedral and the river Wye
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Hereford has a number of associations with Elgar. He was involved with the Three Choirs Festival, held in either Hereford, Gloucester or Worcester. Elgar also lived in Hereford from 1904 to 1912 at Plas Gwyn, Hampton Park Road. There is a local society which aims to highlight Elgar's life in Hereford; they have erected a statue of Elgar and his Sunbeam bicycle in the cathedral close.
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At the location where Dan is supposed to have fallen in the water, as specified by the coordinates above, there is a wooden carving and the plaque shown below.
You will notice that a year has been covered. Find this year as ABCD and the cache is located at:
N52 03.(A-1) (B-5) (D-1) W002 43.(C-3) A (D-2)
This area often floods but you can also find the year as it is the same as the year that Elgar started to write the Enigma Variations. The cache is along the river but can also be assessed from different directions. Parking is possible at a local supermarket. Please note also that over time (and after various mugglings) the container is now a magnetic keyholder.