Buckden is a historic village south of Huntingdon, just off the busy A1. The most intriguing buildings in the village are the so-called Buckden Towers. The Towers were built to serve as a palace for the powerful Bishops of Lincoln. They are built of red brick, around a central courtyard, notably once home to Catherine of Aragon -though she lived there as a virtual prisoner on the orders of her estranged husband, Henry VIII. The Towers now serve as a residential and retreat centre for Claretian missionaries.
Immediately behind the high red brick wall around the Towers is the parish church of St Mary, a lovely medieval building. Buckden's prosperity was built around its location on the major coach route between London and the north of England. Since the coaching days, Buckden has become more of a peaceful backwater, though the proximity of the A1 ensures that it will never completely quiet!
The conservation area here is locally referred to as 'The Valley'. The stretch of water that forms it's main feature is known as the lake, referring to it as a pond is frowned on, but also occasionally called 'the Canal' shows that there is more than one theory about its origins. The lake could have been a clay pit, a series of fish ponds or an abandoned early 19thC attempt to give Buckden a direct waterway to the Ouse. There is no confirmed record of its purpose but the canal theory seems almost plausible if, looking at an aerial map, this piece of water is linked to a similar one that ran through the grounds of Buckden Towers.
The first cache we've placed, and on my 39th birthday, hence the name. Felt there was a lack of caches in Buckden so have placed a small box that contains FTF badge, and my Birthday trackable, but remember to take a pen. Happy hunting!