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This is a multi-cache on and around White
Horse Hill in Oxfordshire. The 1.6 mile walk will take you to
the ancient Uffington Hill Fort, White Horse Chalk figure and the
mysterious Dragon's Hill. Parking is in the National Trust
car park ( N 51° 34.637 W 001°
34.699). A small charge
applies. This cache has been placed with the agreement of the
National Trust
On the top of White Horse Hill is Uffington
Castle, an Iron Age Hill fort built to a rampart and ditch design.
The original entrance to the fort is to the west. Entrances were
also added through the south and north east ramparts during the
Romano-British period. A number of Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows
lie between the white horse and the fort. These were reused in the
Romano-British and Anglo Saxon period.
The Uffington White Horse is an icon in the
English landscape, a stylised form that is mentioned in the written
record as far back as the 12th century. Recent dating of soil
samples has shown it was first carved in the Bronze Age,
approximately 3000 years ago. it is not known why it was first
created. As it can only been seen fully from the air it was perhaps
carved as a sign to the ancient gods.
Below the white horse is a dramatic steep
sided dry valley which is known as The Manger. The ripples in the
eastern side of the valley are known as the Giant's Stairs. The
valley was created through the scouring effect of melt-water during
the retreat of the last Ice Age. There is a terrace along the
western slope which is thought to be a remnant of a medieval
farming system. To the east of The Manger lies Dragon Hill, a small
round hill with a flat top. Legend states that this is the site
where St George slew the dragon. There is another legend that
Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur, is buried beneath
Dragon Hill.
There are often sheep
grazing on White Horse Hill so dogs need to be kept on a
lead.
Congratulations to
williewandering &
TPF_TreasureHunters on being
FTF on Sunday 8th November
2009
Finding the Dragon's
Egg
The published coordinates ( N51° 34.634 W001°
34.695) take you to the notice board, pause a while and learn more
about the legend of the dragon.
Head towards the gate (N 51° 34.585 W 001°
34.357) and then on up onto the ramparts of the hill
fort.
Continue walking towards the Trig
point (N 51° 34.527 W 001° 34.035) and along the way answer
the following question.
According to the Ministry of Works, Uffington
Castle could have been built between MNN bc and
43ad
When you get to the trig point find the
brass flush bracket and note its unique number
PQRS
Now head towards the White Horse on a bearing
of 12 degrees. Explore the horse and take in the fabulous view of
the Manger and Dragon's Hill, but please keep off the actual
chalk!
Now head due north down the hill and on up to
the top of Dragon's Hill where you can answer the final question
and work out the cache location.
As the dragon flies, how far is it from the
horse's eye to the dragon's blood.( in metres to the nearest
10m) XYZ
The Dragon's egg is hidden at
N51 34.(3xP)SX W1
34.NMY
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