![]()
For such a splendid name, these days Cooden Moat is a sad little muddy puddle full of concrete blocks. It's all beautifully overgrown, though, and even the Dragon's teeth are naturalised and swathed in ivy.
Records suggest, that these are the remains of a mediaeval moat that surrounded Cooden Manor.
It played another role in the history of the area during WWII when 'dragon's teeth' - defensive anti-tank blocks - were placed along this stretch of coast. The teeth apparently followed the nearby 'Cole Stream' and came up through the moat. Presumably those clearing up at the end of the war couldn't be bothered wading in to get these out - and here they sit, 70 years later.
The GZ is right on the edge of the 'moat' but a track runs alongside it for all but the last few feet. Beware of the brambles that have overgrown everything here.
FIRST TO FIND: LOOPYHOOP
SUMMER 2012 UPDATE: Yes, the path is very overgrown but passable. HOWEVER MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO MISS THE PATH AND MAKE ACCESSING THIS CACHE EVEN HARDER AND IMPOSSIBLY BRAMBLEY AND NETTLEY! SO - I RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING APPROACH:
When you leave 'Strangled Oak', walk across the field heading fairly due north and you'll come to a watering hole: there's a HUGE metal drinking trough next to the stream and a gate into the field beyond. Go through that gate then immediately double back on yourself and cross into the wooded area via the footbridge. You're now following a path heading south through the trees. Almost immediately after you've negotiated a hollowed-out area you'll see a left fork from the path. Take that - it leads directly to the cache.