Pondside Perambulation 9: Back to the Pond Traditional Cache
HeapsFamily: Archiving as I have moved away from Hampshire - but watch for a new series arriving soon from a caching neighbour....🙂
Pondside Perambulation 9: Back to the Pond
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(micro)
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Last one of the series – you are now looking for a tiny magnetic nano container – just a short walk back to the start now. Why not cross the footbridge when you reach it for the short walk into the village, with many local shops and cafes to celebrate finishing our trail?
This series of caches starts from Bishops Waltham Pond, formerly a medieval fish pond associated with the famous Bishops Palace, the ruins of which can still be visited nearby (open in the summer). The pond was split into two when the village bypass was built in the 1960s, and the walk starts from what is now known as the “North Pond”. This has recently undergone extensive restoration by local volunteers, who are constructing a viewing area where this trail starts. The walk itself is just over 3 miles long and is mainly on footpaths and tracks, although there are short stretches on minor roads. The final stretch (if walking clockwise) is along busier roads, but there is always a pavement available. The route may be quite muddy – especially near the beginning (see individual cache descriptions for more details of the route). Walking boots, or even a good pair of wellies, are recommended. There are also a lot of stiles, so unfortunately the walk is not suitable for buggies etc. ALL of the caches can be reached from public paths or access routes, there is no need to venture on to private land or interfere with crops, fences etc. This is horse country, and the suggested route has been chosen to avoid paths which cross those fields regularly used by horses and other livestock. However, if you do encounter livestock and would rather go around, quite a few detours are possible (good map recommended). The early part of the walk alongside “Pondside Fields” uses a well established path, much used by locals for dog walking. However this path is NOT a public right of way. Please respect the farmer’s crops by keeping to the path – however muddy it may be!
The caches are a mixture of 35mm containers and clicklock boxes, the latter having room for small swaps and TBs. Some will require your own pencil or pen. As well as the caches in this series the route takes in 2 well established caches – one of our own (GC2P39Q), and one by our neighbours (GC2T0G4) – don’t forget to visit them as you pass by!
We hope you enjoy the walk, and the caches, as much as we enjoyed the planning.
A FTF badge can be found somewhere along the trail!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fvg qbja sbe n yvggyr erfg