Speech House Central 9 - Pond Life. Traditional Cache
Speech House Central 9 - Pond Life.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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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) 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 9 is the final one of the circuit and is along the edge of Cannop Ponds. The lower pond was created in 1825 to supply water, via a leat, to a waterwheel at Parkend Ironworks. The flow of water proved unreliable and an upper pond was added in 1829 to boost the supply. Facilities at the ponds include a large car park, information boards, picnic tables and a waymarked walk. The ponds also feature on the Forest of Dean Family Cycle Trail.
Today the ponds have been developed to encourage wildlife and local fishermen use the ponds regularly. Recent developments also include a hydro electric scheme which has been built by the side of the stoneworks at the bottom end of the ponds. The owners of the stoneworks plan to use the power for some of their stonecutting processes.
Cache 9 is a camouflaged micro tub – again please replace carefully as this one is in a busy area and keep an eye out for muggles. Tree cover in the summer may make GPS signals a little eratic so we have given a good clue.
With thanks to the Forestry Commission for permission to place this cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vil pynq gerr - 5 srrg hc.