This cache is placed at a bridge on the Letcombe Brook, this is a 7.5-mile (12 km) stream that rises at the foot of the Berkshire Downs in Letcombe Bassett and flows through Letcombe Regis, Wantage, Grove and East Hanney to join Childrey Brook, which is a tributary of the River Ock, which is a tributary of the River Thames.
Letcombe Brook is a chalk stream, which is globally rare; there are just 225 in the world. Development, agriculture and water demand have degraded its habitats, but its water is now cleaner than for many years, and it supports a rich diversity of wildlife, including water voles, bullheads and brook lampreys, which are protected species.
The Letcombe Brook Charitable Trust was established as a memorial to the poet Sir John Betjeman, who lived in the area for many years. In 1972, the year he was appointed Poet Laureate, he wrote the poem "On Leaving Wantage", which begins "I like the ways these old brick garden walls run unevenly down to Letcombe Brook".
The brook at this location has just left the Letcombe Valley a 7.5 hectare nature reserve that is managed by BBOWT (Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust) and was opened in 2010. They have been given a 50-year lease and a grant of £230,000 to manage the site as a nature reserve by Richmond, the retirement village that is next to this location. The gate next to this bridge leads you to the nature reserve down a permissive path and will take you to other caches.
Note: Your feet will not get wet retrieving this cache.