This is one of a series of 3 caches (a trad, a multi and a letterbox) which bring the finder around the impressive Roche Castle site.
There is no physical container hidden either in the walls of the castle or within the structure.
A farmer has use of the field so you can find sheep and/or cattle on the site, Please make sure the gate is left closed at all times
This cache brings you to Roche Castle a few miles northwest of the town of Dundalk on the Louth/Armagh border
Still known by its simple Norman-French name of Roche, this impressive castle clings dramatically to the summit of a great rocky outcrop. Striking and powerful, it commands a pass northwards and affords wonderful views over the surrounding country. According to the Close Rolls of 1236, it was raised by Lady Rohesia de Vernon, whose grandfather came to Ireland with Prince John in 1185. There is a tale that she promised herself in marriage to the architect if he completed the job to her satisfaction, but when he came to claim her hand, she had him cast from one of the windows in the west end - still popularly known as the "Murder Window".
Roche's peculiar triangular layout, determined by the shape of the rock, comprises a large entrance enclosure with a twin-towered gatehouse linked to the very considerable Great Hall. A causeway gives access to the entrance across a rock-cut ditch, in the centre of which was a gap with drawbridge protected by a barbican.
The large rectangular hall must have been an impressive building in its heyday. Its main chamber, lit on the south side by three large windows, was so enormous that the basement must have had timber subdividing to support the floor. The east gabled wall survives with some traces of the old roof line and indications of a third storey. A small rectangular building on the north side of the hall is a later addition, while the remains of a free-standing rectangular structure in the ward centre may also be a later feature.
LETTERBOXING
A recreational hobby that individuals or familes/small groups of people can participate in. It started in the middle of the 19th century in Dartmoor when in 1854 a Chagford guide called James Perrot set up the first letterbox at Cranmere Pool on North Dartmoor. Originally it was just a cairn (small pile of rocks), the idea was for a walker to leave a message there for the next walker to collect and so on. Later, other boxes were established at Taw Marsh (1894), Ducks Pool (1938), Fur Tor (1951), and Crow Tor (1962). These boxes are deep into the moor and still represent a challenge. People from all walks of life go letterboxing, they spread from Cornwall to Scotland, the U.S, Holland, Germany and New Zealand. The boxes hidden contain a visitor's book and rubber stamp. When finding the box an impression of the rubber stamp is taken using an inkpad and stamped onto either a book or postcard. The visitor then either signs the visitor's book, or use their own personal stamp to leave their mark.
Letterboxing is done without the use of a GPSr, but with a recent interest in combining geocaching with letterboxing the LETTERBOX HYBRID cache has evolved. Basically this means that the two are combined using both a GPSr (to a lesser or greater extent) and clues to find the cache.
The next feature that applies to letterboxing and hybrid letterboxing is the addition of a stamp to the box that isn't to be removed by the finder. When you find the cache, you stamp the "box stamp" onto a logbook that you may carry. I appreciate that not all geocachers carry a log book - that's not a problem. Then you stamp using your own stamp (again you may not carry a stamp, don't worry), your "trail name", and the date you found the cache into the logbook, as normal. In letterboxing people keep track of how many boxes they've found and how many boxes they've placed, just like in geocaching, but more likely in notebook form.
To find the cache you will need to follow these steps:
Stage 1: The given coordinates bring you the gate to the site. It might be a convienient parking spot for a small car though parking in the area can be difficult as the roads are very narrow.
Stage 2: Using your GPS, make your way to the Stage 2 IP coordinates which will bring you to the main door of the castle.
Stage 3: From the Stage 2 coordinates, stand in the doorway and look "outside" Approximately 100m away you will see a small ivy covered wall, once you make your way here you will see a small fence ends at the wall. Stage 4: Follow the ridge towards the road about 15m from the last fence post. Drop down at the obvious spot, there is a hawthorn tree round to the left the cache is hidden behind a small stone in the bank directly behind this tree. Please replace the cache exactly as found. Exercise caution at all times around the Roche Castle site as the terrain can be steep and slippery in places, Oh and bring your camera, I'm sure you'll want it
