IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THIS SERIES, PLEASE CONTACT THE SERIES OWNER (SEE BELOW)
We are often told (correctly, if somewhat ideologically), that geocaches should take us to somewhere "interesting", and not simply be placed just for the sake of it. The aim of this series is to try and adhere to this ideal by basing caches around details given on an Interpretation Board about the area in which it is situated. By definition, it is hoped that this information will be "interesting", and will help the cacher discover things about the area that would often not be revealed by a traditional cache.
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Holloway Circus is also known as Pagoda Island due to the 40' granite pagoda in the middle. The pagoda itself was donated by the Wing Yip brothers (local businessmen) as a landmark for the nearby Chinese Quarter.
Three of the four 'corners' are occupied by tower blocks; The Sentinels - two '70s residential blocks, and the more modern Beetham Tower which houses a hotel in the lower half and apartments in the top half. These three towers are among the 10 tallest buildings in Birmingham. The other corner has the end of the '60s 'brutalist' Ringway Centre (or SBQ) which was designed as part of the Inner Ring Road scheme. This inner ring road has now been mostly broken up to allow a better flow in and around the city centre.
Historically, this area was used as the Bull Ring Market's horse market during annual fairs, and so the road became known as Horse Fair. There is a mural depicting the Horse Fair along one side of the centre of the island.
The cache is not at the listed co-ordinates, but is very close by. To find the co-ordinates of the cache, you will need to work out the following values:
NOTE - THIS HAS BEEN SIMPLIFIED DOWN AFTER SOME COMPLAINING IT WAS TOO DIFFICULT. THE CACHE IS IN THE SAME PLACE.
The number of stone benches on the island = A
The number of languages in which the pagoda plaque is written = B
The number of years between the market charter being granted, and the last horse fair = CDE
The number of Chinese gaurdian lions on the island = F
The number of skyscrapers around the island = G
With these values, substitute for:
N52° 28. (A-B) (D+F-C) (E+G)
W01° 53. (E+C-G) (D) (F+B-A)
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I hope that you find this an interesting variation on the caching experience. For a full list of all FYI caches in the series, please go to https://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?code=BM4RZ8H
For more details of the FYI series as a whole, you can visit the dedicated website at fyigeocaching.co.uk where you will also find details of how to place your own FYI cache (I'm sure you know of some interesting Interpretation Boards in your area!)