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Welcome to Garstang!
A Brief History
My wife lived in Garstang for many years before I was
married and her family still live here. I therefore thought it
appropriate to create a cache site here that will allow visitors a
whistle-stop tour of this thriving and interesting town that is
often passed unnoticed by travellers' heading north and south on
the busy A6, M6 and West Coast mainline.
Garstang is a market town, which grew up where
Lancashire’s great north-south main road crosses the Wyre.
The town stands on the River Wyre, the Lancaster canal, and the
West Coast mainline railway and is 10 miles south of Lancaster and
11 miles north of Preston. Being on the Great North West Highway
between London and Edinburgh, Garstang was in the 18th century an
important staging post for mail and passenger coaches, with
thirteen public houses and taverns at one time in the town. During
the 19th century Garstang was famous for its cattle and Cheese
Fairs when some 3000 head of cattle were brought down from the
north each November for sale.
The history of Garstang goes back thousands of years with
Neolithic and bronze Age artefacts found in the area. The name
Garstang may have sprung from the Saxon word "Gaerstung" meaning
common land or meadowland. The Doomsday Book describes it as
‘Cherestanc’.
At the north end of the High Street opposite the Council
Offices stands the Old Grammar School, which was founded in 1602.
Leading from the High street are numerous ‘Weinds’
(narrow alleyways) old pathways which at one time led from the
river to the pastures adjoining Back Lane now Park Hill
Rd.
In 1310 Edward II first granted the Market Charter to the
town. In the centre of the Market Place stands the Market Cross,
which is probably the most famous landmark in Garstang. It was
first erected in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s diamond
jubilee.
By the Market Cross, are the Old Town Hall with its clock tower
and Market House to its left, which was partly demolished in 1755,
and, following the 1939 fire, was then restored retaining its
original characteristics. In 1679 King Charles II renewed
Garstang’s charter, making Garstang a free borough to be
governed by a bailiff and seven burgesses.
Nearby were the stocks where wrong-doers were placed to
sit out the allotted hours thought necessary to expiate their
crime. The stocks were destroyed by fire in 1939 whilst in the loft
of the Old Town Hall. Near to the stocks were large fish stones
which were used to lie out fish for sale.
To the south and east of the town is the River Wyre that
stretches 41 miles and incorporates the whole route of the River
Wyre from its’ two main sources in the Forest of Bowland,
down the River to meet the sea at Fleetwood and Knott
End.
To the west of the town you can find the Lancaster Canal. This
was originally designed by an engineer named John Rennie,
construction began in 1792 and it was officially opened in 1797.
The canal was used to transport coal, slate, timber, food, rope and
limestone and later offered a passenger service between Preston and
Kendal. Garstang rope was transported to many docks including
Lancaster, Glasson and Preston. The Lancaster Canal has one of the
longest lock free canals in Britain running for 51 miles (82km)
with 199 bridges.
The canal was prosperous until 1840 when the Lancaster and
Preston Railway began operating. The main line by-passed Garstang
to the east until 1870 when a junction line was built from Garstang
to Knott End but it was deemed not profitable and was closed in the
1960’s. However, the busy West Coast Main line still exists
today but there is no station stop though even though plans have
been considered on and off for many years.
Garstang started to increase in size from the 1960s and
this has continued to present day. The population of the parish is
now approximately 5000 and many of Garstang’s residents work
locally or in the nearby cities of Preston and Lancaster. Since
2000, Garstang has become known as the World's First 'Fairtrade
Town' and was twice Gold Medal Winner of 'Britain in
Bloom'.
The Cache
To find the cache I will take you on a short walking trip
around Garstang visiting just four significant areas of interest
where you will pick up clues to locate the cache site
itself.
Parking: If
travelling by car, park circa - N.53
54.093 W.002.46.424 which is close to your first place
of interest.
Time: The tour should take a minimum of 30 minutes but
longer if desired.
Safety: Those with young children should take care as
the streets and footpaths are narrow and please be aware of passing
traffic.
The Community Centre, Tourist Information
Centre and north High Street
N.53 54.152 W.002.46.424
One of the focal points of Garstang. One of its main car parks
and a place where people meet and many local functions take
place.
Question
1: Garstang was Britain in Bloom -
Gold Award winners for two years.
The fourth number of the first year that Garstang was
gold medal winner in the small town category reveals clue
F.
The fourth number of the second year that Garstang was gold
medal winner in the small town category reveals Clue: C and D.
Town Hall, Market Hall and Market
Cross
 N.53 54.006
W.002.46.468
Perhaps the centre point of the town with it's main high street
and many of its long established shops and businesses.
Question 2:
Take a closer look at the Market Cross (Beware of
passing traffic!) In which year did King Charles II actually grant
the Market Charter?
The second number in the date reveals
Clue: B
The River Wyre
 N.53 53.904
W.002.46.350
Having meandered its way around Garstang from the north and
East the River Wyre leaves Garstang at this point, the river heads
south and west toward is outlet by Fleetwood and then on, into the
Irish Sea.
Question 3:Let's get
the old grey matter working! There are five dates on the circular
plaque in the centre of the bridge.
Add these dates together then subtract
8634 reveals Clue: A
The Thomas's Weind
 N.53 54.035 W.002.46.520
One of the many Weinds in Garstang. This one is perhaps one of
the more recent with the town's newspaper, The
Courier, at its entrance.
Question 4: There is
a date on a post at the west entrance to Thomas's Weind.
The fourth number reveals Clue:
E
The Solution
Now you should be in possession of six digits that will
reveal the coordinates of the cache itself.
Note: Since the cache was placed it appears the coords
were a few feet out. I have changed some of the clues to reveal a
slightly different coordinate for better accuracy. There may be
irratic GPS reception around here causing the coords to change a
little. The cache is not in the church yard or the grounds
of the old folks home. Notwithstanding this, the cache has a
difficulty rating of two and really should be not that hard to
find!
Historic Garstang
Cache - N.53
54.ABC W.002.46.DEF
Having found the cache, take a minute or two to take a
seat and pause for thought about this well known Garstang lady, Pat
Seed, who was an inspirational cancer campaigner and fundraiser for
many years in Garstang and the North West before she sadly died of
this terrible disease in 1984.
I hope you have enjoyed this cache find and your whistle stop
tour of Garstang.
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