The Rufus Stone Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Cache placed in accordance with the GAGB New Forest guidelines. Please note there is no night caching allowed in the New Forest. Please note if you approach this from the M27 from Southampton it is safest to drive through Brook/Bramshaw rather than turning right off the A31 as you will have to cross 2 lanes of fast traffic. You can join the A31 Eastbound by turning left out of the car park, and follow the road up the hill.
I adopted this cache after Emm from Team Surts sadly passed away. I wanted to keep this cache going to remember her and also to give cachers the chance to find a very historic cache. The above co-ordinates will get you to the car park 'Rufus Stone' from here you will need to cross the road to the Rufus Stone. Information will be needed from the stone to get to co-ordinates of the cache. The cache is a short walk from the car park, at the time of placing it was very muddy, so I recommend wellies or sturdy walking boots in the winter months. Please take care. Cache Co-ordinates N 50.AB.CDE and W001.FG.HIJ A - number of letters in the item that was shot by Sir Walter Tyrrell B - number of letters in the animal that A was meant for C - number of letters in the King's first name D - the date in August that the incident happened. E - the number of letters in the month that the incident happened. F - number of letters in the name of the tree that stood at this spot G - number of letters in the name of the person who owned the cart H - number of letters in the surname of the king then +3 I - Zero J - number of letters in the place where King William was taken to then -9 The Rufus Stone has to be one of the strongest reminders of the origins of the New Forest. The iron-clad stone marks the (alleged) spot where King William II was fatally wounded with an arrow, during a royal hunting outing in the Forest, in the year 1100AD. The king was nicknamed Rufus, apparently because of his ruddy complexion and red hair, and was of course the son of King William I who was responsible for designating the area as the royal hunting ground that we know today as the New Forest. William Rufus was, by all accounts, an absolute barbarian and showed no mercy to the local inhabitants of the Forest, as well as being a fairly unpopular Monarch in general. In recent years, there's been fresh doubt cast over the location of the incident - historians now believe that it took place in the Beaulieu area, but locals of Canterton, where the stone stands, will always be proud of the dubious claim to fame. Although the original oak tree in question has long been gone, a mature oak does stand next to the stone - quite possibly a direct descendant of the original tree. The woods here are lovely with lots of mature trees, and it's a nice place to walk, there are lots of fallen trees for the children to climb over, but please take care in the wet months as they will be slippery. Just down the road is a lovely pub if you wanted to stop for lunch or a drink. Hope you enjoy this cache, please ensure when it's replaced it is out of view. There is no need to remove anything to retrieve the cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uneq svaq - ab uvag, hfr lbhe pnpure'f vafgvapg!
Rnfl svaq - va gur onol gerr nwbvarq gb nabgure, uvqqra oruvaq n cvrpr bs jbbq va gur ubyybj.