Bungay Paddle 1: Baldry's Mill Race Traditional Cache
Claire78: Poorly father in law means that we are not going to get a chance to come out this way and replace any time soon :(
Bungay Paddle 1: Baldry's Mill Race
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Finding this cache will only be possible in a canoe! Water can be shallow here and you will have to lay back in your canoe if you want to pass under the bridge!
This is one of three caches along this beautiful part of the river near Bungay. The series may be expanded in the future either by myself or one of the other canoeing cachers who live locally. All caches are placed along the margins of the river. None are on private property.
The bridge near here, over the mill race for Baldry's Mill, is a vital link from Ditchingham to Outney Common. On the Norfolk side of the river the path joins up with the Angles Way long distance path.
The Waveney is not a fast flowing river making it ideal for beginners to canoeing. It has a very gentle slope on this stretch. In the 25 miles between Hoxne and Beccles it falls only 20 metres. Despite this the river has powered at least 17 watermills along its length.
A water mill stood here at Ditchingham from at least 1240. The last mill built here only lasted 3 years however. There was a long running dispute about the water level. The miller wanted it high to power the mill but the people who grazed their animals in the pasture wanted it lower. After the mill burned down in 1781 the site was sold and the mill rebuilt. The new owners went bankrupt in 1784 and the holders of Outney Common's grazing rights bought the mill specifically in order to get rid of it! They demolished the mill building and sold off all the materials including the floor, the roof tiles and the brick work.
THe Baldry family lived in the Mill house from the 1820s. In the 1920s and 30s George Baldry and his wife built bridges over the river and hired out boats and bathing huts which they built themselves.
This cache is big enough for small trackables and swaps. At the time it was left it contained a magnetic FTF badge for the FTF (of course) and some crayons as well as the log book and a pencil.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Nobir lbhe urnq. Ybt-b-syntr! Or pnershy - lbh jvyy arrq gb fgnaq hc va gur pnabr gb ernpu guvf bar va gur gerr.
Treasures
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