Dark Side
A
cache
by mitch.mob
Hidden
:
3/1/2010
Difficulty:
Terrain:
Size: 
(Regular)
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THIS IS A NIGHT CACHE!
How many times do you see things about haunted woods or the haunted forest? Have you ever gone on a wander through the haunted forest where things are rigged to go bump in the night? What about the movies that are made in a rural part of a city deep in the woods like the Blair Witch?
Do you like to walk in the woods late at night when the moon is full and everything you see in front of you appears to be in black and white? Just like the old werewolf and vampire movies or the spooky, eerie feeling of you being followed and watched by unseen entities.
Do you love the smell of the cool crisp night air in the forest? Do you love the smell of the freshly fallen autumn leaves on the ground that is now turning into compost? To me the Forest and the Woods are very mysterious at night. Do you love to hear the sounds of all the creatures that live in the forest? But wouldn't the forest or the woods also be a likely place where spirits and ghost would roam?
If the answers to these questions are YES, than this is a cache for YOU! A night cache in a spooky wood with plenty of animals rustling in the undergrowth and nesting birds just waiting to be disturbed by YOU.
The circular route to visit this cache is under 2.5K.
You should only attempt to do this in the dark. You will need a good torch held at head height (using a head torch may make it easier).
You will need wellington boots at most times of the year.
The Route
Recommended parking is in the Railway Inn car park at N51 36.762 W004 01.590 off the A4118 Gower Road between Killay and Upper Killay. This car park is also available to visitors of Clyne Valley.
Confirm the position of your car with your GPS, these woods are very easy to get lost in!
The co-ordinates given above are for a wartime pill box. Once the correct one has been located (there are three in the vicinity), you will need to search for a pair of reflective markers which will signal the start of the trail guiding you along tracks to the cache site. The markers may not be obvious from the pill-box but should be apparent within 5 metres if you choose the right direction. These markers have been placed at eye level up to 100m apart but close to junctions wherever tracks cross (no trees were harmed in the setting up of this trail!).
After about 250m you should join a long fairly straight raised track which can be very muddy at the farthest end.
The final approach to the cache is approximately 100m from the junction of two tracks. Two markers are strategically placed together to lead you from the junction into the woods. You will need to step over a small stream on your approach. The reflective markers are placed more frequently here and two markers are placed together immediately in front of the cache.
The GPS signal in this area will be very poor. I do not recommend retracing your route as the reflective markers may not all be visible in the opposite direction. Once you have found the cache, get back to the track junction which you used as an attack point and then bear right along a wide track in a westerly direction following reflective markers until you reach civilisation! You should emerge on to Gower Road a matter of 200m away from the Railway Inn.
Teaming Up
A lot of you might be interested in attempting this cache, but you don't have anyone to do it with. If that is the case, just post a note below indicating your interest (or contact someone who's already registered their interest). I may be easily persuaded to come along and join you!
Preparation
*Bring adequate lighting - a good torch and spare batteries. Remember to shine the torch all around you to ensure you do not fall into a stream or fall into mud!! Remember that animal eyes are reflective too!
*Wear wellington boots at most times of the year.
*Bring your GPs and spare batteries.
*Bring your camera.
*Remember to bring a mobile phone.
*Wear plenty of warm clothing - it can get quite cold at night.
*Bring a print out of the cache details and the street-map attached (preferably set at 1:25,000).
*Tell someone where you are going, OK as a mystery cache, I can't tell you exactly where the cache is, but I can tell you that you won't be walking more than a mile away from the above starting point.
The route takes you very close to three other caches, Night Owl (GC2WCBH), Clyne Quandary (GC162B2) and Curse of the FTF – Swansea and Gower #2 (GV1YX4Z) in case you are tempted to visit them in the dark!
The Cache
The cache is a 2L tupperware box wrapped in black duck-tape.
Clyne Valley
Until recently Clyne Valley was an important area of industrial activity, and many visitors to the park may be unaware of the extent to which this took place. Nevertheless considerable evidence of this activity can still be seen.
Coalmining was the initial industry in the valley, starting as early as 1305, although it was not until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that large scale coal working occurred. This took the form of Bell Pits, a hazardous method of working, which involved the digging out of a cavern as large as possible without causing roof collapse. These can be seen in particular in Clyne Woods on the western slopes of the valley. These were followed by larger Pits such as the Clyne and Ynys Collieries. At this latter mine an old winding engine remains.
The growth of the coal industry coupled with local raw materials led to the growth of related industry. An ironworks was built near Clyne Quarry in the north, and a Chemical Works operated off Mill Lane in the south, substantial elements of which remain.
A brickmaking industry thrived from the early nineteenth century until well into the twentieth, the final works being demolished in 1950.
The industrial activity required transport. A tramway connecting with Mumbles Railway was built in 1804 and a network of railway lines followed. A number of canals were also built, many remains of which are still clear today.
The old London Midland Scottish railway from Swansea Victoria to Shrewsbury passed through the valley. Its track bed now forms the Park’s main footpath / cycleway (National Cycle Route 4).
If possible, please post a photo to prove you visited in the dark and finally, HAVE FUN…….
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Purfg urvtug
Find...
Are you being watched
Can you see the wood for the trees?
Loading Cache Logs...
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Current Time:
Last Updated: on 2/16/2012 12:05:57 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) (8:05 PM GMT)
Rendered From:Unknown
Coordinates are in the WGS84 datum
