The park is locked at night, so I would recommend visiting during daylight hours. You should still be able to find the cache even if the park is locked, but it will make gathering the information from the second waypoint more difficult.
The cache is not at the posted coordinates, but it is not far away.
The starting coordinates bring you to the north entrance to Finsbury Gardens. Find the black sign with the date c. ABCD.
Now visit the second location at the south end of the Gardens. The first number that appears in the text is EF.
You can now calculate the final location.
N 51° 36.A(D+E)D'
W 000° 06.(F+E)B(D-C)'
(Coords and calculation updated 13th Aug 2023)
This is a letterbox hybrid cache, so it contains a stamp. The stamp is a water-themed animal to celebrate the river (although not one you are likely to see around here). Please do not remove the stamp as it needs to remain with the cache.
The Hidden River
The New River is an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from the River Lea, Chadwell Springs and other springs and wells along its course.
There is a designated walking route along the canal called the New River Path. It is a 28-mile (45 km) long-distance footpath which follows the course of the New River as closely as possible from its source in Hertfordshire to its original end in Islington, London.
The idea for the design and construction of the New River was first proposed by Edmund Colthurst in 1602, obtaining a charter from King James I in 1604 to carry it out. After surveying the route and digging the first 2 mile stretch, Colthurst encountered financial difficulties and it fell to Sir Hugh Myddelton to complete the work between 1609 and 1613.
The project was very expensive and challenging to engineer. The river relied on gravity to allow the water to flow, so it had to carefully follow the contours of the terrain.
Myddelton also faced considerable opposition from landowners. The project nearly ended when some landowners refused to allow the river across their land. Myddelton was supported by the king, who agreed to pay half the project's expenses in return for a 50% shareholding.
On 9 January 1622, King James rode from Theobalds after dinner to see the ice on the New River and fell in head first so that his companions could only see his boots. He was rescued and returned to a warm bed at Theobalds.
Originally the river course was above-ground throughout, but in the second half of the nineteenth century some sections were put underground, enabling the course to be straightened.
Finsbury Gardens
The New River Company (now Thames Water) had plans to re-align the New River, and they bought this area in order to place the river in a tunnel underneath. The tunnel starts in Myddleton Road and runs south under Finsbury Gardens to Station Road, Alexandra Palace.
Later, the land above the river tunnel was leased to Haringey and became Finsbury, Nightingale and Avenue Gardens. Local residents help to plant and maintain the gardens and use them for community events.
Foxes Den
There is a fox den not far from the cache site. I often see foxes when walking through this area in the evening.