Wuff's Wadsley Wander - Bradfield View
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A short walk.
FTF congratulations to Mr&Mrs Birdwatchdave and Ska-face.
This is a random wander of 11 caches of varying styles + a bonus, set in Wadsley village and on Wadsley Common, an area of about 75 acres of open land to the NW of Sheffield, which was my master and his pet dogs' Kim and Judy's playground when he was a boy / young teenager. A few years ago the City Council apparently decided surface some paths. It improved access to "the Common" and many other dogs were able to bring their less able human carers up here. Most humans used these paths and subsequently many of the other paths that Kim and Judy used are unfortunately overgrown and now impassable. This in turn has allowed many silver birch and other trees to establish which many people think has spoiled the environment and restricted the views which could be seen across the Don and Loxley Valleys, Sheffield and beyond toward Chesterfield and Worksop.
These caches are on/near a Local Nature Reserve. Please respect the sensitivity of the area. Thanks are given to Sheffield City Council - Parks and Countryside Office for permission to set these caches.
It's an easy walk with no stiles or fences to cross, no steep climbs, but some uneven paths which are great for me to run on, so I would like to set an informal challenge. I, and my geodog friends, could easily WALK around these caches in about an hour as it is less than two miles and has a dozen caches. My challenge is for you to find all the caches in less than 90 minutes. Just for fun, why not see how quickly you can get round? As a challenge between you and other caching friends, record the exact time taken to complete the series in your log for the bonus cache and/or when you log your finds. Be honest, it's only for fun.
There are two car parks, off Long Lane in Worrall (N53.24.830, W001.32.367) at the top of the Common and off Rural Lane (N53.24.815 W001.31.296) in Wadsley at the bottom side of the Common. It's up to you to work out the best option. There is a logical route but I like wandering, so the caches are not identified in a particular order. All caches can be reached along mainly established paths, though running through the heather is great fun for geodogs. Some of the caches have to be accessed along the road, where I have my lead on. The Common can get really muddy in wet weather; that's great for getting really dirty, but you will probably need proper footwear. Several paths on the Common can be accessed by wheelchairs and buggies from the car parks. The Common is popular with muggle dogs taking keepers for their daily exercise, so geodogs and their cachers will need to practice stealth procedures. It's a great area for geodogs to run around, but please ask your caching people to observe the country code for the other animals that live up here, and if livestock are present, be responsible with any little ones and keep your owner at the end of its lead.
Although its good fun, rather than you or your "pet" chewing or otherwise destroying some caches in order to extract the log, you should advise your keeper that a few standard caching tools will be handy: pen, paperclip, tweezers, walking stick, tennis racquet to name a few. Oh, and a hard hat might be come in handy by the golf course!
Master says some caches are big enough for swaps, but others just have logs. He says my Travel Bug has started out in one of the caches but he won't tell me which one. If you find it please move it on and help it to fulfil my wish for it.
My master says this is an historical area of Sheffield so I will try to remember and tell you some of the stories and history he has told as we go around. According to a Mr J Edward Vickers, Sheffield historian, in his book Ancient Suburbs of Sheffield, Wadsley Common was around before the Norman Conquest. It is ancient land originally a part of "Wadde's Leah" or Wadde's forest clearing. The forest in question was Barnsdale Forest which stretched from Pontefract to Sherwood and consequently many stories abound. One such is that Mary Queen of Scots, whilst at Sheffield Castle, under the guard of the Earl of Shrewsbury from 1570 to 1584, frequently rode across Wadsley Common for exercise. I will try and remember other appropriate titbits on our journey. This talk of titbits is making me hungry, must soon be time for dinner, but I think I had better go outside first.
Bye! I'll talk to you again soon.
Oh! I nearly forgot. There's a bonus traditional cache with a slight twist. As a starter the first part of the coordinates is N53.24.ABC and W001.3D.EFG where you have to find the letters A-G. The substitute number for the letters can be found in some of the caches. However, we have not given you the number, but solving a simple puzzle at the beginning of the log sheet will get you on your way to the bonus.
This is our first cache selection. We hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to record your time. I bet YOU can't do it in an hour and a half.
Good luck! Wuff!
This is the top car park on Wadsley Common off Long Lane (runs from Worrall to Loxley). The common is presided over by Sheffield City Council Parks and Recreation under the eagle eyes of The Wadsley and Loxley Commoners. On a clear day, from here you can pick out various Sheffield landmarks and admire the view across the Loxley Valley.
History relates that Francis Fearn, the 22 year-old son of a Bradfield farmer and an apprentice filesmith in Sheffield, persuaded Nathan Andrews, a jeweller in Sheffield to attend a non-existent Watch Club in Bradfield. While passing by Wadsley Common, he robbed and murdered the jeweller. Fearn was apprehended the following day and tried on 13 July 1782. Found guilty, he was executed several months later after first being held at the Sheffield Town Hall goal then moved to York gaol, reputedly to the same cell where Dick Turpin had been imprisoned, living on a daily ration of a bread, two ounces of cheese and water. The judge had decreed that his body be hung in chains on a gibbet near the scene of his crime, reputed to be near this car park. His body only fell from the chains on Christmas Day 1797, nearly 15 years later! Even now walkers over the common and around Long Lane, profess to hear something akin to Frank Fearn's gibbet chains, creaking in the wind, and all but the strong willed avoid walking past after dark. Maps of the early 1800's mark the position of Wadsley's only ever gibbet post at Gibbet Rocks.
Extreme stealth maybe required with this cache.
Please replace the cache as found or better.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pna lbh ont guvf bar?