THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE WHILST THIS CACHE WAS DISABLED. This was due to restoration work and planned changes which altered the clues. Please read carefully below, some of the questions have been updated. Thank you.
When not out caching with his mum and dad, TheChaoticCalamities, or glued to some tremendous Minecraft adventure, Captain Calamity (the blonde terror of Bothwell) loves to explore this 'ere village o' ours with his brother Squidnugget and can usually be seen marauding around the nature trail wielding a stick like a deranged Jedi.
He has been desperate to place a cache for some time now, so we thought we would introduce you to some of the parts of Bothwell that are easily passed over if you drive through the village rather than walk.
This adventure takes you to some of the good captain’s favourite spots and is a pretty short and simple multicache. Surfaces are good throughout, with all but the last 200m or so paved. The final stretch to the physical GZ can get a little muddy after extended periods of rain but should still be fine for wheelchairs and buggies. The area used to be quite popular with young muggles but I have been scoping this spot out for a while now and I haven't seen them, or much littery evidence of them left behind so they have probably got a new spot, but it's still worth bearing in mind if visiting in the evening.
Parents of small children should be aware that there are some steep slopes close to the GZ.
The cache is in a bag and contains a log and some swappable items but YOU WILL NEED A PEN OR PENCIL TO SIGN THE LOG!
The most convenient place to park close to the start of this multi is on the Blantyre Road. Have a wee peek in at the community garden whilst you’re there, you might see Mrs Calamity watering her vegetables!
All the answers to these questions are in plain view. You do not need to look anything up online.
Your start point is here, which marks the spot of Bothwell’s Castle Colliery:
N55 48.353, W004 04.356
Question 1
How many wooden letters can you see on the board? You can ignore any punctuation.
Now walk along to your next destination, a very recent addition to the village and a beautiful tribute to the miners at Castle Colliery.
N55 48.266 W004 04.200
Question 2
Approximately how many people worked at the Castle Colliery?
Moving along the Main Street – if you come to Bothwell at Christmas time there is usually a beautiful nativity scene here. Seeing this nativity is Captain Calamity's cue to start nagging mummy every time a toy advert comes on TV, and roughly co-incides with the time that mummy loses the plug off the formentioned TV.
N55 48.164, W004 04.068
Question 3
How many spikes can you count in total on the top of the gates AND railings? You can ignore the curly things!
And moving along again, your next visit is where, every year, Captain Calamity waits excitedly to take part in the Scarecrow Festival parade, He’s a bit of a show-off like that. This is a fabulous place to bring your lunch and sit and chill out on a sunny afternoon.
N55 48.156, W004 03.917
Question 4
How many trees line the path up towards the flower beds and sculpture?
Question 5
There is a number in Roman numerals on the sculpture. What number is it?
And now on to the favourite place of all – and you’ll know why when we get there! This is another recent addition to the village, and already massively loved!
N55 48.071, W004 03.908
Question 6
Add the number of letters in the surnames of both the doctors, and make a note of how many mushrooms you can see.
This is probably quite a good place to sit and chill out for a wee while, strap on your thinking cap and use all your answers to find the physical treasure trove.
The co-ordinates for GZ are: N55 47.ABC, W004 04.DEF
A = The answer to Q1 minus the answer to Q5
B = The answer to Q2 divided by 70, then minus 7
C = The answer to Q3 divided by 6, then take away 6
D = The number of letters you found for Q6, divided by the number of mushrooms you could see
E = The answer to Q4 divided by 4, then add (number of mushrooms you could see minus 1)
F = The answer to Q3 divided by 9
I will admit that despite a couple of squillion readings, the GPS might be slightly tricksy at GZ but it will definitely take you to the right area and you should have no problems at all with it if you use the hint. I'd appreciate your feedback on how you found the actual final spot and how close it was though, feel free to let me know in the log (no spoilers!).
Good luck!