A quiet cache at the edge of a lovely village, where there is abundant parking. It can be combined with the other caches in the area, but be warned, it get very muddy. So, unless the ground is frozen or we have had a long dry period, then wellies are highly recommended. This Geocache was placed with the kind permission of the ‘Caldbeck and Hesket Newmarket Parish Council’.
Caldbeck is one of the most beautiful and peaceful of all the Lakeland villages, it lies at the foot of the Northern Fells and just inside the Lake District National Park. The timeless character of the village has been preserved as a conservation area where ponies, sheep, cattle and even ducks roam freely.
The village is named after the river (Cald Beck) on which it stands. This river and its tributaries provided the water for the important industrial development of the area in the 17th and 18th centuries - woollen mills, bobbin mills, corn mills, a paper mill and a brewery. The village still reflects this former industrial activity with many of the old mill buildings still in use.
Caldbeck has lots of amenities and picturesque local walks of all standards; from easy strolls along the river side or around the village pond, to the more strenuous nearby mountains of High Pike or Carrock Fell.
I am a massive rock music fan and aim to give clues to each of my caches with reference to one of my favourite bands: The Beatles were an English rock band that were formed in Liverpool in 1960. Simply put: the ‘Fab Four’ became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential band in the history of music. Their enormously popularity in this country was known as ‘Beatlemania’ and they then led the British Invasion of America in the 60s.The Beatles became integral to pop music’s evolution into an art form, using unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. Their musical styles encompassed a wide range of genres; including hard rock with ‘Back in the USSR’ and proto metal with ‘Helter Skelter’. The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 800 million record sales worldwide.
Track five on their last studio album is called 'Dig it'
The given co-ordinates take you to a bridge crossing the river at the top end of the ‘Howk’; a beautiful, small, but spectacularly incised Limestone Gorge. ‘Howk’ is a Scottish or Northern English word that means dug up or dug out (hence the title of the cache). The area upstream of here was used for picnics during Victorian times, whilst lower downstream the gorge was put to industrial use and is well worth a visit.
Carboniferous Limestone is an organic, sedimentary rock. This means it was formed from the remains of tiny shells and the skeletons of micro-organisms which were deposited on the bed of a shallow, warm, tropical sea, between 363 and 325 million years ago. They were then compressed to form a resulting, solid, very hard rock. Limestone was therefore formed in horizontal layers (called bedding planes) one on top of the other, along the seabed. The bedding planes also contain vertical cracks called joints.
Through millions of years, many areas of Carboniferous Limestone have been folded, faulted and uplifted by massive Earth movements; which can be seen by the fact that some Limestone rocks are now above sea-level and not necessarily still horizontal.
The bedding planes and joints within Limestone make the rock permeable. So, regardless of whether the rock is exposed or is underground, rainwater (which contains weak carbonic acid) seeps through the joints of weakness and erodes them. The Limestone above ground is more exposed to weathering. In this case: physical (or mechanical) weathering, which involves the breakdown of Limestone through direct contact with atmospheric conditions such as, water, stones or other pieces of rock; and chemical weathering, which involves the direct effect of chemicals (atmospheric or biologically produced) in the breakdown of the Limestone. Both types of weathering occur together, and each tends to accelerate the other. For example, physical abrasion (rubbing together) decreases the size of particles and therefore increases their surface area, making them more susceptible to chemical reactions.
Through this erosion and subsequent undercutting, collapsing and transportation the gaps between the sections of rock become bigger over time, leading to the formation of all manner of structures, both below the ground (such as cave systems) and above the surface of the ground (such as this gorge).
In order to claim this geocache please go to the bridge at the GZ, look just downstream at the largest object in the river. Then send me the relevant answers to the following points:
- Describe this object (colour size shape etc).
- Describe its position.
- Going through each stage; how do you think this has been formed and how did it end up in this position?
- Optional: If you feel inclined, enclose a photo (not a spoiler)!