GC2GDD7 Northop Ford (Traditional Cache) in North Wales, United Kingdom created by Team Marzipan

This cache has been archived.

Team Marzipan: [:(]

GC2GDD7 ▼

A cache by Team Marzipan Message this owner

Hidden : 10/8/2010

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Fords

Little Monsters at GZ

Please bring a pen or pencil and may be a pair of tweezers.

Northop ford. rating 1* = Basic Watersplash or Irish Bridge (Ford culverted at low flows)

'It is on the old road from Northop to Mold which predates the building of the first turnpike in the late 1700's. Most of the route of that road has disappeared (it goes through footballer Michael Owen's garden - green circle - as he lives just over the road when he's at home in the UK!) It crosses the Northop Brook. The road that runs east to west just south of the ford (bypassing Northop) is the old A55 before the present dual carriageway bypass to the north of the village was opened in the early 1990's. The ford is about 6 inches deep and is a concrete trough with very steep sides - cars with long overhang might ground (note the signs of grounding in the close-up of the ford) - hence the 'Not suitable for vehicles' signs. It barely shows up on the 50,000 map because it is in the village. But it is on a public road and is fully signposted both sides bilingually!'

Fords
A ford is a place in a watercourse (most commonly a stream or river) that is shallow enough to be crossed by wading, on horseback, or in a wheeled vehicle. The names of many towns and villages are derived from such places, e.g. Oxford (a ford where oxen crossed the river: see the Oxford coat of arms), or Stratford (a ford on a Roman road). In some parts of the United States, fords are known as low-water crossings, or low-water "bridges", particularly when they are on a public road. A ford is, clearly, a much cheaper form of river-crossing than a bridge though normally only suitable today for very minor roads. Most modern fords are shallow enough to be crossed by cars and other wheeled or tracked vehicles (a process known, fittingly, as "fording"), but they may become impassable after heavy rain.
At localities where the water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by the provision of a submerged concrete floor. In such cases a curb is often placed on the downstream side to prevent vehicles slipping off, as growth of algae will often make the slab very slippery.
The German word furt (as in Frankfurt) and the Dutch voorde, (as in Coevorden, Dievoort, or Amersfoort) are cognate and have the same meaning.
(1*) Basic Watersplash or Irish Bridge (Ford culverted at low flows).
(2*) Small Ford or rough larger Ford unsuitable for all vehicles.
(3*) Average Ford or large Ford unsuitable for all vehicles.
(4*) An unusually deep or long Ford.
(5*) A tourist attraction in its own right!

Beware of Muggles! Beware of Muggles! thanks ™

This cache used to be part of Northop Ford + walk

DRIVEBY CACHE