Himbleton Highways
***STOP PRESS**
We are gradually archiving this series. We have disabled HH17 to HH25 and will remove them shortly. Please read the description below with that in mind.
Given the awful rain and widespread flooding we have been experiencing in early 2020, we decided to put out another of our signature “Winter-friendly” circuits entirely on tarmac roads: one for the wet times when footpaths and bridle-paths are a quagmire.
The series comprised 26 caches when we set it out in March 2020, and is approx. 5 miles (8Km). The entire circuit is tarmac roads with good walking, but we still recommend boots, as the road has a bit of standing water in places after rain, or mud spatters down the middle from farm vehicles, notably between HH12 and HH15.
This is a pretty walk through some varied countryside, but remember it is still on public roads. We found the roads to be fairly quiet, although the stretch from HH6 to HH12 had more traffic. There seem to be a lot of cyclists using these lanes.
We know that some cachers like to grab caches as “cache and dash” from their vehicles. if you are tempted to do that here, please do take care as the lanes are a bit narrow in a few places, with not much room to pass. And you will miss out on some lovely views as you walk around.
All the caches are made to be found fairly easily, and as usual our hints are quite detailed, so if you prefer to hunt without too much help, don’t read them. Just to make things a bit more fun, some of the caches are of the “Hidden In Plain Sight” (HIPS) variety
Recommended parking is in a well-maintained Nature Reserve parking area, but NOTE: there is a height restriction barrier across the entrance, limiting entry to vehicles 2.0 meters or under (Nora, our campervan, would not quite fit ☹). There are a couple of other good parking spots around the circuit (e.g. nr HH6, HH8 and HH19) and numerous gateways and small pull-ins.
There is a small teashop on the canalside between HH20 and HH21, and also a cafe/farm shop (with a car park) near to the level crossing. Note that the canal teashop has a tiny car park but it is private and would cost you £10 to park there.
For this first cache in the series, you are looking for a Hidden in Plain Sight (HIPS) container, holding a hidden micro tube and log. Tweezers may be needed.