Carreg Bica EarthCache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(not chosen)
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This Earth Cache is situated on the sandy beach of Llangrannog on
the right hand side of the river Hawen that flows to the sea here.
There is easy access to the beach from the car park on the sea
front.
The Village of Llangrannog is built upon very old rocks, the
slate and shale of Palaeozoic times, laid down in the ancient seas
of 400 - 500 million years ago. Llangrannog actually lies across
the junction of two types of this rock, Silurian and Ordovician.
These names, internationally used by geologists, were taken from
the names of two Celtic tribes that once occupied Wales.
About three hundred million years ago, immense convulsions of the
earth crust - the Caledonian movement squeezed these rocks against
the even older masses of North Wales and produced the contorted
shapes and folds that are so readily seen in the cliff faces along
the beaches of Llangrannog.
Carreg Bica stands on the North side of the beach at Llangrannog
and was formed by soft sediment during the late Ordovician period.
Also on the beach near Carreg Bica is a cave, which was formed from
erosion in the softer rock by the forces of the sea.
Carreg Bica a large weathered stack forms an entrance with the
nearby cliffs face to the second bay of Cilborth. If the tide
is out you can visit Cilborth beach where graptolites fossils have
been found in the Ordovician mudstone.
The Legend of Carreg Bica and Ynys
Lochtyn.
Bica was a Giant who lived in a cave in Llangrannog with his slave
who's name was Lochtyn. The Villagers were having a fete and Bica
wanted to look smart for the occasion so he ordered Lochtyn to
clean his shoes the night before and prepare his breakfast for the
morning. Lochtyn did so and once he had achieved a good shine, left
the shoes in the opening of the cave for Bica to put on the
following morning along with the fish he had caught for his
breakfast. Dawn broke and seagulls appeared on the shore and around
the entrance of Bica's cave. News spread fast amongst the gulls of
a free meal of fish at the caves entrance and squabbles broke out
with feathers flying and talons ripping. This kafuffle woke Bica
and at the same time the gulls flew off. Bica got dressed ready for
breakfast and his day out amongst the villagers, so he went out to
put on his shoes but saw that they were covered in scratches and
his breakfast was gone. He summoned Lochtyn thinking that he had
not done his job and was so angry that he ordered Lochtyn to live a
life of solitary on an island North of the cave. (that island now
bares the name of Ynys Lochtyn, translated into English means
Lochtyn's Island) Bica was not going to let this happening spoil
his day so he headed up the hill to the village fete. By now he was
feeling very hungry and on a nearby hill he spotted berries
growing, so he bent over to take a bite but as he did so he bit
into the hard rock that they were growing from. With this he let
out a loud yell of pain and rushed back to the beach to rinse his
mouth in the rivers water. As he stumbled around in pain suddenly
out dropped his tooth onto the beach. (Carreg Bica is known today
as The Giants Tooth) Bica never did make it to the fete that day
and never saw Lochtyn again.
To claim this cache please do the following:
- Estimate the width of the cave entrance nearest to Carreg
Bica.
- If possibly also post a photo of yourself and your GPS in
front of any of the geological features on the
beach.
Please check the tide time
table before you leave as the cave will become inaccessible
during a high tide.
Carreg Bica early 1900’s - 2007.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)