I have issued this geocaching series to celebrate my Grandma and Grandad’s Golden Wedding Anniversary. They were married in the nearby village of Somersham on the 9th March 1963. Both of them have lived all their lives in this beautiful part of Suffolk, in the local villages of Somersham and Willisham. I wanted to celebrate this momentous occasion with something a little different! I hope that you enjoy this walk of approximately 3 miles which has some stunning views and shall take around 2 to 2 and a half hours and the majority of it is on public footpaths.
PLEASE REMEMBER A PEN OR PENCIL AND YOU WILL ALSO NEED A PIN OR SOME TWEEZERS FOR A COUPLE OF TRICKY CACHES!!!
There is parking available on the concrete pad at the bottom of the hill, but please pull up to the wall and do not block the entrance to the nearby fields.
After the 5th cache can I suggest that you walk through the churchyard and see the Wyard tomb near the door of Offton church. Then after the 7th cache you will walk through castle farm and on the wall there will be initials in the bricks, these are the initials of all the people in the Wyard family who are buried in the tomb. Also at Castle farm, on your right is the site of Offton Castle where King Offa (the king of Mercia) had a castle built.
Offa was the King of Mercia from 757 until his death in July 796. During his reign it became overlord of Kent, Sussex, Wessex and East Anglia. The best known relic associated with Offa's time is Offa's Dyke, a great earthen barrier that runs approximately along the border between England and Wales.
It was rumored to be a wooden castle at Offton and all that remains now is the mound and the moat. Also when my great grandad went to school in Offton in the late 1920’s, he learnt to swim in this moat.
I hope you enjoy this historic and beautiful walk which will celebrate 50 years of marriage.