Tan Castell 8 - Below the Castle 8 Traditional Cache

One of a series of 13 caches set in Cwm Penantlliw, in the shadow of Castell Carndochan. This cache is a regular size plastic tub, but it's well disguised amongst natural cammo.

This series involves a walk of approximately 3.75 miles (6km) principally along well surfaced country lanes, although there is a short section around numbers 2 and 3 which is on a rougher track and a narrow footpath connects numbers 8 and 9, briefly leading out onto the A494 at a narrow bend over a bridge. Please take extreme caution here.

The series is designed to be walked, and takes about 2and a half hours to complete. Parking is available at the start of the series and coordinates are shown with the listing for Number 1 in the series. Please, please, please do not drive to cache numbers 2 and 3. The track is a public right-of-way on foot, but a private roadway. Whilst much of the walk is on level ground, there are several short inclines, one of which is quite steep, but the caches are placed quite frequently, so you'll get plenty of short breaks. The first twelve caches are traditional caches with a few unusual containers. four of these contain partial coordinates to help to find the 13th cache.

Castell Carndochan is the rocky outcrop at the western end of the valley; it towers over the farmland and over Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake) and for this reason it has been a prized location throughout history for defensive structures and as look-out posts. The first major signs of occupation are Roman as the outcrop lies close to a Roman road stretching from the coast, just south of Barmouth, through to Chester. Earlier iron-age workings also exist in the locality, and in mediaeval times an impressive, defensive castle was built at the crown of the hill, possible very similar to the castle at Dolwyddelan. In more recent history,a brigand, by the name of Dochan, was based at the castle, from which he mounted raids on passing merchants and local wealthy folk. In a dramatic turn of events it seems that Dochan accepted an amnesty from the authorities in return for providing an escort to the circuit judges who rode over the mountain roads from Bala to Trawsfynydd to hold local court sessions. A classic example of poacher turned game keeper.