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NBGS Series 2 - Water Works Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

mountain god: This cache has been muggled and the location appear not ideal due to dog pee

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Hidden : 4/4/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

This Cache is the second of the North Belfast Green Spaces Series.

This is a 35mm film Canister and is accessible. This is a muggle rich area so please be as subtle as possible finding and rehiding this cache. Bring your own pencil.

Also the gates close at dusk so please come in daylight.

Entrance to the park is via Antrim Road or Cavehill Road. If you are travelling by bus, take Metro no.1A-H from Belfast city centre.

The Waterworks, as the name suggests, was the source of Belfast's water supply in the mid 19th century. It became a public park in the 1950s.

Today, the park is an oasis for wildfowl in north Belfast. You can find many greylag geese and mute swans, as well as other birds such as mallards, tufted ducks, coots, pochards, goldeneyes, cormorants and great-crested grebes. You can also see redwings and fieldfares feeding on the grass.

The park is also home to the Waterworks multi-sports facility. Other features include a community garden where local volunteers grow their own fruit and vegetables, two children's playgrounds, ponds, scenic views and walking routes.

History

The Belfast Waterworks were established in the early 1840s by the Water Commissioner. The site supplied water to the city's factories and residents for 20 years before demand began to outstrip supply.

In 1897, a public meeting was held to decide the future of the Waterworks and a suggestion was made that the site should be used for water-based activities.

The site's owners, the Water Board, were initially hesitant as their operation licence only extended to providing the city with water and they did not want to sell their land to the Belfast Corporation (now the council). However, following an Act of Parliament in 1889, the Water Board were allowed to use the Waterworks for leisure purposes, provided they spent no more than £500 per year on the site.

Tom Boyce, a boating contractor who operated the Ormeau ferry across the River Lagan, was commissioned by the Water Board to provide 12 rowing boats for the site. Public bathing soon followed, as did diving and swimming galas, speedboat racing in 1929 and model yacht sailing in 1933.

The Waterworks were bought by the Belfast Corporation in 1956. They decided to partially fill in both of the site's reservoirs for safety reasons. The work took ten years to complete.

Since then, the upper pond has been stocked with trout for the local angling club and two manmade islands have been added to encourage waterfowl to breed.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

fgbar fgrry gerr fbzrjurer pybfr gb nyy guerr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)