Set in the heart of Argyll Forest Park, Eas nam Feadan (“The Waterfall of the Whistle”) is a stream that springs from the slopes of Cnoc Madaidh, a lower offshoot of the ridge that runs from Creachan Mòr in the south through Cruach a'Bhuic to the Corbett Beinn Bheula in the north.
The stream flows northwest to Loch Eck, a freshwater loch in the centre of the Cowal peninsula that snakes from Invernoaden in the North to Benmore in the South, surrounded by spectacular, heavily forested mountains.
Since the 17th century there has been an inn (the Whistlefield Inn, or Tigh na Fead) near the stream, which straddles an old drover's route between the towns of Strachur and Ardentinny.
According to legend, the origin of the name Whistlefield comes from the custom of travellers and cattle drovers standing in a field near the shore and blowing upon a whistle in order to summon a ferry.
The inn is a listed building, which is protected by Historic Scotland, and it regularly has people visit from all over the country to attend the monthly gatherings of the Folk Music night, which (having seen it first hand) is quite spectacular.
Upstream of the inn, Eas nam Feadan runs through a steep-sided, forested ravine, and while walking around the area I felt that it would be a great setting for a geocache.
As you drive along the A815 alongside Loch Eck, the turn-off to reach the geocache is signposted towards Ardentinny. If coming from Dunoon, the turning is shortly after a very scenic spot called Jubilee Point, which also happens to be the location for the nearby geocache GC1C0E6 Loch Eck View (A Lovely Jubilee)
Ample parking for the cache is available in front, or to the side of, the inn, and the easiest approach to the cache location is by climbing the mossy steps in front of the inn.
The cache itself is a simple clip-and-lock box, and you don't have to cross any fences (upright or otherwise) to get to the cache. The ravine is very precipitous, so caution should be exercised when going near the brink, particularly for those cachers with children or dogs with them.
GPS reception under the trees is very poor, so please don't rely too much on the coordinates.
In high season (May to September), the entire Loch Eck area is very prone to the curse of Scotland - the highland midge. Unfortunately the cache location is not exempt from this wee menace. :(
FTF award goes to redferryman! :D
Last owner check: October 2013