One of a series of caches placed for the WWFM event in Peterborough in June 2014. All such caches can be done as standalone caches, so you can do all in the series in one go, or one or two at a sitting as your time permits. You'd be advised to bring a pen, and also read the cache page thoroughly before setting out.
About this cache:
A cache inspired by something similar in Brighton by nognod, that unfortunately was published after our most recent visit, but we’re looking forward to return to have a go at!
Mr Beach_hut was carrying out a recce looking at places to put caches for an event. He was standing on a particular spot, looking roughly north-east, in contemplative mood, when suddenly he noticed something very peculiar about the very spot he was stood on. Let’s call that point X.
When he looked to the left of St John’s Church, Mr BH could see the white-washed shops to the north, and noticed that part of the roof of one of these buildings came to a point. From his eyeline at point X, that point lined up exactly with the communications transmitter visible behind it.
Turning clockwise, yet still standing at point X, Mr BH noticed that the end of the roof of the south entrance to St John’s Church lined up exactly with the northernmost spire of the Cathedral behind (as you’re viewing from point X, this is the leftmost of three visible spires from that point)
You only need to move a little way in any direction for one of these two points to no longer line up. It’s almost like Goldilocks – where you’re standing is ‘just right’.
This feature is known as parallax – whereby your surroundings move with respect to one another as you move around, and things further away seem to move by more than nearer things. Notice how the Cathedral spire and metalwork move by more than the things in front of them as you move around?
Anyway, that’s by the by. Your job, dear cacher, is to position yourself on point X. You need to be very precise, however I hope you can see from the below that we’ve built a bit of leeway into it. The published co-ords are our reading taken at point X (as close as we can bring you), however due to the GPS reception in the area and the fact that a set of co-ords will only describe a rectangular parcel of land, (and for this exercise you’re looking for a point in this rectangle) our advice would be to use the GPS to bring you as close as possible and let your eyes do the rest of the work. (Good advice for caching generally!)
Point X is a perfectly safe place to stand and is pedestrianized, however it’s very busy so please keep your wits about you.
Once you’re standing on point X, you need to work out the following:
Along the left are a number of metal bollards. How many are in front of you and to the left, (as opposed to behind you and to the left)? Call this number A.
Now there are two rows of a specific pattern of slab around the church, a bit like in the picture below.
Count from the corner nearest to you (outermost row, i.e. nearest to you) and work your way left. Between two slabs your view will be partly obscured by the frontmost of the metal bollards referred to in the previous question. Count the slabs to work out B.
If this is between slabs 1 and 2, let B = 1.
If this is between slabs 3 and 4, let B = 2.
If this is between slabs 5 and 6, let B = 3.
If this is between slabs 7 and 8, let B = 4.
Now count the bricks in a line from where you’re standing to the bollards to your left (not including the narrow line of slabs running through the bollards). Your answer will give you C. Obviously the pattern of the bricks at your feet may very slightly depending on exactly where you stand, hence the leeway built in below.
If your answer is between 2 and 7, let C = 4.
If your answer is between 8 and 14, let C = 5.
If your answer is between 15 and 19, let C = 6.
If your answer is between 20 and 24, let C = 7.
The final cache can be located at:
N 52° 34.B(B-A)(C-B-A) W 000° 14.CB(A+C)
Other Stuff:
The cache is a few minutes' walk away in a safe location to retrieve and replace, but can get very busy so stealth will be required a lot of the time.
Please replace the cache as found, and refer to the hint if you're not sure. We've made it as specific as can be.
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A NOTE ABOUT MUGGLES
Please make an educated decision about the level of muggle activity when you arrive at GZ, and if you find it's just too muggly, we'd suggest you return another time - we'd rather you protected the cache. That said, the cache has been hidden in such a way as to be retrieved and replaced discreetly. Thank you. |