The heart can think of no devotion
Greater than being shore to the ocean -
Holding the curve of one position,
Counting an endless repetition.
'Devotion' by Robert Frost, 1928
When we first visited the Uists we stayed on North Uist in the village of Loch Portain. Each and every day, it seemed, we were drawn to the area of Clachan Sands and its stunning beaches.
To get to the starting point for this multi-stage cache you need to take the turning off the road that runs towards Port Nan Long from the North Uist direction at a sign which reads "Chun an traigh" - which means "to the beach". In so doing you will drive or walk past the "new" cemetery and then past the "old" cemetery which, on a dark night would certainly have a somewhat spooky look to it. It is, in fact, also a Commonwealth War Grave so some of the burials are relatively recent. Going on, you will pass the grassy tops of sand dunes that lead down to the extensive sandy beach that makes up the Hornish Strand.
Following the path round to its natural end leads you to a grassy area overlooking the Lingay Strand. During the summer you will often find a number of campervans parked up here (there is an honesty box for those that do). There are also some picnic tables. This is a place to sit and watch. There can be few places that beat this on a warm summer's evening watching the sun go down. You can wander around the tops of the dunes and gain such wonderful views over to Aird a'Mhorain (the Udal peninsular) and across to the small, uninhabited isle of Lingay. In May, June and July this area is adorned with wild flowers.
Having enjoyed the view you need to take a note of a few pieces of information in order to find the coordinates of the cache itself.
A is the number of English words on the sign that contained the phrase "Chun an traigh"
B is the number of cattle grids you cross as you go from the sign down to the picnic area
D is the number of picnic tables
E is B+D
Now on to the second stage. You need to go to the following coordinates which you can work out with the information you've gathered:
N 57 E(A-E).E(A+E)(A+B) W 7 (B-1)(D-1).(A+1)(E+B)(E+D)
You can check your answer at GeoChecker.com.
If you have completed this correctly you should find yourself directed to near an old jetty. The actual cache container is small and hidden nearby.
To get to the cache will need some agility - this is reflected in the terrain rating. Take special care when searching especially if you have children with you - this sort of terrain can be dangerous.
When you are done signing the log, please ensure that you lock the container on all sides. This particular container has survived being muggled, lying amongst rocks at the sea edge for five months without the contents getting damp. If it is locked correctly then the contents will stay bone dry for future cachers to find.
Please return the cache back EXACTLY as you found it.
Please note that on 22nd May 2018 we moved this cache to its current location after two previous locations were muggled. We have updated the position, but the information needing to be gathered remained the same.