Reedswood Park - Open Air School Traditional Cache
BlueWKD: This seems to have gone. Been around a while and one of my first. Decided to archive to make room for others.
Reedswood Park - Open Air School
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Reedswood Park (formally Reeds’ Wood), the site of extensive mining, was given to the people of Walsall by the Earl of Bradford in 1882. Work began to transform this wasteland into a public recreation area in 1884.
In 1919 an educational experiment lead to the opening of the boroughs first open-air school for (quote) ‘delicate children’ (children with a history of poor health). Tents were provided which acted both as classrooms and dining rooms.
Within a month of opening significant improvements in the children’s health were recorded and attributed to the fresh air and natural environment.
Due to its success the school was extended in 1920 with the provision of a three sided hut.
Right through the year the children worked, played and ate whilst fully exposed to the elements. The school very rarely closed except in the worst of winter conditions. An extract from the headteachers diary from January 1945 reads, ‘ ….decided to close the school for the afternoon owing to the extremely bad weather conditions. A blizzard is blowing from the north west driving snow right across the classrooms. It is impossible to protect the children from the biting wind which keeps them in a shivering condition.’
Despite being a temporary provision the school survived for over 50 years but was eventually closed in 1965 when a report described its’ buildings as wholly inadequate and the children moved to new purpose built premises and renamed Three Crowns Day Special School.
The cache, a small lockbox, is positioned very close to the site of the old school.
Stealth required, plenty of dog-walkers in plain view.
Please replace the cache as you find it making sure that is kept obscured from view.
Cache placed with kind permission of Greenspace Services, Walsall Council.
Congratulations go to:
1st to find - dinkydonk
2nd to find - the one true buzzard
3rd to find - bikeboyroy.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Zhygv gehaxrq gerr
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures