The cache is not at the published co-ordinates. They are for a
suitable parking spot to start this cache.
The village of Stilton is situated about 80 miles north of
London on the old Great North Road. In the 18th century, the town
was a staging post for coaches traveling from London to York.
Horses would be changed and travelers served light refreshments at
one of the hostelries in the town. Cooper Thornhill, an East
Midlands entrepreneur, was landlord at the famous Bell Inn and it
was he who introduced these travelers to a soft, creamy, blue
veined cheese that subsequently took its name from the village.
Thornhill had brought the cheese that was first made by Frances
Pawlett, from a farmer’s wife who lived near Melton Mowbray
in Leicestershire. The cheese was never actually made in the
village.
As Stilton is on the Great North Road, it had many travellers
passing through and making use of the many inns, but in the middle
of the 19th century the railway was built and passed to the east
through Holme and Yaxley, alas this cut the passing trade
drastically. And then in 1959 the opening of the A1 Stilton bypass
meant the travelers no longer passed through the village, which had
a detrimental effect on the businesses that heavily relied on this,
many were forced to close. In 1962 Tom McDonald of the Talbot Inn
and Malcolm Moyer of the Bell Inn, with the help of telephone
engineer Fred Linstead, who provided a telegraph pole, cheered up
their drinkers by organizing the first ever “Cheese
Rolling” along the course outside the present post office on
Easter Monday.
Nowadays the cheese rolling is held every May Day where the
villagers and the visitors compete for The Bell Cup (men’s)
The WI cup (ladies) and the Stilton Parish council shield (Juniors)
by rolling cheeses down the main road of the village.
Legend tells that Dick Turpin the famous Highwayman was reputed
to have hid out at The Bell Inn until it was raided by the law. He
was reputed to have jumped out of a first floor window to escape
them and rode off on Black Bess down the Great North Road. Turpin
was later captured convicted of horse rustling. On the 19th of
April 1739 Turpin was and hanged at The Tyburn near York (The site
which is now the modern day York Race Track). His Spirit is said to
be one of the several that haunt The Bell Inn and guests have
reported seeing a ghostly figure on horseback outside the
building
Other famous visitors of the Bell Inn include Lord Byron, Clarke
Gable and boxer Joe Lewis to name but a few.
To complete the cache you need to take a short walk around the
village of Stilton and find the following clues
Clue 1 The Sign
Goto N 52° 29.348 W 000° 17.623.
Here there is a sign to remember someone. (Church warden)
A = The number of letters in his first name
B = The number of letters in his second name
Clue 2 The Pump
Goto N 52° 29.378 W 000° 17.356
E = Number of words are on the plaque on the floor inside the
chains
Clue 3 The Entrance
Goto N 52° 29.356 W 000° 17.330
F = The number of words set in stone above the glass door (Looking
East)
Clue 4 The Pub
Goto N 52° 29.448 W 000° 17.360
Look across the road.
The house was built in GH34
Now work out
J=B-A
K=H+4+E
The cache is located at N52° 29.FG3 W000° K.G3J
You are looking for a small clip lock box with a logbook and
pencil, some swaps and an unactivated TB for the FTF
This cache is buggy friendly but some roads have to be crossed so
please be careful with small cachers.
Please take care when retrieving and replacing the cache
HAVE FUN!!