WARNING: there have been a couple of reports during Autumn 2006 of a nearby wasps nest: either take great care when seeking the cache, or wait till later in the "wasp season" when the risk is reduced!
This two-part offset-cache can be accessed only from the northbound side of the A34 (do not stop on the southbound, it is not safe!). Park in the layby at N 51° 17.603 W 001° 20.264 (the lay-by is almost exactly under the power lines).
Note that this is a VERY busy road: please take care if you have animals or children with you.
The path you will be walking on is part of the Wayfarer's Walk, a 70 mile path that runs from Portsmouth to Berkshire.
Follow the path through the metal gate to the memorial, at the location given... this is the first stop. Take a moment to read the inscription, and use the date to help calculate where the actual cache is hidden.
You need the date (=ab), the month (=c) and the year (defg) of that "first flight"...
(i) the NORTH coordinate is N51° 17.nnn' (where nnn = (def x 3) + (e/3) + ab + a);
(ii) the WEST coordinate is W001° 20.www (where www = (adf x 8) - fg).
(simply substitute the digits, then do the arithmetic)
To get there just continue up the path and through the trees....
The cache is a small black ammo box, the contents including a "first finder's keyring", keyrings / pens / kids bits... oh, and quite topically, a small glider!
The cache is placed within 10 metres of the path. Allow about 30 mins to do the cache.
Geoffrey de Havilland, the son of a pastor, was born 27th July 1882. As a teen, he built several steam-powered cards and motorcycles. In 1908, his father gave him a gift of £1000 (quite a sum back then!), which he used to design and build an aeroplane.... despite the fact that at that point he'd never actually seen one in flight!
His first flight, in 1910, was from this location: he managed 30 metres, and then crashed - this flight is commemorated with a large memorial stone.
His next flight, again from here, was much more successful! He was assisted by Frank Herle.
Geoffrey was soon working for the government, designing planes, and in 1920 he set up his own company.
The De Havilland company is probably best remembered for the wartime Mosquito airplane, built from wood, and the Comet. The Comet, the world’s first commercial jet aircraft, flew in 1949, but due to bad design (trying to keep the aircraft weight down because of its underpowered engines) suffered a series of disastrous crashes. Later, improved, versions of the Comet were very successful.
The De Havilland company was taken over by Hawker Siddeley in 1961, and Geoffrey de Havilland died on 21st May, 1965.
If you would like to have a say in the future of caching in the UK,
Please visit the Geocaching Association of Great Britain