The Location
This cache is hidden beside the "Newt Pond", a deep pool of clear water overhung by trees on the north-east slope of Three Rock Mountain. When I hid the cache, the water was full of fat tadpoles.
We used to call it the "Duck Pond", because you sometimes see ducks swimming in it, but when the excellent maps of the area were produced by East-West mapping, it was marked as "Newt Pond".
There are impressive views to the north and east, over Dublin City and the curve of the bay, Killiney Hill and Howth, and (on a clear day) the Mourne mountains and the mountains of Wales.
There is a sign warning that it is dangerous to enter the fenced area around the pond. You do NOT need to enter the fenced area to access the cache.
Having said that, the gate is long gone and I think it's worth stepping inside for a closer look. My dogs love to swim in the pond when we are out for a walk in the area and I have been known to join them. Please use your own judgement and appropriate caution near the water, especially with children.
How to get there
The cache location is on a path that follows the 300 metre contour around the north and east sides of Three Rock Mountain. You can get onto this path from a number of different places:
- from the main car park in Ticknock valley (I've recorded the start of the path as an Additional Waypoint);
- If you're walking the Dublin Mountains Way, turn right at the top of Carthy's Green;
- From the masts on Three Rock, descend to the north-east;
- Any of a number of access points leading off the road at Barnacullia.