Having lived on East House Avenue for nearly 20 years, it seemed fitting to place a Geocache here.
The cache is not at the posted coordinates, but is within 1,200ft of this location.
Local History
Stubbington is a small village located between Southampton and Portsmouth on the south coast of Hampshire, within the borough of Fareham. Both Stubbington and neighbouring Crofton were mentioned in the Domesday Book as small districts belonging to the estates of Titchfield Abbey.
During the 19th century, Stubbington engulfed Crofton and the small fishing village of Hill Head. The Crofton name still remains in the name of many local facilities, such as the Crofton School and Crofton Old Church. Similarly, the Hill Head name refers to the areas of Stubbington closer to the coast, roughly south of Carisbrooke Avenue and encompassing Hill Head Harbour and the only remaining public house along this stretch of the seafront.
At the start of the 20th century, the village still consisted of just a few dozen cottages and farms. By 1940, the population had risen to around 2,500 and a number of small shops had opened surrounding the village green, which remains the central focus of the village to the present day. This rapid expansion is likely in part due to the completion and opening of the HMS Daedalus (RNAS Lee-on-Solent) airfield in 1917.
During World War II, Hill Head was one of many loading zones for the D-Day invasions and the area was inundated with allied troops. Along the coast there are still many reminders of the war time activities including remnants of fortifications.
In 1922 a wooden War Memorial was built in the village centre to commemorate those from Stubbington and Hill Head who fell in the First World War, with their names carved into the roof of the memorial. The memorial takes the form of a shelter over the village pump, and is one of a few pre-war structures standing in the vicinity of Stubbington.
The 2011 census concluded that the population of Stubbington and Hill Head combined was 14,077 with 5,607 known houses, a combined landmass of 1,099 hectares and an average age of 47.
Today, the population of Stubbington has risen to over 15,000, with new housing estates taking over a number of the surrounding fields, with the urban sprawl almost conjoining with Fareham, Gosport and Lee-on-the-Solent. The village has a number of modern shops as well as a range of other facilities, including a doctor, dentist, library, community centre and seven schools.
East House Avenue
It is thought that East House Avenue was originally home to a single farmhouse facing east, hence the name. The house currently named East House - and maybe the original location of the farmhouse - is at the posted coordinates, which is actually only accessible from Gosport Road (and is a private residence, so please don't go there).
The current East House Avenue wraps around into a horseshoe shape connected to Gosport Road. The eastern part of the road is actually named Southways, with the cul-de-sac on the east corner marking the point where East House Avenue ends and Southways begins. Finally, Westways and Northways run behind the southern houses of East House Avenue which completes the compass.
The grassland field located at the bottom of the horseshoe is a good sized open space with little-to-no restrictions on usage (there are no angry signs stating "no ball games" for instance). When I was young, we had great fun on this field in the summer, and often used it as a play area for waterfights and football. I remember at one point, we even tested out a homemade petrol-powered remote controlled car here, which I'm sure I've still got somewhere...
The Puzzle
You may be able to decipher the likely hiding location just from reading the description and putting together the clues, but if you want the exact coordinates, you'll need to solve the puzzle. The partial coordinates for the final location are below, you just need to fill in the blanks. You'll want to start by viewing the source code of this page.
N 50° 4?.??? W 001° 1?.???
You can check your answers to this puzzle on the geocache listing page.
The Cache
You're looking for a small camouflaged glass container holding only a logbook (please bring your own writing utensil), with enough space for small trackable coins. This is our first cache, so please let us know of any concerns. Happy hunting!