Peak Forest Canal; Hagg Bank Multi-Cache
Peak Forest Canal; Hagg Bank
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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The Bridges of Mad Son Counting No 2
I decided to have a break from work in Spring 2009; a couple of months or so walking and cycling round Derbyshire and beyond. A couple of days before the two months was up I discovered geocaching! My father thought I was a fool as the two-month break turned to three, then four, five, six ….. (hence the tortured by-line for this series). Now with the money drying up I have had to call an end to this playboy lifestyle (!) and return to gainful employment, and to celebrate (not) I thought I’d plant three little offsets close to bridges on the Peak Forest Canal below Disley.
The three are reasonably close to each other and with a fair wind all three could be knocked off in an hour, particularly if taken in number order. In each case Stage 1 is just where you will find a set of co-ordinates for the final cache.
Hagg Bank Lane runs parallel to the canal beyond the off-bank, between Higgins Clough and Wood End bridges. I have often wondered if the derivation of the name (which I confess I don’t know) is the same as that for Hague Bar, the road you can see on the other side of the valley. Immediately below this bit of canal is the 1902 Midland Railway tunnel – all 2 miles, 346 yards of it – which carries the middle of the three lines that pass through New Mills, and the only one not to have a station on it within the town.
The lane crosses the canal at Wood End Lift Bridge, where it effectively ends. There used to be a fixed high-level footbridge over here too, but only part of the abutments remains.
Stage 1 is a bit sneaky, and there is a hint with the co-ordinates when you find them. (Please try to read the co-ordinates in situ; do not try to remove them from where they are). The final cache is a much more straightforward find – the ubiquitous 35mm film canister.
FTF honours to Thirteen00
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fgntr 1; Tb sbe vg ! Gjb srrg bss gur sybbe .. arneyl ! Bbbcf ! Hcfvqr lbhe urnq, V fnvq, bbbcf hcfvqr lbhe urnq.
Svany; jvgu gur pb-beqvangrf ng Fgntr 1