The chimney - not! Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This is a nice easy walk in the country along the old Finnock plantation road. There are two caches on the walk, ‘Fingall burn’ and ‘The Chimney’. You can make part of it as a ‘cache-n-dash’ or have longer walks.
You can start at the Kelly Mains farm end at Weymss Bay or the Finnock bog farm end near Inverkip. Parking is probably easier at the Kelly mains end. There is a lower path which is a bit harder going and a wee bit muddy. On a fine day it is a lovely daunder with fine views, (apart from that chimney!) ***** On 28th July 2013 that chimney finally came down in a two stage controlled explosion that sent it's 1.9 million bricks tumbling downward. Housing is still planned but no sign of the promised road improvement!
The South of Scotland Electricity Board began construction of Inverkip power station in 1970, and it was to be Scotland's first oil fired power station, but the oil crisis of 1973 intervened, with the price of a barrel of OPEC oil quadrupling by 1974 and rendering operation of the station uneconomic. Inverkip became Scotland's only oil fired power station. The only time the station operated at full capacity was when it was brought on line was between 1984 and 1985, during the miners' strike. (which some reckon was the only reason it was built in the first place). In 1991, the SSEB was privatised and the station became the property of ScottishPower - the trading name of Scottish Power UK plc - which planned to strip out the plant and sell it to China or India.
In April 2007, ScottishPower was acquired by Iberdrola (described as one of the leading private electric utilities worldwide, and the largest renewable energy operator in the world).
The station has been explored and photographed by a number of urban explorers over the years, and these reports have shown that much of the equipment remains in place, although there is evidence that some plant has been removed, leaving gaps in some areas. Much of the equipment is powered, and dehumidifiers are installed to preserve plant and machinery that could be damaged by condensation. Communication and telephone systems remain functional, and the site has active security and personnel on patrol.
In May 2007, ScottishPower carried out a three day public consultation in Inverkip regarding plans to demolish the station and replace it with residential housing and other facilities including a boatyard and restaurant. The site could contain between 400 and 600 houses. Almost 90% of those surveyed (a sample of 229) backed the proposals, with almost as many seeking a new transport link to connect the development with Inverkip and Wemyss Bay - congestion of the existing A78 was a concern when they considered the increase in traffic the development would bring, added to current developments already underway between Largs and Skelmorlie on the A78 to the south. The company had plans to have removed all existing buildings by spring 2009. Alas it’s still there and nothing has really happened. We still have a very large eyesore and monumental white elephant.
Anyway, you can do the longer walk which starts at Kelly mains and goes to Finnock bog farm, thence down the road towards the power station and then you join the lower path at the gate just before the railway bridge. This will bring you back out on the farm road at the Fingall burn bridge. ( gate at N 55 52.943 W 004 53.188). A remarkable bridge - have a look over!! Wander back up the road and admire the views over the river, (if it’s not raining!).
The sprawling Parkdean caravan park is on your right hand side and, although a bit of an eyesore, you can see why people do like to holiday / live here.
You can shorten the walk by going through the gate near the cache site and then joining the lower path and heading back towards the Kelly Mains farm road and the Fingall burn cache.
To get to the farm road turn off the A78 at N 55 53.075 W 004 53.275. A big sign says ‘No Access’ but that’s really meant for big lorries with 40ft caravans on the back navigating by Tom-tom! Follow the wee road upwards. There are several parking places on this road but best to head up to the parking spot at N 55 52.778 W 00452.850 which is just past the farm and near some gates. Lots of horses around here so be careful. The Finnock road starts opposite the byre.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Evtug arkg gb unys gur zna V hfrq gb or.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures