*10/2/2007 Thanks to some updated information from Virmag I
would like to point out some further information before you do this
cache. There is an electricity substation near to this cache with a
fair bit of leaf litter around it. Apparently some used syringes
have been found near this. When searching for this cache if you are
not getting an accurate fix please do not go to this area
around the substation but use the extremely specific clue. I am
guessing this is the drawback to urban caches - it can bring you
close to the more undesirable elements of urban life. Please be
assured I thoroughly checked the area I placed the cache itself in
and this sort of thing is NOT present at the hide site
itself - I cache with friends with young children and would never
place a cache in places I would not want my friends children and
rejected some earlier sites because of this very kind of thing. If
any problems should emerge at all with this site in the future
please let me know and I will check it out immediately, Thanks.
*
Described in various tourist bumpf as “Where the Cotswolds meet
the West Country” Swindon is a fast growing town which sees much
tourist activity every year and, despite how often I rag on the
place, actually is not that bad a place to live. Notable Swindon
luminaries past and present include: Jamie Cullum, Julian Clary,
Melinda Messenger, Diana Dors, Gilbert O Sullivan, David
Hempleman-Adams, Mark Lamarr and Billie Piper, to name but a
sample.
In addition Swindon can offer something for everyone. While
doing this cache series you may choose to indulge in some light (or
heavy) shopping from Swindon’s expanding town centre .Or(having
done the caches first!) you may choose to venture further afield
and visit the Desinger Outlet Village, Blunsdon Market or one of
the many Farmer’s or French markets that can often be seen in the
town.
Take time out to drive across the magic roundabout (its fun,
trust me!), catch a film at one of our two multi screen cinemas or
eat out a bewildering array of restaurants. If natures your thing
you can pop along the motorway to Butterfly world, the Wanborough
herb garden, Barbury Castle or one of our many pretty local parks,
notably Coate Water and Lydiard country parks. If you fancy some
education Swindon also has a variety of museums including the
Science Museum at Wroughton, STEAM, the computing museum and it’s
own Art Gallery. Or if you are more of an athletic type and have
some spare time you can visit one of our leisure centres: The Link
or the Oasis to name two, play golf at Broome Manor, go Karting at
Wroughton, visit the nationally acclaimed Speedway centre or, if
you are especially willing to hurt yourself in the pursuit of time
off, visit the Extreme Pro Wrestling training centre nearby! If you
prefer to watch and not participate, in addition to our football
team Swindon has it’s own Ice Hockey, Basketball and Athletics
teams.
That’s just a brief snapshot of Swindon and I could say more but
lets get caching. Having been to London and seen the vast array of
urban cache placed there and, having had a friend go abroad
recently who said Sydney was also innundated with them, I thought
it would be a great thing to place an urban series in Swindon that
people could visit and do whilst shopping. In total the walk to all
three is probably not much more than a kilometre and parking is
available at numerous local car parks or try out the local buses or
Park and Ride system. They are all easily accessible and suitable
to just about anybody and can all be done in a short space of time
such as a shopping trip. The difficulty is only a 2 due to the high
Muggle factor meaning stealth is required. If this series were
performed when few people were around such as when town were shut
the difficulty drops to 1. Due to signal lock in town being
occasionally problematic the clues are extremely specific so I
would only use them as a last resort.