Glastonbury Tor is a prominent hill that rises from the Somerset Levels to a height of 158 metres and can be seen for many miles around. At the top there is the roofless tower of St. Michaels church, a Grade I listed building. The site has been designated a scheduled monument and is managed by the National Trust.
The church was built in the Fourteenth Century from local sandstone, but in 1539, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the reign of King Henry VIII it was demolished, all except for the tower. The Tor was the place of execution of the last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Richard Whiting. He was hung drawn and quartered, alongside two of his monks, John Thorne and Roger James.
The levels that surround the Tor are reclaimed fens, which are prone to flooding and are believed to have once been an inland water, and the Tor the legendary 'Isle of Avalon' of Arthurian legend. It was first mentioned in Geoffery of Monmouth's 'Historia regum Britanniae' (c1136) as the place where the legendary sword Excalibur was made, and later where King Arthur was taken to recover from battle wounds.
Legend has it that King Arthur and his wife Guinevere were buried at Glastonbury Abbey, and indeed the monks of that Abbey actually claimed to have found their grave in 1191.
To claim this cache as a find, you need to send me the answers to two questions and post a photo MUST be posted with your found log to prove that you were there. The photo MUST include yourself/selves, your GPS device, or a piece of paper with your geocaching name clearly visible. The photo MUST be included in your found log and MUST be one of three options;
A. Taken from inside the tower with the sky visible
B. Taken through the doorway arches with both arches and the sky visible
C. Taken from the top of the Tor with the tower in the background, and the ground must be clearly visible in the photo.
The Questions.
1. Inside the tower you will find a plaque with black lettering on a white background. Below the underlined title there are many lines of text. On the seventh line there is only one word. What is this word?
2. Close to the tower, at the waypoint, you will find a flat metal disk surmounted on a stone plinth. How many miles to Wells Cathedral?
Please feel free to log your find as soon as your answers have been sent. All logs will be scrutinised. Any that do not fulfil the logging requirements will be deleted. I will confirm that your answers and photo are acceptable as soon as possible.
Thanks to Joel Bunting of the National Trust for giving permission for this Virtual Cache to be placed here. Please keep to footpaths to help reduce erosion, and respect the environment.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.