Ballykelly Forest Park is located west of the Plantation Village of the same name which was developed by the London Company of Fishmongers. At one stage it was known as the Camman Wood and was a renown haunt for highway men praying on the travellers on the coach road from Coleraine to Derry/Londonderry. It was Northern Ireland's first state owned forest.
The village played an important role in World War II with RAF Ballykelly opening in 1941 as a site for RAF Coastal Command. It was one of the most westerly airfields the Allies had to assist in the Battle for the Atlantic. The site later transferred to the Army, who subsequently left as part of the reduction of military garrisons in The Province but not before it had momentary media fame when a Ryanair commercial flight landed at the airstrip on the 29th March 2006, mistaking it for the nearby City of Derry Airport.
The forest has the usual gravel trails running through it but generally more interesting are the unofficial paths criss-crossing it used by both walkers and mountain bikers alike, so listen out!! The caches are designed to be something a little different so be careful but enjoy.
My eldest boy always wants something a bit more complicated in the world of geocaching and why not. Keeps us young. He helped me put this one together and so here it is.
This cache, Nemo, is a small test tube hidden in a much larger camouflaged container. This outer container should not be moved from where it is fixed. Be gentle with it. Trying to find the outer container may be tricky. It is over a foot long but to keep it from going walk about it is set back well from the path. There is a small rise as you move off the track and it’s about 15 decent steps from the trail. You are looking for a slender trunk only a few centimetres in diameter and the outer container is a few feet of the ground. You need to bring water with you. Probably about 2 litres in the likes of an old milk container. There is a stream a few hundred meters, away beside cache 9 in the series, if you get stuck for a refill. I used to hide a container nearby but they kept going walk about so now I’m afraid you’re on you’re own. Think flute as the water goes in and try a little to start. Team work might be handy but not essential. Hopefully clear!
Now, Nemo has a twig tethered to him to help you fish him out. When putting Nemo back, Cap down twig up. Simples!
The cache is much easier to do with a friend to assist but it is possible, if pretty tricky, on your own (I have successfully done it at ground zero) and the cache difficulty reflects that scenario.
For the series in general I would advise old clothes and waterproof footwear (and possibly over-trousers) and a sense of humour as a minimum. The going includes water obstacles, some climbing and the forest tends to be muddy in places.