The genesis of this cache was a weekend trip of the Abigails to Rome in early 2016. We hadn’t been to Rome before and only had one day to see the sights. Not enough time obviously, but what I did was pick the key sights we wanted to see and mapped these out using nearby geocaches. Using our GPS we had a route from cache to cache and sight to sight. We had a great day, saw loads and found a lot of caches.
This cache is to replicate the experience we had in Rome and we have created 10 waypoints leading you around central London. There are huge number of other caches close to each of the sights.
As such, this cache picks our top 10 sights in London that, if you were mega-rushed, you could see in a day. However, the wife and I listed out 25 sights in minutes without thinking about it too hard. Therefore, I would like you to mention in your log your favourite sight in London that I have missed out (optional task). I will then try and create a Version 2 etc.
The waypoints are not challenging – the journey/sights are the focus here, but if you have any trouble just drop me a line. The cache itself is a nano, tucked under a spot of street furniture close (ish) to the final waypoint.
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Tower Bridge
N 51° 30.403 W 000° 04.481
The bridge is surprisingly new – built in the late 19th Century.
The co-ordinates take you to the North West corner of the bridge and a sign. What date is associated with Sir Christopher Leaver – AB June CDEF
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Tower of London
N 51° 30.425 W 000° 04.529
The Tower of London was initially built in 1078 by William the Conqueror and is now home to the Crown Jewels.
What year is Father John Gerard associated with? GHJK
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St Pauls
N 51° 30.853 W 000° 05.863
The present church, dating from the late 17th century, was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren. Its construction was part of a major rebuilding programme in the City after the Great Fire of London.
The co-ordinates take you to Pauls Cross Memorial Statue in a quiet(ish) corner of the gardens. Find the water fountain and count the number of ‘pearls’ in the what looks like a necklace of the cherub. (Note: this site is not available 24/7) LM
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London Eye
N 51° 30.195 W 000° 07.114
The youngest sight on the list is the London Eye. The wheel diameter is 120m. Since it was erected in 1999 it has become one of the most visited London attractions.
You’ll find yourself at the anchor point for the wires that hold up the London Eye. How many wires are there entering the ground at this point? N
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Houses of Parliament
N 51° 30.040 W 000° 07.558
The seat of the UK Government containing both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Its official name is the Palace of Westminster. Its most prominent feature is The Elizabeth Tower usually referred to as ‘Big Ben’, which is actually the name of the main bell.
Find the ‘Monitoring Well’ (Look down) and you will see a circle on it with a geometric shape within the circle. How many sides has this shape? P
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Westminster Abbey
N 51° 29.968 W 000° 07.725
It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs.
The co-ordinates take you to outside the West Gate. How many letters in the country the Grand Duchess is from. Q
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Buckingham palace
N 51° 30.155 W 000° 08.495
The Queen’s London home (for she has many dotted around the country).
You’re looking for a sign. How many minutes walk is it to Hyde Park Corner R and Trafalgar Square ST
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Trafalgar Square
N 51° 30.482 W 000° 07.683
Home of Nelson’s column and the site of celebration (VE Day - 1945) and disorder (Poll Tax Riots - 1990).
Hunt out Napier – he’s not hard to find – and find a small circular grate in front of him. A name is on it 3 times. How many letters in total? – UV
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National Gallery
N 51° 30.514 W 000° 07.695
On the North Side of Trafalgar Square is the National Gallery – the home of the national art collection.
Find the entrance to the National Gallery – tell me the weight of the electricity grate – WX kg
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British Museum
N 51° 31.120 W 000° 07.562
The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. It has a phenomenal modern ‘Great Court’ with the largest covered square in Europe.
You are very close to the final now! Its just 5 minutes walk away.
Just outside the entrance gates to the Museum there are Y red telephone boxes (both sides of gate). Find the telephone box that relates to: (R-T)(H)(E)(B) abcd.
You should now be able to calculate the final co-ordinates using the following formula:
N 51° (A)(d-b).(L)(P)(Y+S) W 000° (D-J)(Q+P-W).(G+U+V+X)(d)(N)
I have added a geo-checker below:
After you have logged this cache you can add this souvenir to your profile:
To add it to your profile, just go to your Account Settings on the Geocaching.com website (the cog icon on the top right), go to section called "Profile Information", copy and paste the following HTML text into the section at the bottom called "Bio", then click "Save Changes".
<a href="https://coord.info/GC6WDY7"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/9a7242c3-7f09-4362-8e60-c4a05d0d5d1d_l.jpg" title="I Logged 'One Day in London'" /></a>