From a Swan to the Canary
A series of riverside caches from Swan Pier to Canary Wharf using the Riverside (Thames) path. The journey will take you past the Tower of London, through the St Katharine Docks (a separate mystery cache “Katherine and Thomas” to try there), then through the Hermitage Basin of the old Western docks on to Shadwell Basin before rejoining the Thames past Limehouse basin before reaching Docklands. A wide variety of cache styles from nanos to regulars.
As with a lot of urban caches you’ll need to be sensitive to local residents, passers by and gardeners. Be aware of potential watchers (whether in offices or via security cameras). However, if you are approached by either Police or Security Officers avoid acting suspiciously and explain what you are doing.
A good selection of pubs and restaurants around here.
When we set this series my friend was taking photos using a camera mounted on a tripod: a wonderful excuse to hang around a particular area without attracting too much attention!
Good public transport connections at either end, the Docklands Light Railway is generally not too far away in the section between St Katharine Docks and Lime House Basin.
No need to go into any private areas or onto flowerbeds etc for any of these. Generally flat and well paved throughout.
Small magnetic nano. Bring a pencil / pen.
The cache: Boozy Swan
This one is a simple multi cache at the extreme westerly end of the series. When I saw step three, I knew that I had to include it as a special bonus.
We’ll end up a little north the river but the Thames path doesn’t run riverside here either. There is a pedestrian footbridge adjacent to help you across the busy Upper Thames St dual carriage way if you prefer not to cross at the lights
This area is known as Vintry, after the Vintners’ Company. The Vintners' Company, with its first Charter in 1364, is one of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of the City of London. The first three stages keep us near the grand Vintners Place.
As with many things British that have been around a long time, The Vintners’ Company has a series of interesting and almost unique privileges. In medieval times it was within the gift of the Sovereign to allow Livery Companies the right to what was known as “a game” of swans on the Thames. In effect, this meant that a certain number could be culled for the Company's feasts. It is not known when the Vintners' Company acquired their “game”, but the right to own swans on the Thames continues today, as it does for the Dyers' Company. It is therefore a myth to say that the Sovereign owns all the swans on the Thames, although the Crown does have ownership of all unmarked birds.
There is an annual ritual known as “Swan Upping”. Every year, normally in the third week in July, the ancient tradition of Swan Upping takes place on the Thames between Eton and Abingdon. Swan Upping is the annual census of swans on that stretch of the river during which the cygnets are marked. Under the command of HM The Queen's Swan Marker, three teams of Swan Uppers, Her Majesty's, the Vintners' and the Dyers', row in six skiffs up-river catching and marking the cygnets. Until fairly recently, the birds were marked by cutting their beaks; one “nick” for the Dyers' and one either side for the Vintners'. Her Majesty's birds were unmarked. This practice stopped in 1998 and now the Vintners' and Dyers' birds have a ring on their left leg (the Vintners' with two Coats of Arms to replicate the two “nicks”) while the Queen's have none. During the marking, the birds are also given a health check by The Queen's Swan Warden who is a Vet. You can find out more about the Vintners’ long relationship with swans, including how they have contributed to the health and protection of these birds by looking on The Vintners' Company website.
Step One: N 51 30.607 W 00 05.586
The coordinates will place you in the middle of the road on Southwark Bridge. Clearly I wouldn’t want you to stand here, so descend about 25’ into Fruiterers Passage (steps either side of the Bridge if you do not possess sufficient super human powers to descend vertically).
Look at the various prints on the wall to see what this area was like many years ago plus selected engineering plans of both the old and new Southward Bridges.
Look for the large print, courtesy of the Vintners and Fruiterers, that shows St Pauls Church (rather than Cathedral) by CJ Visschar. Note the date of the original print. 1AB6
*** Keep an eye on any young child that you may have with you ***
Step Two: N 51 30.665 W 00 05.580
Back upstairs. The coordinates will place you at the end of Queen St. However, it is not Queens we’re after here, but their spouses. How many Kings have taken up residence here? (note they all live together in one house). This will give you C.
*** Keep an eye on any young child that you may have with you ***
Step Three: N 51 30.663 W 00 05.644
Remember I mentioned Swan Upping in the intro? Well, here we see how the well dressed Swan Upper from the Vinters’ Company attires themself.
How many barrels on each of the ten large buttons on the front of the jacket? This will give you D.
*** Keep an eye on any young child that you may have with you ***
Final location
Not far to walk to the final location – just three or four minutes probably.
For the coordinates below, solve each bracket to give you a single digit. A, B, C and D are all single digits (i.e. 0 – 9 inclusive)
N 51 30.6(A + 3)(B + 4) W 00 05.7(C – 4)(D + 4)
***Just to help you as a sanity check, assuming that you are at Step Three: you will not cross Upper Thames St (the dual carriageway), Queen St, Lambeth Hill or Queen Victoria Street. ***
Buildings make for poor GPS reception around here. I had 16’ accuracy reported plus checked location subsequently on Google Earth (wonderful tool!)
There are cameras here, but none appear to be focused on the cache. This can be a busy location during weekday lunch time and commute. Evenings and weekends are very quiet.
Have a look at what is growing on the fence near the cache. Not quite ripe when I set the cache, but they might be when you’re passing by! Perhaps the Corporation of the City of London knows a thing or two about global warming that we don’t.
Once you’ve found the cache: *** make sure you put it back properly so it will be there for those who follow you, and not found by those who shouldn’t! ***