The Grand Old Duke of York Traditional Cache
Cookingbugs05: Not close enough to maintain.
The Grand Old Duke of York
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This cache is located near a plot of land I used for some of my research while working on my Master's degree. Coming up and down the nearby grade reminds me of the Grand Old Duke of York nursery rhyme, hence the cache name.
The origin to the words of "The grand old Duke of York" are believed to date back to the Plantagenet dynasty in the 15th century and refer mockingly to the defeat of Richard, "The grand old Duke of York" in the Wars of the Roses (1455). This war was between the house of York (whose symbol was a white rose) and the house of Lancaster (whose symbol was a red rose). The Wars of the Roses lasted for over thirty years and were equivalent to a Civil War.
The words of the Nursery rhyme are believed to refer to Richard, Duke of York, claimant to the English throne and Protector of England and the Battle of Wakefield on December 30, 1460. The Duke of York and his army marched to his castle at Sandal where Richard took up a defensive position against the Lancastrian army. Sandal Castle was built on top of the site of an old Norman motte and bailey fortress. Its massive earthworks stood 33 feet (10m) above the original ground level ("he marched them up to the top of the hill"). In a moment of madness he left his stronghold in the castle and went down to make a direct attack on the Lancastrians " he marched them down again". His army was overwhelmed and Richard the Duke of York was killed.
"The Grand old Duke of York he had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again.
When they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only halfway up
They were neither up nor down."
While I never saw any snakes in the two years I did my research nearby it never hurts to keep an eye out for them. Also there are CITO opportunities if you so desire.
There is a WSGA geocoin for a FTF prize. Good luck with the cache and have fun!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures