9 A Walk in the Garden-St Kevin's Bed Mystery Cache
9 A Walk in the Garden-St Kevin's Bed
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A very short stroll in one of Ireland's foremost tourist beauty
spots in the heart of the Garden County. The coordinates above are
only for the car park. You have to solve the simple puzzle here to
find Stage 1 where you will receive coordinates for the final
cache. Both Stage 1 and the cache are placed at sites associated
with St Kevin. Please be aware of muggles at Stage1 which I imagine
could be a problem.The final cache is past a fence which indicates
danger (N53 00.261 W006 20.979) but it is not as far as the actual
St Kevin's Bed cave and the walk is safe and short, once you are
careful. Please take note of all the signs. The cache is not really
a 3 for terrrain but I have left it at that as a form of warning
and because there is a small bit of scrambling. Also, the signal at
the sloping final cache site is not that great. The best I could
get after 200 averages was 5 metres accuracy.
There is a parking fee of 4 euro at the main car park indicated
above. If you prefer not to pay, the other car park at N53 00.617
W006 19.384 has no fee and there is a very nice boardwalk
connecting the two car parks which takes a little time to
walk.
And then there was St Kevin and the blackbird.
The saint is kneeling, arms stretched out, inside
His cell, but the cell is narrow, so
One turned-up palm is out the window, stiff
As a crossbeam, when a blackbird lands
and Lays in it and settles down to nest.
Kevin feels the warm eggs, the small breast, the tucked
Neat head and claws and, finding himself linked
Into the network of eternal life,
Is moved to pity: now he must hold his hand
Like a branch out in the sun and rain for weeks
Until the young are hatched and fledged and flown.
Eight chicks relinquish from the North
But five times nine must leave the West
The danger past, they go their way.
And since the whole thing's imagined anyway,
Imagine being Kevin. Which is he?
Self-forgetful or in agony all the time
From the neck on out down through his hurting forearms?
Are his fingers sleeping? Does he still feel his knees?
Or has the shut-eyed blank of underearth
Crept up through him? Is there distance in his head?
Alone and mirrored clear in Love's deep river,
'To labour and not to seek reward,' he prays,
A prayer his body makes entirely
For he has forgotten self, forgotten bird
And on the riverbank forgotten the river's name.
(Seamus Heaney)
Please be clearly aware that
anyone attempting this cache does so entirely at their own risk and
that the cache owner has no liability of any sort and for any
reason, accident or mishap. This is not a long walk but there are
elements of tricky and dangerous ground so please excercise extreme
caution. There are also slippy and deep drops close to both Stage 1
and the final cache so again I would like to express caution and
the 3 stars for both difficulty and terrain can be well merited in
wet conditions. For these reasons, a month or so after placing the
cache, I am including spoiler pictures for both
sites.
Please be aware that cars parked
in areas close to walking trails are vulnerable and they can be
vandalised or stolen. Unfortunately this is an ongoing problem
which is extremely difficult to solve. so there is a risk involved.
I have heard recently that many hiker groups are parking at the
nearest population centres and getting taxis to and from the start
points at very little expense.
Please observe the country code to the best of your ability. Local
landowners often generously allow access to upland areas across or
through parts of their private property. Please, please be
conscious of this and return the courtesy by keeping all gates
closed, immediately and not on your way back!. Please use the gates
where appropriate but if you have to climb over them then use the
hinged side ONLY.
Please do not cause any damage of any sort to fences or barriers
along the way.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)