'arbour View Traditional Cache
Professor Xavier: As the owner has not responded to my previous log requesting that they check this cache I am archiving it.
If you wish to email me please send your email via my profile (click on my name) and quote the cache name and number.
Regards
Charles Xavier
Professor Xavier
Volunteer UK Reviewer - www.geocaching.com
UK Geocaching Wiki - https://wiki.groundspeak.com/display/GEO/United+Kingdom
Geocaching.com Help Center http://support.groundspeak.com//index.php
UK Geocaching Information & Resources http://www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk/resources/default.shtml
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Yet another "pesky" nano but its worth it for the view. Extreme STEALTH is needed for this one, you will see why at the geozone. please replace as found. The cache is easily reached by paths so follow them to locate the cache and not necessarily the arrow on your GPS. You never know, it might be a good idea to take a piccie (that would add to the stealthy nature ;-) )
A little known viewpoint in old Weymouth overlooking the harbour and Melcombe Regis. Across the water you will see Vaughan's restaurant and on the side of the building is a plaque commemorating some gruesome history. It was on the 25th June 1348 that the Black Death or Plague first arrived in England. The event is documented in the Grey Friars Chronicle.
"In this year 1348 in Melcombe, in the county of Dorset, a little before the feast of St. John the Baptist, two ships, one of them from Bristol came alongside. One of the sailors had brought with him from Gascony the seeds of the terrible pestilence and through him the men of that town of Melcombe were the first in England to be infected."
The infected French sailor spent the night in a boarding house (which is today where the restaurant stands) whilst the rest of the crew celebrated their payload in the pubs and inns. By next morning he was dead. In those days bedding was not usually changed and so the next person that slept in the bed also caught the disease. He was to die in another bed, but by then the wheels were set in motion and the disease was spreading.
Villages and hamlets on the outskirts of Weymouth soon fell victim to the plague causing the villagers to abandon their settlements and seek refuge in other parts of the county; this caused the infection to spread over a wide area, until it eventually reached the major cities.
The Death took a heavy toll on the people of Portland, that the quarries and fields ceased to be worked and the coastal defences were left deserted. Edward III, in 1352 ordered the movement of the islanders to be restricted.
The bubonic plague was transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea, the flea itself being infected by the black rat upon which it lived. Both rats and fleas thrived in the unsanitary conditions of the time.
One bite from a flea could cause the most horrifying symptoms. The first sign being a blackish rash followed by large swellings in the armpit, groin and neck area. Preceding death the victim would develop a fever and begin to hallucinate.
The Black Death of 1348 would claim over a third of the population of these lands. Plague returned to Europe many times over the next 3 centuries, the Great Plague of London in 1665-66 is thought to be one of the last major outbreaks.
There our many caches in the vicinity including our Old Town Wander (multi), Crabchurch Conspiracy and Hope You Find It caches each celebrating Weymouth's history. Although there may be limited street parking in the vicinity it is probably best to approach on foot as the streets nearby can be very narrow. This is further complicated by extensive roadworks across Weymouth at the moment in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybj Evtug unaq fvqr ba srapr/jnyy nggnpuzrag.