Cat and Rat Traditional Cache
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Size: 
(micro)
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Cat and Rat fountain in the centre of Hornby, Lancashire.
The Cat and Rat Fountain at the end of Hornby Main street is a legacy of the former Hornby Castle owner, Pudsey Dawson. His initials are intertwined beneath the cat and rat along with the date 1858. Pudsey Dawson was a founding Director of the North West railway and cut the first sod.
The railway line from Lancaster Green Ayre station (now closed) to Wennington ran through Hornby. It closed down under the Beeching cuts in January 1966. The line can be easily traced following roughly along the A683 before it heads slightly south towards Wennington. It was apparently known as the Cat and Rat railway. The site of the old railway bridge across the present A683 can be seen just outside Hornby on the Lancaster side. The keystone of this bridge was the Cat and Rat stone you see above the fountain which was removed when the line was doubled and an iron bridge was built to replace it. For more information on the Little North Western Railway see the Peckwood's cache GC2PTD0.
The Castle is now in private hands and the grounds are very occasionally open to the public. It stands on an imposing position beside the River Wenning. Built in the 13th century as a solid replacement for Castle Stede (GC2EVR2) the visible remains are mostly 18th and 19th century surrounding a 16th century tower. There are cat and rat stones carved on Hornby Castle gateway.
Hornby is a bustling village but is never overrun with tourists. The butcher (by the church) is renowned for miles around and the Spirit of the Andes alpaca shop has its headquarters here.
Congratulations to Slackhead for FTF on New Year's Eve 2010.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Znt anab gung'f ybfg vgf znt. Cyrnfr ercynpr pnershyyl!
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