WALKING FROM CACHE 11
Very pleasant but poorly signed. After 11, go down the grassy bank, cross the track and go over the stile.
The public footpath goes straight across the cultivated field (gulp! I always hate doing that) towards the next farm gate, where another footpath sign can be found. At that gate, straight ahead of you is a small copse (Park Wood)
Go through the gate and bear left, skirting the field and go through the farm gate at the bottom( I can't remember if there are 2 gates close together; if so, take the second gate / last before you reach the little pond.)
Go through the gate and bear right, passing south of the pond. The next farm gate is THE MUDDIEST SPOT on the entire circuit - sorry, unavoidable.
Through that MUDDY gateway the paths split. Take the right gate, passing north of the farm buildings / garden and cross the field to the stile.
After this cache, cross this stile and the next. I am thankful to Rachel of 'The Moor we hunt' for the following direction, which I missed:
'Go over the stile and onto the driveway of the nearby house. The footpath continues through a gate in the corner straight ahead. It looks like a garden gate and the footpath sign isn't seen until you are brave enough to walk right over to it.'
MADDENINGLY, THE EXCELLENT TEA SHOP IS JUST AT THE END OF THAT DRIVE. You'd probably welcome it by this stage but it's a short walk via the roads.
THE TWELFTH TALE OF THE MERRY MEN OF GOTHAM
The bishop wanted all parishes to build a hall where the parish council could meet. The people of Gotham built their parish hall but forgot that buildings need windows. When it was finished they went inside and saw they could not see.
They were greatly puzzled by this. They examined the building but couldn't see the problem so they decided to hold a parish council meeting to look into the matter. The very next day the villagers assembled, each bringing a candle which they stuck in their hat when they sat down.
After much discussion, one genius decided that they could not see for want of daylight, and that they ought to come back the next day and carry with them as much daylight as they could manage. Accordingly, the next day when the sun shone, all the sacks, bags, boxes, baskets, tubs, pots, pans of the village were filled with sunbeams and carefully carried into the parish hall and emptied there, but with no good effect: as soon as they opened the bags, they found that the light had disappeared.
After this they removed the roof on the advice of a travelling pedlar, whom they rewarded amply for the suggestion. This plan answered famously during the summer, but when the rains of winter fell, and they were forced to replace the roof, they found the house just as dark as ever.
Again they met, again they stuck their candles in their hats and sat around in the gloom to find a solution. When the last candle went out, they got up to leave the hall. Of course, it was now pitch dark and the only way to find the door was to grope their way along the walls. As they did so, one man spotted a ray of light that came through a crevice and fell upon his chest - which gave him a brainwave which he quickly shared with his fellows – namely that they could get daylight into the hall by making a window.
The brilliance of his plan really impressed his friends. They had a window cut into the wall of the hall. After this, they could see that they could see and the man who had suggested the window was considered one of the wisest men of the village until his dying day.