Bridehead Lake and Waterfall
Littlebredy is a small, secluded, beautiful village, seven miles west of Dorchester. Here, the country stillness is accompanied by a soundtrack of cheerful birdsong; the wind teasing through foliage; and a magical secret…
Park on the grass next to the hexagonal wooden bus shelter and continue on foot on the road down to the bottom of the hill. Take a left turn, past some of the village properties, and continue to the end of the road. As you start to cross the little wooden bridge, the sound of flowing water increases and you now find yourself in beautiful mansion grounds with rolling greenery, a sparkling lake - and a picturesque waterfall! Flowing and bubbling, with water cascading over the dam before rushing down into the valley below, it can only but welcome you into its wonder.
The River Bride rises from springs to feed an artificial lake at Bridehead House, the mansion at the centre of the village estate. The Manor of Littlebredy was recorded in the Domesday Book as Litelbridia, which possibly derives from Brydian, the Celtic for gushing or boiling stream; an apt name for a small stream which falls more than 200 feet during the first three miles of its journey. Tumbling over the man-made waterfall, it continues its journey for 6.5 miles to Burton Bradstock on the Dorset coast. If the location looks familiar, it may be because the lake, meadow gardens and waterfall were used as one of the locations in Dorset in the TV crime drama series Broadchurch.
There is an ancient air of secrecy, stillness and quiet about the place; the perfect spot for a picnic or just relaxing on a suitable day. Visitors can find this sanctuary, miles away from the modern pace of life, of the current situation we find ourselves in, and step back into history.
There is no charge to enter the grounds, but you are asked to consider making a donation towards the upkeep of the beautiful church of St Michael & All Angels in return for access. The grounds can also be accessed from the path past the church, coming out on the road next to the village hall.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU OBSERVE AND FOLLOW THE CONDITIONS OF PERMISSIVE ACCESS TO THE BRIDEHEAD GROUNDS
How to claim a ‘find’…
With no container to find or logsheet to sign, you must complete 2 simple tasks
IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLETE BOTH TASKS YOUR LOG WILL BE DELETED
Task 1: At, or near, the wooden bridge leading into Bridehead grounds N50 41.911 W002 35.126, take a photograph of yourself/member of your caching team or GPS device/smartphone (showing this virtual cache) and include it with your on-line log.
The river and waterfall MUST be visible in the background of the image.
Add your image to your "Found it" log.
Task 2: At the top of the waterfall is a small stone bridge. In the water, under the bridge (waterfall side), is a metal grating. How many metal bars are there within the surround of the grating?
Send your answer to me via the message service or email.
Be sure you don't mention the answer in your on-line log!
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2021
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and December 31, 2021. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache.
Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.