There has been a community in the area for nearly 200 years ever since the Croesor Quarry was opened in the 19th century. The majority of the homes in the village were miners cottages, although most have since been modernised. The Croesor Tramway, which was built to transport slate down from the quarry, ran through the village.
The village is popular with walkers attempting Cnicht and the surrounding area. There is also an outdoor swimming pool in the village and is 'an experience' if ever there was one with its waters coming straight from the nearby stream. Be advised that a donation towards the upkeep of the pool is advised for visitors to the area.
The multi-cache will take you on a short walk around the village and should take no more than 30 minutes and is suitable for small children (with the exception of one short steep slope. This is my first multi-cache hide so constructive feedback is appreciated. All coordintes have been double-checked but using the description should rule out any discrepancies.
The magnetic cache is hidden in the village and the route begins and ends at the car park. Please be sympathetic to the residents of the village and obey the countryside code, closing gates behind you and keeping to marked footpaths. Also ensure that the cache is hidden as found so that it isn't disturbed or rumbled. Happy hunting!
Stage 1
The route begins in the car park in the village where you should find an information board about the village's history. You need to find the year in which the Croesor Quarry first opened. The last two digits of the year are A and B respectively.
Stage 2
Head towards the NE side of the car park and you should find a footpath leading towards Caffi Croesor. Up until recently, this cafe served the village and its visitors and also housed art galleries and exhibitions. It unfortnuately closed in late 2013 due to a lack of business but hopefully it will reopen one day. You need to find the year in which the cafe received the Snowdonia National Park Award. The first and last digits of the year are C and D respectively.
Stage 3
From the cafe turn back and walk along the road until you get to the small crossroad junction. Turn and face Cnicht mountain. The road to your right takes you to Tan-Y-Bwlch, the picturesque stop of the Ffestiniog Railway and well worth a visit. You need to locate the white junction box on one of the nearby posts and find the number on its side. This is E.
Stage 4
From the crossroad, take the lane back into the village and walk past the car park and over the bridge. You are now passing Croesor School which only closed a few years ago and has since been privately sold. You can still see the playing field in the adjacent field. The Croesor Tramway which ran up to the quarry transporting slate down to Porthmadog for shipping ran past the site of the school. On your way up to the checkpoint you will need to get the phone number from the disused phone box. The last two digits of the number are F and G respectively.
Continue up the hill a short distance and rest your legs on the commerative slate seat to your right near the old chapel. The seat is dedicated to Bob Owen, a antiquary and bibliophile who lived in the village. On a good day the views from this spot are fantastic and you should be able to make out Porthmadog in the distance, a town built off the slate trade made possible by such local quarries as Croesor. If you're lucky you may just be able to see the puff of steam from the Ffestiniog Railway as it sets off from Harbour Station to Blaenau Ffestiniog across the estuary. You need to locate the year in which the chapel was built. The last digit of the year is H.
Stage 5
From the seat continue up and over the brow of the hill. This is the beginning of one of the routes up Cnicht from the village. Whilst you're at it why not have a quick run up to the summit? The annual race from the village to the summit and back again is a popular event with fell runners and the record is around 33 minutes! As you come down the slope on the other side you will come to a gate. Pay attention to the blue notice sign attached to the post and find the year of the Highways Act listed. The last two digits of the year are I and J respectively.
Retrace your steps to the car park.
You should now have 10 digits (A-J). Use them in the formula below to give you the coordinates of the cache. The cache is hidden a short distance from one of the spots you have visited on the walk.
N AC (HxE)I.(D-E)D(E+I) W JJ(B-C) JC.(H-E)(I/C)(F-G)
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.
http://www.geochecker.com/index.php?code=a6c9abb0011f013f86acee1edad5ce37&action=check&wp=47433542355148&name=43726f65736f722057616c6b&visitcount=1
Well done to Cwm DJ for the FTF honours just a few hours after the cache went live!