After eleven years of Geocaching it really is time to hide a few ourselves, so welcome to our first four hides.
This short series will take you down Hartmoor Road a route Ben walks often, very early morning for its beautiful views. It is 2.5 miles as a round trip number from one and back. There is plently of on street parking around number one, which is wheel chair accessable from Hillworth Road. #1 is the only one that I believe to be fully wheel chair friendly. The route is a steady gradient down hill by 115ft to #4, after Broadleaze Park (a road) the lane surface can become slippery when wet and can also be muddy in sections in the winter. Only number three is slightly off of the track so please dont scale the bank at number two or go up any private roads to the right of the lane.
History (from british history on line)
What is now Hillworth Road, runs westwards out of Long Street and then takes a sharp turn southwards and thereupon assumed the name of 'Devizes Sand Way' (1654) or 'The Sands Lane' (1736–7). This is now Hartmoor Road, (formerly Hartmoor) a name apparently taken from a small settlement in Potterne, recorded in 1424–5. It runs along the side of the old park, and was in the earlier 20th century no better than a bridle path. In 1654, however, it is clearly marked on maps and seems even in 1773 to have been nearly as important as the current main road to Potterne. It led to Whistley (in Potterne) and beyond, and from it other roads gave access to Whistley and Jordon's mills. No doubt when those mills declined the current Potterne road took its place. By 1970 Hartmoor Road, as it was then called, had once again been made up into a road. (Note: that from Furze Hill Farm, Hartmoor changes name to Furze Hill Lane, though I have been unable to assertain when this happened).
The Cache
After a major land slip around ground zero, the cache has been moved. It is now directly on the opposite side of the lane aproximately 3 metres across from the end of the big wall, and is around half a metre up the bank. Coords are unchanged. The location is covered in large trees and GPS may not be 100%, therefore the hint if you need it is specific.
Congratulations to Geo Tigger for the first to find.