This is the first in a series of 7 caches (plus a bonus cache),
that take you on the 6 1/2 mile 'Two Castles' walk, starting and
finishing in Magor. The walk and all caches are on public footpaths
or roads/lanes. The walk can be muddy in places, so good boots are
recommended. The walk takes in the ruin of
Pencoed
castle, which is presumably haunted (well it looks haunted to
me!), and also the more homely
Penhow
castle.
All caches can be done independantly (the first cache can be
accessed from the J23A Services, so could be done as a
cache-and-dash). Each cache contains a part of the code needed to
get the bonus cache. We recommend that the walk be done as a
clockwise circle (i.e. 1-7), otherwise some backtracking will be
needed to pick up the bonus cache.
We have made a .gpx file of the route, which can be downloaded
from
here . The route should be fine to follow from point to point,
except in the woods (near cache 5) where the tree cover cut out our
GPS. To do this bit of the walk, enter the wood directly opposite
the farm entrance that you have just come out of, stay on the
footpath through the wood, picking up cache 5 as you go. Aim
generally for the waypoint at the wood's exit. When you get to the
giant yew, turn left, then right when the path joins the larger
path, which takes you out of the wood.
The cache containers are all small clip-lock boxes with black
gaffer tape round them to disguise them. They will take small
travel bugs and geocoins. In each case, FTF gets a celebratory
party popper! Ample on-street parking can be found at 51:35.060 ,
2:49.991 (W11FBWH). Or there is a carpark in Magor, at 51:34.829,
2:49.920 (W31FBWH). If some refreshment is needed half-way round,
The Rock and Fountain pub should do nicely, especially the roaring
fire if it's raining. To get to the pub, after finding Cache 6,
exit the field at 51:31.882, 2:49.861 (W21FBWH). Note that the A48
is a very fast road, so be careful crossing. If more refreshment is
needed at the end of the walk, there are 2 pubs in magor (a reason
to park in the carpark perhaps), The Wheatsheaf at 51:34.834,
2:49.826 (W41FBWH), and the Golden Lion at 51:34.796, 2:49.879
(W51FBWH).