Castleman's Corkscrew Cache Traditional Cache
Lactodorum: Rather than keep this cache temporarily disabled (which should only be used for shortish periods) I'm archiving it. If/when the cache is ever replaced I'll gladly unarchive it.
Lactodorum
UK Admin
Castleman's Corkscrew Cache
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A nice level stroll along an old railway line will lead you to this cache which is guarded by New Forest ponies and the ghost of an old platelayer.
THIS CACHE IS MISSING Team Tate have rescued (thanks!) it from the Forestry Commission and will be reunited with the owners in the New Year. Hopefully I can replace it. I will advise, via a note, on the page in due course.
This cache is located on the old Southampton and Dorchester Railway track bed, which has been turned into a footpath/cycle route.
The railway was nicknamed “Castleman’s Corkscrew” due to the circuitous nature of the trip passengers were forced to take and after the solicitor, Charles Castleman. He brokered a deal in a pub to fund the line which opened on 1st June 1847. The line took in the then major areas of habitation of Ringwood, Wimborne and Poole, at the time that Bournemouth was scarcely a village with a population of 300 – so the line never went there! The railway was eventually closed as part of Dr. Beeching’s "modernisation" programme in the 1964.
The nearby village of Burley probably derives it’s name from the Saxon "bury" which usually denoted an Iron Age hill fort (i.e. Castle Hill). The devouring Bisterne Dragon is said to have had a lair on Burley Beacon. In the past Burley was a famous centre for smuggling, contraband used to be distributed in The Queen’s Head public house and is also renowned for its association with witches, both ancient and modern.
There are refreshments, waggon rides, cycle hire and shops in Burley or you can have a snack at the old Holmsley Station tearooms in the other direction. You could make a day of it and cycle to Brockenhurst if feeling energetic.
The track will get busy and you will have to be discreet when trying to locate this cache. You can park in Burley or in one of the nearby Forest car parks.
The cache is a slim box containing a selection of goodies for children; perhaps you could leave something related to the railway?
In sunny weather there is not much shade on the track, so slip, slap, slop and take some water with you!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx sbe gur erznvaf bs na byq cyngrynlref uhg va fbzr Lrj gerrf, jrfg bs gur qrzbyvfurq Terraoreel oevqtr. Lbh arrq gb jnyx fbhgu hc gur uvyy, lbh ner ybbxvat sbe n cvyr bs oevpxf ng gur sbbg bs n Ebjna gerr.
Treasures
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