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Stambourne v. 2 Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Southerntrekker: Hi There

As the owner has not responded to either my log or my colleague's previous log requesting that they check this cache I am archiving it.

Please note that once the cache has been archived, this can not be undone. This is explained in the Help Center - http://support.groundspeak.com//index.php?pg=kb.page&id=70

You will need to create a new listing, put it back in for review and as long as it meets today's guidelines and no other caches have been published in the area causing a proximity problem, then it will be published.

Regards

Southerntrekker
Volunteer UK Reviewer North Wales, London and Isle of Man - http://www.geocaching.com
UK Geocaching Wiki - https://wiki.groundspeak.com/display/GEO/United+Kingdom
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UK Geocaching Information and Resource site - http://www.follow-the-arrow.co.uk

More
Hidden : 1/4/2016
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The location is in Crystal Palace, in Southeast London, in a woodland called Stambourne Woods. The entrance is off Auckland Road.


Walk up the path in Stambourne Woodland, starting from Auckland Road (the entrance to the path is at 51.412812,-0.078494).

Stambourne Woodland Walk covers an area of once neglected and overgrown land lying between developments in Stambourne Way and Fox Hill. The land originally formed the gardens of large Victorian villas built on the hill over looking Croydon, but as the buildings fell into disrepair the gardens disappeared amongst dense, impenetrable scrub and trees.

The natural vegatation of the woodland is home to many birds, small animal and insects.

Nearby is Crystal Palace park, erstwhile home to the "Crystal Palace" that hosted the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851 and which was reassembled on top of a hill in what was then a quiet suburb in Southeast London. The Crystal Palace has long since burned down but the park is still there and hosts a collection of life-sized dinosaur statues, built in the 19th century (and modeled on what scientists then believed dinosaurs looked like), a maze (you'll spend at least 30 minutes looking for the exit), a pond with paddle boats, an athletics track and a Sports Centre.

For those with an inquiring mind and/or a lively imagination, Crystal Palace Park and the surrounding area is home to more than a few evocative myths. Train carriages are said to be buried underneath a mound in the park - the remnants apparently of an experimental pneumatic railway which ran in Crystal Palace Park in the mid 19th century. It is said that ghost carriages are sometimes seen in the railway tunnel between Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill, so if you arrive by train keep your eyes peeled! Something else to keep your eyes peeled for: a big cat, probably a leopard, has been spotted in these very woods in recent years. Dubbed the 'Palace Puma' in the local media, it is probably the offspring of exotic cats that were released by their owners in the 1970s when licensing requirements were introduced for owning a big cat as a pet.

Round off your geocache hunt with a visit to one of the area's many cafes and restaurants and pick up a copy of Tom Brown's 'Strange Air' for an imaginative take on the park and its history. If you're there in the weekend, do drop by the Crystal Palace Museum, in the park. They run tours of the park every first Sunday of the month.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur pnpur vf nobhg 300 lneqf hc gur cngu fgnegvat sebz Nhpxynaq Ebnq; nebhaq 15 lneqf gb gur yrsg bs gur cngu va na nern jurer puvyqera ohvyq gurve qraf. Gur pnpur vf va n qvc gung vf biretebja jvgu vil naq jrrqf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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