End of the Line
This is two stage cache located in Huntly Wood, a small woodland
of mature beech and oak trees beside Banbridge Golf Club, on a
sloping location which was formerly a cutting for the
Banbridge –
Scarva railway
line (11km). The line opened in 1859 and closed 97 years later in
1956. There is a circular route (about 1.5km) around the wood which
takes you along the old railway beside the River Bann where the
remains of an old railway bridge across the river can be seen. Some
railway stonework can also be seen on this lower path. Huntly Wood
has recently been cleaned up and was opened to the public in July
2007. The project was completed with assistance from the Probation
Service for N.I. and its "volunteers".
Due to the number of mature, dead and fallen trees, there is
considerable wildlife in the wood including grey squirrels and
several different species of bats; down by the river, otters have
been reported. When placing the cache, the remains of several old
wasps' paper nests were found in the surrounding area.
The main co-ordinates are for the first cache; this will give
you a clue to the main cache once you've reached the "End of the
Line", which is as far as you can go on the old railway within
Huntly Wood. The hints below are for the first cache. Due to the
tree cover, I was unable to obtain really accurate GPS readings, so
co-ordinates are probably within 10-12 metres or so. The main cache
is the normal small tab-locked box containing log book, a FTF
badge, calculator, "troll on a rope", batteries, and other
swappable items.
End of the Line co-ordinates N 54 21.970, w 006 16.854
Parking in a small lay-bye N 54 21.697, W 006 16.880