Please note This cache has been placed in accordance with the New Forest Forestry Commission Permission Agreement . GAGB Agreement for the Forestry Commission New Forest and East Dorset.
N.B. as part of this agreement it is not permitted to seek this cache during the hours of darkness
Please do not leave any edible items
advise switching on GPS device before reaching Car Park, as it takes a while to pick up the Satellites down here
BEAUTY IN DECAY
This is the seventh geocache in the “Beauty In Decay” series, started by Lost2011 in September 2015,which highlights abandoned objects that once had purpose and now take on a different life, left to ruin and decay in their current surroundings."
Use this link to discover more about “Beauty In Decay” and how you could add to the series.
When we photographed this feature during 2001 there were still several usable fire beaters and the red sign was still intact .Since then most beaters have lost their poles and someone has removed the red sign. Maybe pirated or maybe it is somewhere else. The cache stamp is of a pirate ship fitting of the first option. Last century we recall seeing several other racks of fire beaters on our walks, but now this is the only one we know of.
Forerunner of Rubber Fire Beaters were Fire Brooms . Charles John Cornish wrote in 1894 of Fire brooms in the New Forest as follows: -" Neatly cut from sapling Silver Birches and placed in easily accessible wooden frames at frequent intervals ,so they are always handy at outbreak of fire. These were labelled FIRE BROOMS for the benefit of idiots who might think they are simply decorations .And for romantics like me who might imagine they were witches brooms placed there for the midnight folk and borrowed by them when the owls hoot and the brindled cat mews three turns. "
From cache the fire beater remains and wooden rack are about 53 paces downhill in a N.N.W direction, across the gravel track, near two redundant gateposts. We tried to place this cache closer to the beaters with a better view of the rack but we were thwarted by wetness underfoot some ways and animal holes along the bank another way,etc. Eventually uphill to the S.S.E. we found this hiding place.
Only a small container would fit, so with no room for swops we made this another letterbox hybrid.
Tree cover and slope meant the best G.P.S accuracy we achieved was 6 meters hence an explicit hint.
Cache is a 0.2 litre clip and lock plastic container with a stamp and log book in a mini pot. Both to remain inside when put back.
Please tuck cache well back under when putting it back and and replace the camo lump across opening to disguise it.
No pen or pencil in cache. If you wish to make an imprint of the pirate ship for yourself you will need a felt tip pen or similar.
If you need to contact us please use email which we regulary check and not the new message thingy which we find difficult to use and rarely check (added November 2016)