Welcome to the first of what I hope to be a series of caches celebrating the Windmills of Lincolnshire - past and present. To kick off the series I have chosen perhaps the best and most well known windmill, the Heckington Windmill.
Heckington Windmill is the only eight-sailed tower windmill still standing in the United Kingdom with its sails intact.
Heckington is located between Sleaford and Boston in Lincolnshire, England. The mill stands very close to Heckington railway station, hence its name of the Station Mill in the 19th century. The windmill is designated a Grade I listed building.
It was built in 1830 to plans by millwright Edward Ingledew (who also built, among others, Wragby tower mill in 1831, Waltham Windmill in 1837, and the former Pickworth tower mill) for her first owner and founder Michael Hare of red brick, the outer walls being tarred (provided with a black bitumen paint in order to keep moisture out), as a five-sailed windmill (very similar to Alford Windmill) with Sutton's single patent sails (15 feet tip-width and 12 feet heel-width) providing longitudinal shutters on both sides of the backs (36 feet in length). The mill has six storeys called "floors": ground floor, meal floor, stone (stage) floor, lower bin floor, upper bin floor (hoist floor), dust or cap floor.
And now for the cache itself. I deliberately ensured that the information can be obtained after opening hours, in case you want to do this when it is quieter. You are at the main gates of the windmill and looking for the following information:
The only XXXX sailed working windmill in the world - This is A
The number of windows above the white door on the windmill tower (Dont count the individual panes, I'm looking for the windows. - This is B
J XXXXXXXX and Sons - How many letters in the name? - This is C
Brand of Animal Foods - This name is D
The foodstuffs for XXXXX, XXXXX and XXXXXXX (In order of which they appear) - This is E, F and G
Now you have the information to find the container itself. Use the following formula to get the coordinates.
N 52 58. F, (B-1), (D-1)
W 000 17. E, (A-4), (C-G-B)
The cache is magnetic and a short walk/drive away.
If anyone would like to expand this series please feel free to place a cache near to your favourite Windmill, Lincolnshire has so many! Let's show visitors to our county the heritage of our region.