Bampton Bells and Big Birds Multi-Cache
Bampton Bells and Big Birds
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A pleasant flat walk through open fields, ideal for a nice walk
with the dog. The cache is approximately one mile from the parking
co-ords.
Parking can be found by St Mary's Church using the main co-ords.
You may hear the Bampton Bells of St Mary's or see the Big Birds
from nearby RAF Brize Norton on the way to the cache.
The History
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bampton, lies at the centre of an
ancient parish within an Anglo-Saxon royal estate. The parish was
the largest in Oxfordshire and incorporated some 11,238 acres as
late as 1877. Evidence suggests that there was a church on the site
much before the Norman Conquest, although the earliest surviving
document records the gift of the church by William the Conqueror to
Leofric, Bishop of Exeter and the Church of Peter the Apostle and
Martyr Exeter (Exeter Cathedral).
It is likely that any earlier building was severely damaged in the
siege of Bampton that had taken place in 1142. The only surviving
element of the church from before that time is the Anglo-Saxon
tower (now housing the staircase to the bell ringing chamber)
evidenced by the fine herringbone stonework. It seems likely that
work on the present building began in 1153 when the parish was
split in two.
The present appearance of the church is largely a result of a
remodelling of 1270, when the spire was built and the aisles were
added.
The Cache
Find Mollie's Bench at the above co-ords and transpose the numbers
to the following letters: ABCD - EFGH
The cache can then be found at:
N51° 44.FDE W001° 33.(B-A)(A+D)C
Once you have plotted the cache co-ords, follow the path through
the church-yard and head NW until you see the footpath sign on your
left. Then follow the tracks to the cache.
You are looking for a 0.5ltr tupperware box. There is a lovely
shallow brook near the cache, so bring the geo-kid's wellies for a
splashing fun time.
Congratulations to
B.J. who was the first to find this Geocache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Abegu raq - ghpxrq haqre