Nowadays we think of Benson as being about halfway along the main road between Reading and Oxford, but in the 18th and early 19th centuries the village was an important staging post on one of the main routes from London to Oxford (and from there to all parts of the country).
Passengers could break their journey for refreshments or an overnight stay at one of the many coaching inns and pubs. The horses pulling the coaches could be swapped over – this could apparently be done in less than a minute, the 18th century equivalent of a Formula 1 pit stop! There was stabling for horses, and wheelwrights and blacksmiths were on hand to provide their services.
1830
The impact of the railways in the second half of the 19th century hit Benson hard – the proposed railway line between Wallingford and Watlington (via Benson) was never built – but as road traffic increased in the early 20th century, the main road between London and Oxford brought travellers here again.
The huge amount of traffic coming through the village resulted in it becoming a bottle-neck and in 1932 a by-pass (now St Helen’s Avenue) was built.
1940
RAF Benson opened in 1937, but in 1942 an extension to the runway meant that the main Benson to Nettlebed/Henley road had a chunk taken out of it! Just look at a map and you can see what happened…. A new by-pass was built, which is now part of the A4074. It's interesting to note that RAF Benson is invisible on the 1940 map!
The cache is placed at the point at which the Old London Road and the old by-pass met. It’s a great place to watch visiting Spitfires, Lancasters, Red Arrows etc (e.g. on RAF Benson Families Day every summer) and there’s even a bench provided!
You are looking for a small clip-lock container with space for a few small swaps and trackables.