'O' is for Odiham.
The first written record of Odiham's existence is in the Domesday Book (1086), where it appears with its current spelling, although the spellings Odiam and Wudiham have sometimes been used.
In 1204, King John decided to build Odiham Castle (King John's Castle - GC5EWNG) and it was built during the years 1207 to 1214 at a cost of over £1000. King Henry III, son of King John, gave the castle to his sister Eleanor in 1236, so when she married Simon de Montfort in 1238 the castle became the de Montfort family home. During the fourteenth century the castle played a role in several significant events, including a sitting of Parliament, and the imprisonment of King David II of Scotland in the castle for eleven years. However, by the fifteenth century its only use was as a hunting lodge. The castle was described as a ruin in 1605.
The Pest house (Pest Control - GCM0CP) was built c. 1622 and subsequently housed local people and travellers suffering from the plague and other infectious diseases. Many such “isolation hospitals” were built in that period but the Odiham Pest House is one of only five examples surviving. It was restored by the Odiham Society in 1981 to form a mini Heritage Centre. Pest is the old word for plague and like other Pest Houses built in England, it was subsequently used to house local inhabitants or travellers suffering from the plague, smallpox and other infectious diseases.
This cache cannot be found at the above co-ordinates.
Instead, you will need to take a walk around Odiham (starting at the parking co-ordinates) and find the locations of the photos below to identify the missing numbers.
This is mostly an urban walk and, unless told specifically told to do otherwise, please keep to the right hand side of the road at all times.
Now cross the road and turn left at the roundabout, staying on the left hand side of the road.
After identifying the picture, turn left down the footpath.
Leave the church yard (Church Micro 678: Odiham - GC1R37V) and into the pedestrian area with wooden barriers preventing cars from entering before entering the narrow alley on the left. Turn right when you reach the main road.
Cross the road and follow the footpath through the gate.
The cache can be found at:
N 51 15.(F+G)(A+E)(B-C) W 000 56.(H-M)(J-L)(K+D+E)
This cache was placed by BigMal70
Bonus Cache
Bonus numbers will be present in all of the caches in the series. You will need to collect these numbers should you wish to find the series bonus '* - Bonus Cache - Hampshire A-Z'
Anyone finding at least 26 caches in this series may post the badge below on their Geocaching.com profile
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