This is a two-stage multi-cache, leading to a small container at a busy location, so stealth and your own writing implement will be required. The starting point is in the grounds of a small community museum, open on Saturdays between 10-4 (excluding Bank Holidays.) Entrance is free. The cache and information required are available 24 hours a day.
The coordinates listed will take you to the exact location of a 190-year-old milestone. It was originally placed nearby by the entrance lodge to Hatch Grange on what is now the High Street. It was erected as a permanent marker for those travelling along the Botley Turnpike. This is the last milestone that survives from this turnpike, as all others have disappeared over the years.
Before the advent of turnpike trusts the condition of country roads in the U.K. varied from inadequate to abysmal. Parishes were responsible for the roads that passed through their area, with each person expected to work on the roads for six days each year. These labourers were unskilled in road construction and unenthusiastic. Most roads between towns and villages were not regularly repaired. Coaches and carts often got stuck in ditches and had to be hauled out.
In 1663 the first turnpike road was permitted by an Act of Parliament. Under this system money was raised from subscribers to build a better quality road. These subscribers would then be repaid by charging a toll on those using the road. The Botley turnpike began in 1796. Nevertheless, until the early 19th century it remained little more than a track and around the time the milestone was erected, highwaymen were still a problem.
The cache can be found nearby at N 50° 55.ABC W 001° 20.DEF where:
A = the number of vowels in all place names
B = the number of all place names listed
C = the number of capital letters (assume these are the larger sized letters)
D = the number of letters in the first word
E = the number of numbers numbered 3 and above
F = the last number shown minus the penultimate number
Good luck ! Happy hunting!