A Blind Date? Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is the four in a series of 7 caches (including the final cache) that forms part of a circular walk around the village of Hurworth On Tees (incorporating Hurworth Place).
Each set of coordinates will take you to a cache site, and waypoints are shown for parking and navigation where necessary. In each of the first 7 caches there is a letter associated with a number that you will need to make a note of as you go along. If you are planning on doing all 8 caches in the series it will involve a round trip of approximately 2-3 miles, and in this case suitable parking can be found at the Local Community Centre Hurworth Grange (Parking N54 29.174 W001 32.548). Please note bicycles are prohibited on parts of the full circular route as they are classed as footpaths not as bridleways. Part of the route also involves the use of styles so if you have a pushchair you might have to man-handle it over the styles. In wet weather you are advised to where suitable footwear. Two caches in the series are wheelchair accessible, and are located within approximately 2 meters of a roadway but assistance would be required to retrieve the final cache. THIS CACHE IS wheelchair accessible with assistance Please replace the caches carefully. Enjoy! This cache is named after the lane that you are standing in - Blind Lane; a mystery name to this day but I can only assume it has been named such because the lane is a cul-de-sac. Apparently this lane boasts a ghost of a headless cow, but nobody in the village appears to have seen it, you might be lucky! As you walk down this lane from the hill (or walk a little further if in the opposite direction) please take time to admire the views across the river and on towards the Cleveland Hill; you might even be able to see Captain Cooks Monument on a clear day so bring your binoculars! The field below you heading off towards the river is called the Ring Field and it has been used by generations of Hurworth Children as a sledging field in the winter. On the way to the next cache take a look at the three dips in the village green where in as many as 1,500 people were buried in massive lime pits as a result of the Great Plague of 1665. This almost wiped out the entire village population of 750 people leaving only around 75 survivors.The plague struck many other nearby villages including Birkby and South Cowton According to old records, bodies from other nearby villages were ferried across the river Tees for burial in Hurworth. One of the victims of this "Black Death" was the local parson of the time and in the early 1970's his body was discovered by workmen, still with the key to the old church door in his pocket! Local folklore has it that this is the key that fits the large black door fitted to the house (the white house with low lintels called the "The Old Parsonage") located in the very SW Corner of the Green.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq gur tngr ohg juvpu bar, zvtug vg or gur oyhr bar? Purpx gur yvq orsber lbh tb vg'f n Genpxnoyr Pnpur!