UPDATE 16 FEB 2011 - - - Yet another new cache dropped off a few metres further along the path from the last location which has been multi-muggled over the past couple of months. Hopefully this time its a little more secure ....
UPDATE 19.20hrs 25th SEPT 2010 - - - New cache dropped off in a slightly different location to the original due to our local council completely cutting down the original bush hiding place and being told they are coming back to finish the rest of the hedgerow off !! You will now need to cross the bridge to find the new hiding place ....
UPDATE 25TH SEPTEMBER 2010 - - - For reasons best known to our local council only, the complete bush where this cache is/was, has been cut down - please bear with us, we will replace the cache nearby in the next few days !!!! >
Newport Canal is a preserved section of the Shropshire Union canal which used to link from Norbury Junction through to Shrewsbury and beyond. The canal was abandoned in 1944 and subsequently, most of the land along the route has been filled in and sold off.
The story however, does not end there - an intrepid group of enthusiasts have for many years been campaigning and raising funds to re-open and re-navigate parts of the canal. For more information visit www.sncanal.org.uk
The preserved section of canal is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) so please take care and be aware of any wildlife, flora and fauna you may encounter. There are two families of swans living along the lower canal, and during the summer when the cygnets are about, they can be somewhat protective, especially if you have dogs with you.
The cache itself is located just outside the boundary of the SSSI, but when you get close to the GZ, if your GPS keeps you on the towpath, take a look again at the title of this cache !!
Newport itself lies some 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Telford and some 12 miles (19 km) west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border. The 2001 census recorded 10,814 people living in the town's parish, making it the second largest town in Telford and Wrekin, not including the Telford urban area, and the fifth in the ceremonial county of Shropshire.
Newport is a Britain in Bloom finalist and was awarded a silver gilt and the first town in the country to win six gold awards in a row for the Heart of England region.
The Normans planned a New Town called Novo Burgo between the older settlements of Edgmond and Plesc. The first market charter was granted by Henry I
At the time of the Conquest, Newport formed part of the manor of Edgmond which William I gave with the rest of the county of Shropshire to Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury. Henry I supposedly founded the borough, at first called New Borough, after the manor had come into his hands through the forfeiture of Robert de Belesme.
The Normans planned the new town around the older one during the reign of Henry I. The wide main street was designed for its market and the narrow burgage plots running at right angles to it are typical of Norman architecture and planning, though today the Guildhall and Smallwood Lodge are the only two that exist today, having survived the 1665 fire.
Medieval Newport flourished with trade in leather, wool and fish. Novoportans possessed the right to provide fish for the Royal table. The many half-timbered buildings surviving from the Late Medieval and Tudor periods confirm Newport's success, leading to the first market charter which was granted by Henry I.
The town came close to being destroyed for a second time when on Christmas Eve 1944 one of Hitler's V-2 bombs narrowly missed the town with the bomb landing in a nearby field. Even so nearby buildings suffered extensive damage, This Bomb is now on display at DCAE Cosford Royal Air Force Museum.
Charles Dickens stayed in Newport and modelled Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (1861) on Elizabeth Parker, a recluse from the town.
At Harper Adams University College just outside Newport in Edgmond, on 10 January 1982 the English lowest temperature weather record was broken (and is kept to this day): -26.1 °C.
The cache is a small round screw top container with log book and a number of small swops. It is disgused and hidden in an everyday object !!! The location is not far from where Locks and Rocks 1 used to be but that cache sadly kept getting muggled. It is quite close to TheGeoPenguins Secret HQ so we can keep an eye on it.
While you’re here, don’t forget to do the other caches along and near the canal :
GC1CZAG – Locks and Rocks 2
GC1CZAK – Locks and Rocks 3
GC161PE – Water Front View
GC177MM – Horses View
GC161MG – Every Journey has a First Step