This route is a 8km walk which will take you about 2 - 3 hours depending on your pace and how long each cache takes you to find! There is a mixture of terrain which is mostly on Footpaths and Bridleways with some short sections on country roads and through villages.
In the winter, and after heavy rain, some sections can become waterlogged and muddy so wellies would be the recommended footwear!
This this a trail of 16 caches in a variety of containers. None of the containers are in walls and none require anything to be dismantled to retrieve. Tweezers may be useful for log retrieval on some containers, but no other tools are needed for ANY cache. They are all on the footpaths or bridleways, or in areas of open access land.
The trail starts in the village of Kington Saint Michael and loops through fields and farms to the outskirts of Yatton Keynell. Both have good village amenities should you wish to stop for a drink & cake en route!
A brief description of the route, cache to cache is below.
Parking to Cache 1
Leave through the plains fields and into the woodland area. The woodland is open access. Leave the woodland to the West, through a gate and over a quiet road. The footpath printed on OS maps has been legally diverted here. Rather than through the farm buildings at Kington Priory, turn to the right after the road and follow the new path round the back of the farm buildings, through new gates with clear footpath signs. The second cache is after the footpath rejoins the original route as marked on the map.
Cache 1 to Cache 2
Continue along the field edge and over a stile at the end. Turn right up a paved driveway. The path does not go through the house’s garden! - Turn right into the field just before the house, and follow the hedge round to the road. Turn right up the road.
Cache 2 to Cache 3
Follow the road heading West.
Cache 3 to Cache 4
Follow the road heading West.
Cache 4 to Cache 5
The footpath here is well marked through the woods with green arrows, follow them through the wood and into the fields on the other side.
Cache 5 to Cache 6
Follow the edge of the fields to Cache 7.
Cache 6 to Cache 7
Continue to follow the edge of the fields and the footpath becomes fenced in after passing over a stile. The path crosses through the centre of two fields before Grove Lane.
Cache 7 to Cache 8
Enter ‘Halfpenny Field’ and half way along turn left and over a stile into the adjective field. This area is often wet underfoot!
Cache 8 to Cache 9
Continue into the next field which is often growing tall bamboo looking plants, used for Biofuel!
Cache 9 to Cache 10
Continue down the obvious path, past the house on the left and trees right.
Cache 10 to Cache 11
Keep the fence to your right, you may see some Wild Boar in the enclosure!
Cache 11 to Cache 12
The field passes through the centre of the next field but most often people walk round the edge to the right after crossing over the small bridge.
Cache 12 to Cache 13
The path follows the right hand edge of the field adjacent to the stream.
Cache 13 to Cache 14
The path somewhat ‘zig-zags’ through the next two fields to the next cache., most people follow the edges as there is a clear trodden track.
Cache 14 to Cache 15
Passing through the mown field and onto the road but the house, you may recognise this property from Cache 3! Take care when passing over the stile and onto the road, there is a fairly steep drop. Turn right onto the road.
Cache 15 to Cache 16
Follow the road.
Cache 16 to Parking
Continue to follow the road which will take you right back to the car parking, or into the village for refreshment!