An old legend in Fishlake tells of ‘The Cockatrice of Church Street’, a mythical beast, which lived around the churchyard. It has rarely been seen or heard, but dire consequences have been suffered by those who have been unlucky enough to do so.
The cockatrice is able to fly using a set of reptilian wings affixed to its back, however it is synonymous with another mythical beast, the basilisk, which is flightless and so depicted without wings.
Appearing in British twelfth century legend, the cockatrice took the same form as the ancient Greek’s Ichneumon or ‘tracker’, which according to Pliny, in his ‘Natural History’ “lay in wait for the crocodile”. In the fourteenth century, it was the heraldic beast of the Langley family who resided in Agecroft Hall, Lancashire, a location reputed to be the inspiration for 'Babes in the Woods'. By the 15th century, there are references in Spanish literature to the ‘cockatriz’.
Later texts refer to how the Cockatrice is created when an egg is “lain by a cockerel” and subsequently incubated by a toad.
Those who hear its call are said to never sleep again and even worse besets the hapless mortals whose misfortune it is to accidentally touch the cockatrice, cast eye upon it’s stare, or are breathed upon by the beast. Only the weasel is said to be immune to the gaze of the cockatrice, human-folk and other creatures face certain death.
In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Shakespeare referred to "the death-darting eye of Cockatrice" and in his ‘Richard III’, the Duchess of York compared her son to a cockatrice:
“O ill-dispersing wind of misery!
O my accursed womb, the bed of death!
A cockatrice hast thou hatch'd to the world,
Whose unavoided eye is murderous”
According to late-medieval legend, a cockatrice would be killed upon hearing the crow of a rooster. It was also thought that if the beast looked at its own reflection in a mirror, it would die instantly.
The Cache
The container holds a self-inking stamp - please ensure that this remains with the cache.
The published coordinates will take you to the end of Church Street, close to the street sign, as the starting point for your quest.
First, walk around 30-35 yards along Church St. toward the church. On your right should be a gravelled roadway, turn onto this and head for the pedestrian gate to gain access into the grassed area. As you pass through the gate, look for the 'Public Footpath' sign, a little way in front of you - note that the area is often used for grazing cattle.
You now need to head up the bank and then in the direction indicated by the sign.
Walk along the bank, look out for a pedestrian gate (this is in around 1/3 of a mile and will take you back toward civilisation) and go through it.
Once through the gate, take a few steps and look to your right for a small tree, just down the slope and a second one a short distance beyond. The container can be found behind the second tree - please ensure that you replace with appropriate cover.
Dare you search for the cache and risk an encounter with ‘The Cockatrice of Church Street’?
Ensure that you arrive suitably equipped - bring your own weasel (or perhaps a handy ferret may help) and that you are ready for all eventualities.
Once your quest has been completed, feel free to paste the following into your profile, to record your triumph over the cockatrice:
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