Blackwater #7 Old Manor Cafe Traditional Cache
Blackwater #7 Old Manor Cafe
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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A circular route of 11 urban caches looking at the history of Blackwater including a multi that can be picked up enroute. 1 extra cache is a drive by further along the A30.
This is part of the History of Blackwater series of caches. I have lived here all my life and have found it interesting delving into the past stories of the town. There is over a thousand years of history surrounding the river crossing at Blackwater, known as Brydrs Ford (Brides Ford) from the Crondall Hundred survey of 973-974 AD.
A large amount of the local information on these cache pages is from a brilliant book called “I Remember, You Remember” by Nora Hough which is sadly out of print now but available to borrow from local libraries.
The main cache route is circular and can all be done on bike. It is approximately 2 miles long and whilst doing the caches you can collect the clues for the multi. There are a few main roads to cross so please be careful.
Many of the cache locations are busy with muggles, especially during rush hour so be careful!
This location was once where Blackwater House stood. This was a Georgian house and had a staff of 7 indoor servants, 3 gardeners and 3 other staff working in the stables. The scullerymaid used to work a 98 hour week starting at 6:30am each day!
One of the residents during the time the house stood there was Mrs Smeaton. Her daughter (Amethe) married a Scottish army officer called Ian McEwan in 1919. She later married Alexander Graf von Brandenstein-Zeppelin (who was a relative of Ferdinand Von Zeppelin – famous for the Zeppelin Airships).
He had been a German army officer during WW1, afterwards he had travelled in the forests of Bolivia, publishing an account of his adventures in 1926.
There are tales of German officers using the rear entrance to the house for “secret” meetings.
The house later became a guest house and then the infamous Old Manor Transport Café where loads of bikers used to meet up in the 60’s
This was then demolished to make way for an independant supermarket which has subsequently been replaced by another German supermarket which is still there today.
The area is very busy with muggles so please retrieve and replace the cache with care.
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE FTF - SAMMYBEE85 :)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq byq terra obk, zntargvp