Woods of the Fairies Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A lovely walk along paths through a community woodland, should not be too difficult (the 2.5 star rating is due to it taking about an hour or so to complete). This should be a good cache for families with young children...if you can get them past the playground (see FTF log!).
Strontian (Stron an t-Sithein - or nose/point of the fairies) lies in a tranquil setting at the head of Loch Sunart, and is seen as the Gateway to Ardnamurchan (see www.ardnamurchan.com). It is famous for the lead mines found high to the north of the village in the windswept hills where the mineral Strontianite and the element Strontium were first isolated in 1790 - both named after the village (see Strontianite cache GCH3QG). There are several well-marked walking paths of various lengths and difficulty radiating out from the village into the beautiful surrounding countryside (visit the Tourist Information Office for leaflets for the walks and for the Strontian Community Woodland).
This multi-site cache is based in the Strontian Community Woodland (Coille Choimhearsnachd Stron an t-Sithein), which incorporates the old ‘Policy Woodlands’ of the Sunart Estate. There are over sixty different species of trees in the wood, including exotics from all around the world. Many of the magnificent huge trees date back to the original early 19th century plantings by the Riddell family. Several new trees have been planted, and these and many of the existing trees are well labelled.
The Sunart Community Council (Comhairle Choimhearsnachd Shuaineirt) has recently encouraged the restoration of a network of the original paths meandering through the woodland, and now access is easy. The path is smooth and dry, but does have some steeper slopes. There is a good information panel and map near the entrance to the woodland.
Like many of the oak woodlands in this part of western Scotland (see www.sunartoakwoods.org.uk), the moist climate and clean air gives rise to a luxuriant undergrowth of lichens, mosses and liverworts. Whenever possible the fallen trees are left in place to naturally decompose, and so they are home to many fungi and insects and are clothed in cushions of moss. The woodland is also come to many native species of Scottish wildlife such as red and roe deer, pine marten and red squirrels.
Parking is recommended at the village centre where there is a well-stocked general store and a Tourist Information office. The initial grid reference is for the Tourist Information office which is only a short walk from the first waypoint. Visit the lettered waypoints and note which tree you find there. Once you have all the trees you can assign numbers to the letters and solve the final coordinates. The cache is a small snap-lock box containing a few trade items.
A. N 56° 41.710, W 5° 33.996
B. N 56° 41.683, W 5° 33.996
C. N 56° 41.647, W 5° 34.005
D. N 56° 41.602, W 5° 34.013
E. N 56° 41.703, W 5° 33.885
F. N 56° 41.749, W 5° 33.898
G. N 56° 41.741, W 5° 33.948
1. Wellingtonia (Giant Redwood)
2. Holly
3. European Silver Fir
4. Guelder Rose
5. Douglas Fir
6. Scots Pine
7. Corsican Pine
8. European Lime
9. Holm Oak
The final cache can be found at location N 56° 41.[A][B-D-G][C-B-F], W 5° 33.[C][D+F][E+G]
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Onfr bs ynetr gerr