Wheaten’s Ratty Trail - part 7 Traditional Cache
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Wheaten’s Ratty Trail - part 7
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A circular walk of 8 caches, about 1.5 miles in length around the outskirts of Dorchester inspired by Ratty’s Trail. We hope you enjoy it.
This is another of our regular walks, it is based on Ratty’s trail which was established by Dorset County Council in 2005. The trail takes you around some diverse landscapes that support a wide range of wildlife, but unfortunately you are unlikely to see water voles ‘Ratty’, which due to changes in grazing and predators like the American mink are rarely if ever seen along the bank of the river Frome now.
There is a superb leaflet published by Dorset Countryside, which although it does not follow the exact same route as this ‘cache trail’ has some great illustrations and supporting information. It can be downloaded from www.dorsetforyou.com/media.jsp?mediaid=91821&filetype=pdf
Another on-line source of additional information is a bird watching leaflet written by Derek Moody, this can be found at www.casterbridgehotel.co.uk/images/walk/loop/dorloop.pdf
Part 7
Before you turn east you will pass Johns pond, where legend has it, a person named John drowned whilst escaping from the nearby jail. A quick detour over the bridge will bring you to Hangman's Cottage a beautiful example of a Dorset thatched cottage. It was believed to be the home of the town’s executioner. Casts of some of the heads of his victims can still be seen in the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester.
Walk along the side of the mill-stream passing Dorchester prison on the right and the site of some old allotment gardens and also past some new and well used ones. Also keep an eye out for the nature reserve on your left before you cross the main road, keep following the stream past the old metal stockiest of Lott and Wayne until you come to the next location where you will find a ‘bolt’ cache
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
haqre sbbg oevqtr, ba gur yrsg, V ZBIR FYBJYL !!!!!