Two Degrees West -- Bowes Traditional Cache

This cache is set exactly on the line of longitude 2ºwest

.........The object of these caches.........

The line of longitude, 2°W, is the only line of longitude that coincides exactly with one of the lines of the Ordnance Survey National Grid. It's line 400000 of the National Grid, also known as the Central Meridian, for those who like to know these things. It also runs the entire length of England: from just outside Berwick-upon-Tweed on the north-east coast to a couple of miles south-west of Swanage on the south coast - a total of 359 miles.

The author and television presenter, Nicholas Crane, whom you may have seen on BBC's 'Coast', once walked the whole line from north to south. He allowed himself a margin of just one grid square either side of the line. After the walk he wrote a very readable book called "Two Degrees West" which describes his escapades. The book is now out of print, but still available from second hand dealers.

To see more about Crane's book click here.

All "Two Degrees West" caches can be found here.

This is the old A66 which used to go through this quiet little village.

The Roman name for Bowes was Lavatrae. A Roman army station was located there.

Bowes castle was built in the corner of an old Roman fort guarding the Stainforth Pass through the Pennines. Around 1136, Alan, Count of Brittany, built a castle in the north-west corner of the site. After the death of Alan's son, Earl Conan the Little, ownership of the castle passed to the crown. King Henry II built a massive stone keep. Around 1216 enemies of King John besieged the castle and it was further besieged in 1322 in a regional feud between Henry Fitzhugh and the then Earl of Richmond. After that the castle fell into ruin and the crumbling remains of Henry's keep are all that are now left.

The only pub in the village, The Ancient Unicorn, is reputed to be haunted by several ghosts. This 17th century coaching inn famously played host to Charles Dickens as he toured the local area. Dickens found inspiration in the village academy, which he immortalized as Dotheboys Hall in Nicholas Nickleby. The graves of two of the characters portrayed by the great author remain in Bowes churchyard to this day.