WHERE IT ALL STARTED Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Park at N 50 40' 00.5' W 003 21' 29.7"
Be careful crossing the road and ensure you wear sturdy footwear as the paths are very 'pebbly' and steep in places.
This cache was set during the winter when the foliage was sparse so may require some foraging during the summer months. Please rehide carefully and beware camouflaged muggles!
Thanks to the landowner and Natural England for their kind permission in allowing this cache to be placed in this area.
History of the Heaths
The heaths were created thousands of years ago as a result of the clearance of trees by men. This heathland was then maintained by commoners who used it as a source of fuel, grazing and bedding for animals. The main evidence of early man is located at Woodbury Castle, a pre-historic hill fort built around 500-300 BC. It is a scheduled ancient monument which consists of large ditches and ramparts and there is a beautiful stand of mature beech trees within. One of the most famous residents of the heaths was Sir Walter Raleigh who was born at Hayes Barton Farm on the edge of East Budleigh Common and educated at East Budleigh. The farmhouse, which is a very beautiful and well preserved building, is part of a working farm. A statue of Sir Walter has recently been erected in East Budleigh.
The heaths have been used for military training since Napoleonic times and during World War II some 5,000 Royal Marines were based at the southern end of the Common in a very large infantry training centre around the Dalditch area. There were hundreds of buildings on the Common, although they were considerably spread out. They included a cinema and theatre. Most were built of brick, with concrete roofs. Most of the buildings have now been demolished and the heath has reclaimed the area, but you will still find numerous remains of them. Many woodland glades are suspiciously flat and thus show their origins as parade grounds. One area of the Common was actually intended as a bombing target. A mock-up of Exeter Airport was created - with landing lights, etc. - with the intention of fooling German pilots into bombing it instead of Exeter Airport. Nowadays the Royal Marines Commandos are based at the nearby Commando Training Centre at Lympstone and are trained on the heaths and can be seen conducting training almost daily. If met whilst out walking on the heaths they are always very polite and apparently their presence does have some benefits for the wildlife as the trampling down of some of the gorse and bracken and it’s cutting down for use as camouflage has much the same effect as grazing by cattle. In fact the Marines treat the Common with a great degree of care, and new recruits are even given a talk by local representatives of the nature conservation societies. You can’t always be sure whether you are looking at a bush or a Marine and in fact it can be quite disconcerting if the bush behind which you thought it was safe to ‘spend a penny’ suddenly gets up and walks away!
The cache is in a plastic clip lock sandwich box covered in green tape and contains various small swap items, £1 for the FTF, and a trackable item (at time of placement). If you are a fungus spotter, bring your identification book! From the nearby flat roof, look down and you will see the famous Royal Marines water tunnel, part of the Endurance Course.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)