The John Buchan Trail - "Prester John" Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Original A1: Sadly this has gone. It survived the re-routing of a whole river, but not apparently the resurfacing/structuring of the bridge. Thank you to all who visited.

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Hidden : 10/2/2010
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

A cache and dash with fine views of Tweedsmuir.

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"I was perhaps half a mile the nearer to the glen, and was likely to get there first. And after that? I could see the track winding by the waterside and then crossing a hill-shoulder which diverted the stream. It was a road a man could scarcely ride, and a tired man would have a hard job to climb. I do not think that I had any hope. My exhilaration had died as suddenly as it had been born. I saw myself caught and carried off to Laputa, who must now be close on the rendezvous at Inanda's Kraal. I had no weapon to make a fight for it. My foemen were many and untired. It must be only a matter of minutes till I was in their hands.

More in a dogged fury of disappointment than with any hope of escape I forced my sore legs up the glen. Ten minutes ago I had been exulting in the glories of the morning, and now the sun was not less bright or the colours less fair, but the heart had gone out of the spectator. At first I managed to get some pace out of myself, partly from fear and partly from anger. But I soon found that my body had been tried too far. I could plod along, but to save my life I could not have hurried. Any healthy savage could have caught me in a hundred yards."

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So spake David Crawfurd, hero of John Buchan's 1910 novel "Prester John" - the first of his great adventure stories which has endured for the last 100 years.

John Buchan was born in 1875 in Perth, the eldest of five children, whose father was a minister. The family moved to Pathhead, Fife, where the other four were born. Although they then moved to Glasgow where he first attended Hutcheson's Grammar School, then to Glasgow University and Brasenose College Oxford, he spent plenty of time down with his grandparents at Broughton in the Scottish Borders, around which this series of caches is based.

Following his studies in Classics, he firstly worked on the "Spectator" magazine, whilst reading for the Bar, to which he was called in 1901. He then moved to South Africa to work in government and diplomacy until 1903, which introduced him to the country which would influence this book. He returned to work on the "Spectator" and the Bar, and married Susan Grosvenor in 1907, from which they had four children. It was at this time he became a director of the Edinburgh publishing house Thomas Nelson & Son, having befriended Thomas Nelson, a descendant of the founder, at Oxford.

From around this time, he ventured into politics, becoming in 1911 the Unionist candidate for Peebles and Selkirk, and on the outbreak of the First World War, worked firstly on the staff of "The Times" on the western front, and then in intelligence. It was between 1915-1919 that he wrote four of the five "Hannay" novels which form part of this series of caches.

Following the War, Buchan turned more towards his writing, producing both novels and historical novels, and combined this with a directorship of Reuters. He and his family moved to Elsfield Manor, Oxfordshire, but he retained strong links with Scotland, combining amongst his titles "M.P. for the Combined Scottish Universities" and "President of the Scottish Historical Society". In 1932, he was appointed to the Order of St Michael and St George and in 1933/4, he was the High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Following this, he was created Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield in 1935, and in the same year, Governor-General of Canada, the office of which he held until his death in Montreal on 6th February 1940 following a stroke.

Although his ashes are buried at Elsfield, there is a section in the John Buchan Centre in Broughton which reflects the impact of his time in South Africa and the desire expressed earlier in his life that his remains should be buried there. This seems to have been overlooked at the time of his death, but a memorial by way of a plaque affixed to a monolith has been dedicated to him overlooking the Ebenezer Dam in the Magoebaskloof region in South Africa, the area in which he was inspired to write "Prester John".

Although "Prester John" is not one of the "Hannay" novels, the tales of derring-do and high adventure carry all the hallmarks of Buchan's most famous hero. The cache itself will not require your heart to race in the same way as David Crawfurd's did, but I hope you will enjoy the terrain around you and try to envisage the thrill of adventure, which may in turn inspire you to read these books if you have not already done so (or again if you have!).

Please be careful about fast-moving traffic when retrieving this cache, as it is quite close to the road.

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"The John Buchan Story" (visit link) has now moved to Peebles and the opening details are as follows:

Easter Weekend (from Good Friday) until the end of October, Monday to Saturday.

Times:

10.00 am to 4.30 pm.

Admission:

Adults: £2
Children: free
John Buchan Society Members: free

Outwith these times, we are happy to open the Museum for groups (up to 30 people).

Winter Season

We especially welcome groups in the winter months and can customise your visit to your particular interests.

Easter Weekend - Friday to Monday inclusive, and from 1st May to mid-October daily between 2-5pm: Adults £2, Children 50p. It can be opened at other times and available for large groups by arrangement.

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* * * FTF: THESEARCHDOG * * *

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Orgjrra "Evire Gjrrq" naq Evire Gjrrq - Hcfgernz fvqr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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