Speech House Central 8 - Burnt Log. Traditional Cache
Speech House Central 8 - Burnt Log.
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
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) for 8-10 cars. Other suitable parking places 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. Cache 8 is in an area called Burnt Log. Compared to the last few cache locations we know very little about how or why the area became known as Burnt Log. Maybe in the past there was a fire or lightning strike which brought down a huge tree and left a large charred log in the area – any information would be gratefully received. However the area appears to be well known for its rather rare butterflys and birds – so keep your eyes and ears open in the late spring and summer. Cache 8 is a standard sized micro. Please replace carefully as there is a meeting point of tracks very close by. When you have found cache 8 follow the cycleway downhill to Cannop Ponds. This stretch of the cycle path is very steep in places taking you downhill from 145 metres at Burnt Log to just 65 metres at Cannop. There are speed barriers along the steepest part of the route but also large bends and some embankments around Three Brothers. Please keep a close eye on mini cachers so they do not disappear over or under something – we know they generally bounce well but don’t want any accidents!! With thanks to the Forestry Commission for allowing us to place this cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va Bnx gerr, urnq urvtug - YUF bs plpyr cngu jura qbvat gur pnpurf va beqre.