Vimy View Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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In a nutshell. It's a nice walk with good views. It's on top of a hill near a public footpath. Stout footwear needed, or perhaps a good mountain bike. Can get muddy after rain.
Total round trip walking distance is 1.6 miles.
Update 2025, the grain tower was demolished some years ago, but I left the link and description in here for posterity. As of August 2025, the link still works, so you can see what used to be. The poplars are now becoming re-established, which is an excellent sight.
Original 2008 cache listing:
Vimy View is an interesting walk that finishes with a great view of the Vale of Belvoir. Until recent years there was a line of Lombardi poplar trees that stood either side of the approach road. These were a living memorial to ‘Monty’ Hind and the men of his regiment who were killed during the First World War. The trees have recently been felled due to them becoming unsafe through old age. Thankfully new trees have been planted in their place but it will be a good few years until the track to Vimy Ridge farm once again looks like the rural French road that it was designed to resemble.
The farm house here is a ruin, it’s hard to think that it was still an occupied house as late as the early 1980s. It’s now a burnt out and partially collapsed shell but one can ponder how the farm would have looked in the 1920s when the farm and surrounding buildings were home to shell shocked servicemen and unemployed boys looking to start a life in agriculture. I understand the tall grain tower dates from this period.
The buildings in this area are all unsafe and care should be taken not to enter them, especially if you are visiting with children.
A further structure of interest is a World War 2 ‘Pill-box’ structure. It’s in a sorry state and the brickwork has seen better days.
Despite the derelict structures the views from here on a clear day make the trip worthwhile. You can see into Colston Bassett with its grand white hall. Belvoir Castle is visible on the left hand end of the escarpment over on the horizon. A sharp eye will also pick out the church tower at Bottesford in the distance.
The cache container is a 1litre plastic box in a green bag. It's big enough to take trade items. Please re-hide it well after finding as this area is more muggled than you might think. A cover excuse if discovered by muggles is that you’re coming to look at the WW2 pill-box.
DO NOT drive up the farm track, it’s a private drive and is still used by a neighbouring farm. For a nice walk park your car on Kinoulton Main Street near the canal bridge N 52° 52.145 W 00° 59.850. Take the well-surfaced canal towpath to the next bridge and then turn left up the farm track to Vimy Ridge Farm. It is a public footpath all the way to the A46 but it gets a bit muddy from this point if it's been raining. Whilst on the bridge, take a look at the plaque explaining the history of Monty Hind and the farm as well as the memorial to the Sherwood Foresters Regiment. After reading the plaque, walk down the track for a few yards and look for the herd of alpacas in the adjacent paddock, interesting wee beasties, sort of sheep on stilts with long necks.
If you're on a bike, all but the last 300 yards is suitable. After that you’ll need to get off and push it up the unmade hill unless you’re a mountain bike enthusiast with an armour-plated bum.
This web page shows fab pictures of the area but I'd strongly advise you don't climb the grain tower (it's not a water tower as the link suggests) http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=12241
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre n frpgvba bs pbapergr phyireg.
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