When this cache series was first placed, the introduction began: "You might just learn something here..." as there used to be an outdoor classroom, complete with blackboard and demonstration table. Those bits have gone, but the seating remains and is a popular spot with walkers taking a rest or having a snack.
Near the Hanworth Road entrance to this section of Crane Park (North side). Maybe bring gloves, and watch out for stinging nettles and brambles! If it's dusk or dark you'll need a torch. Lots of dog walkers come through here, so watch out for muggles! But that's about the final stage...we're getting ahead of ourselves...
First, a story:
Problem: we'd found two great cache hides but they were just too close to each-other. Solution: make them a multi-cache! But… they are probably a bit too far apart, so… more creativity needed! And the answer was: A multi-cache that incorporated the first cache, but started a bit further away. Yay! Everybody happy! And so The First Wanderer was born...
Once you've found it, take a walk eastwards along the path. There are lots of other caches in the area so it makes a good trail of discovery - some are quite tricky, but fun and rewarding to discover.
About Crane Park:
Crane Park is a "lightly" managed park with the added attraction of a nature reserve and all kinds of interesting remnants of the old gunpowder mills that used to occupy this area. If you've already looked at the surrounding roads, you'll notice "Powdermill Lane", which takes its name from the old Hounslow Gunpowder Mills.
There's lots of history about the area here: http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk/detail.php?aid=188&cid=2&ctid=2
And a PDF here: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/local_history_river_crane.pdf
Charles Dickens visited: http://www.hounslow.info/libraries/local-history-archives/charles-dickens/charles-dickens-and-hounslow-3/
And good old wikipedia has this to say: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_Park
A word about the "Shot Tower" (not at this cache site, but there is (was?) another one close to it). There's some controversy about whether it is actually a shot tower - a place that makes lead shot by pouring molten lead through a grid at some height. There's actually no concrete evidence to support this - the tower isn't actually tall enough for the molten lead to form into nicely spherical blobs before dropping into a pool of water at the base to cool. Research by local historians suggest it was actually a windmill, used to raise water from the river to the resevoir that used to be at a higher level (seen on old plans of the area). The resevoir was a kind of battery - the water then ready to power water wheels that drove the machinery in the the workshops making the gunpowder.
Hope you enjoy this cache, the park and the many other caches in the area.