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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Walk through woodland den to cache on west side of burn.
Keil's Den is a long narrow wooded glen set in an agricultural landscape. The wood is located on the steep slopes of both the west and east banks of the Keil Burn as it runs almost directly north-south.
The main native component is ash, but there is also a significant component of beech and sycamore, the result of 19th century plantings. There are smaller numbers of birch, rowan, cherry and oak, alder, willow, Scots pine and larch. There is also a diversity of shrub species including hawthorn, hazel, holly, elder, elm and blackthorn. Following loss of the mature elm component of the canopy over recent decades, the woodland has an open structure in many areas and is in transition, with ash, beech and sycamore all freely regenerating in patches, despite the presence of roe deer.
The structure of the woodland is varied, including mature woodland and developing young trees of various ages. The ground flora is generally representative of ancient woodland, the key components being woodrush, bluebell, dogs mercury and broad-buckler fern, with bracken and grasses encroaching into the more open areas. Many of the mature beech are beginning to decline and form a valuable veteran tree resource and deadwood is abundant. A number of the old and dead trees have also been identified as bat roosts.
The bird life is varied in Keil’s Den, including great, long-tailed and blue tits, wagtail, chaffinch, blackbird, great-spotted woodpecker, buzzard, robin and pheasant. Other mammals include moles, roe deer, rabbits, foxes and badgers.
The woodland offers extensive public access with 3.61km of paths, most of them claimed public rights of way. Several attractive loops of varying length are possible, with one path following the boundary all the way round the site and three other paths crossing the den from west to east. There are seven points at which it is possible to gain access to the wood, through kissing gates and staggered fences. Three of these entrances join up with paths across neighbouring fields, while four exit onto minor roads. The paths are generally unsurfaced with footbridges or boardwalks crossing burns and steps on steeper sections and can be muddy after rainfall.
At the south-east end of the site, at N56 13.503 W002 56.731, a 300m section from the road to the Keils Burn has been upgraded to a whin dust surface by a team from the Robert Gough Centre to provide better access for those of limited mobility. In other areas a reasonable degree of mobility is needed on unsurfaced routes.
In 1999 a new timber bridge was built across the Keil Burn, at N56 13.503 W002 56.731, approximately the mid-point as it passes through the glen.
Although there is no car park, there is space for three cars in front of the gate at the south-east entrance and at the south-west entrance at N56 13.044 W002 57.075.
This cache is intended to be done in conjuction with Keil’s Den 1 and 2 to form a circular route, taking in Third Generation’s Keil’s Den too. In order to do this, you will need to cross the burn at stepping stones near to Keil's Den 2 and at a bridge further into the Den. When I placed the caches, the burn was in spate, covering the stepping stones and as I was only wearing trainers, I had to walk all the way round and then back again. Better to wear wellies!
This cache is on the west side of the burn.
The cache is a small tupperwear box. Please rehide well.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
haqre oenapurf oruvaq ynetr snyyra gerr