Greyfriars Bobby Earthcache EarthCache

This is a nice easy earthcache which has been designed to attract those who do not normally look at earthcaches believing them to be far too hard. Children will love it.

Since this cache is an Earthcache, there is no physical container to search for. Instead, you will need to look at the geology of the rocks that have been used to form the fountain and the gravestones and answer a few simple questions set out below.

WAYPOINT 1 N55° 56.818  W003° 11.477

The given coordinates are for the Greyfriars Bobby fountain which comprises a granite fountain surmounted by a bronze life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby. Bobby was a Skye Terrier known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner John Gray. Further information about Bobby can be found by reading the cache page for GC3B3R2 and by visiting the Museum of Edinburgh in the Royal Mile.

The granite fountain

The inside of the Earth is very hot. Hot enough to melt rocks. These liquid or molten rocks are known as magma. If the molten rock remains underground it will cool slowly and gradually solidify over time forming large interlocking crystals. Granite is one of the rocks formed in this way. The crystals normally found in granite mainly consist of feldspar and quartz with minor amounts of mica and other minerals. The colour of the feldspar is responsible for giving the overall colour to the granite which can be a red, pink, grey or white colour with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.

The granite used for the fountain is known as Shap Granite. It is a very distinctive granite which stands out because of its large pinkish feldspar crystals.

The bronze statue

The statue of the dog is of bronze which is a copper and tin alloy usually containing around 90 per cent copper and up to 10 per cent tin. Copper and tin deposits can both be found in large masses of molten rock that cooled and solidified deep in the Earth's crust in a similar way to granite.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER AT WAYPOINT 1

1. What is the size of the largest crystal of pink feldspar that you can find?

2. What shape is it?

3. Look at the fur on the dog’s back. How long is the fur?

WAYPOINT 2 N55° 56.800 W003° 11.483 

Now go to Waypoint 2. You should be standing next to the grave of Greyfriars Bobby. It was unveiled by the Duke of Gloucester in 1981. You may see some sticks and toys left for Bobby.

The gravestone is also of granite but although it is a similar overall colour it lacks the distinctive feature of the Shap granite used for the fountain.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER AT WAYPOINT 2

2.1 What distinctive feature of the Shap granite on the fountain is not so apparent in the granite on the gravestone?

TO LOG THIS EARTHCACHE, please email me the GC number and the cache title together with your answers to the questions above. Please do not put the answers in your log.

You may also wish to visit Waypoint 3 N55° 56.821 W003° 11.523 which is close by, although this is not a requirement of the cache. Here you will see the grave of John Gray who was the owner of Bobby. This grave is also constructed in granite. I will leave you to decide whether the grave is of Shap granite or not.

If you wish to wander around the rest of the Kirkyard you will find the graves of many famous Scots including James Hutton the founder of Geology, a very important person in relation to earthcaches.

Finally, I hope you enjoyed this earthcache and looking at this gorgeous wee dog from a different point of view.