Speech House Central 3 - Bridge the Gap. Traditional Cache
ChippyBloss: Thanks for the last 3 DNFs from various people. We've been to check this afternoon & the cache does appear to be missing. Looks like a lot of activity in the area so we have decided to call it a day with this one - we have neither the time nor the inclination to replace it yet again. Thanks for all the great comments on this cache. ChippyBloss.
Speech House Central 3 - Bridge the Gap.
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Here is another of our circular routes this time with Speech House at its centre. The trail is along the cycle track that follows the route of the old forest mining railway, with various starting points along the way. We started the trail from the bottom of Speech House Hill where there is free parking outside the barriers - other parking spots & picnic sites are available.
This trail may be done on bikes or on foot. It is just over 7 miles however so is more suitable for bikers or fit walkers. The trail may be split into 2 sections for those on foot, with routes back to parking spots via Spruce Ride or the Gloucestershire Way, but by the time you have done this you might as well have walked the total distance on the easier cycle track. The trail is also on very good made up tracks and the gradient is never severe – as long as you attempt the caches in numerical order. Attempt the circuit in reverse numerical order & you will see why we put that bit in bold.
The caches are quite widely spaced apart, to avoid cyclists having to hop on & off too frequently. We would also suggest a local Explorer map (OL14) may be useful, or download one from the Internet, or use the marvels of technology on your GPS – they show the route accurately and have the local parking and picnic spots on them.
If you fancy a break for lunch there are quite a few places to consider – New Fancy picnic site, Beechenhurst picnic site and BBQs, Speculation picnic site off the New Road or Folders Green/Cannop picnic site – depends where & when you set off from on the circuit. Don’t forget, if you are parked up inside a barrier get back to the car by 5pm in the winter months, or you could have a long journey home that night. In the summer you have at least 2 hours more time available.
Finally, there is a first to find prize in one of the 9 caches around the circuit, but we could not possibly say in which one it is hidden.
Cache 3 is hidden in a spot that was central to the mining industry of the area. Look at the title to see extra clues to the location. All around this area can be seen reminders of the coal mining past; the built up side tracking for the drams as they were brought down from the pit, the old rails and sleepers now used for other purposes and the embankments and bridge supports only partially dismantled.
This part of the route is in quite deep woodland and has a steep embankment to the northern side so GPS reception is poor – the signal does vary quite alarmingly and so do the readings we have been getting!! Please use the clue, as it is quite specific. The cache container is not standard and is partially camouflaged – a pen or pencil will be required to fill in the log, as the container is too small to carry one. Enjoy!
With thanks to the Forestry Commission for allowing us to place these caches.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ba FR onax; fgbar pnpur va fgbar jnyy.
Treasures
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