Life Stump Traditional Cache
squirrel and nut: Time catches up with us all. Just keeping the countryside tidy.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Cache container is a lock and lock type plastic box - located on a pleasant woodland walk.
This area was once widely used for mining shale to produce paraffin oil. The resulting waste shale was piled up in bings, some of which can still be seen around Whitburn, Bathgate and other parts of the central belt of Scotland.
The Oakbank and Linwater bings used to form a moon type landscape here until the East Calder bypass was constructed. Lots of research was done into what would grow on this waste material, and the test site can still be seen fenced off at N55o 52.748 W003o 28 597, but I would not recommend stopping your car on this busy road to see it.
The Linwater bing has been levelled and turned into a successful Industrial Park, and the Oakbank bing has been landscaped and formed into a more natural looking hill with good views of the surrounding area. The Five Sisters can be seen to the west, with the Almondvale shopping centre clearly visible to the right and Livingston sprawling off to the north and pleasant farmlands off to the south. The Bathgate hills can be seen beyond Livingston, with Fife off in the distance beyond that.
This cache can be approached from several directions but can also be part of a string of caches through this area. Parts of this woodland seem to be over 400 years old, according to a TV programme I saw last week which described the flora in such aged woods.
Parking is available at N55 52 780 W003 28 468. Watch the busy road, and the nearby speed camera. It is best to stay on the paths around here as some of the drop offs can be quite sudden. Some areas can be very muddy and slippery, and most routes to the caches would probably not be suitable for a wheelchair.
The cache is not far from the path.
GPS can play up in this area, so you might want to try zac6x9's alternative coordinates of N55 53.042 W003 28.794.
Cache placed with the kind permission of the wardens of Almondell & Calderwood Country Park.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Unaql ubyybj va boivbhf fcbg.