Welcome to Hempstead Cutting Railway Crossing No.1!

This cache is placed at the site of an abandoned railway crossing on the outskirts of Uckfield. To the west of the crossing is the (now also abandoned) Horse Sanctuary and to the east is Hempstead Woods. 

During the crossings operational period, it saw very infrequent usage (being in a rural/out of the way location). The crossing was considered to have an extremely high collective risk (i.e. risks to the public/passangers, staff or rail vehicle). This was due to the site being situated behind a corner, meaning that people crossing would not be visible to the driver until quite late. To combat this, trains would give an audible horn warning when approaching the crossing. 

The crossing was shut on the 10th of April 2017 in order to protect public safety after it had been reported that its general condition had become unsafe. A second crossing was already in place further along the track, so the footpath here was redirected towards this (you may have crossed here).

In 2021,  the condition of the second crossing was also deemed to be increasingly unsafe. However, instead of fencing it off ( as was the case with crossing No.1), crossing No. 2 was completely dismantled and rebuilt. It is now very sturdy and much safer than before. 

The cache has plenty of room for Trackables and swappables, so do bring stuff to leave (and feel free to trade things of equal or greater value). 

Thank you for visiting my cache, I hope you enjoy your day.

Gg18

SAFETY WARNINGS 

- PLEASE DO NOT CROSS THE ABANDONED CROSSING. IT IS NOT SAFE AND IS ILLEGAL TO CROSS. THE CACHE IS NOT HIDDEN PAST THE FENCE, SO THERE IS NO NEED TO GO AROUND IT. 

- PLEASE TAKE CARE WHEN CROSSING THE NEW CROSSING, MAKE SURE DOGS ARE ON LEADS AND CHILDREN ARE WITHIN SIGHT AND UNDER CONTROL. RENEMBER: STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN

Congrats To: 

FTF- SEAFORDIANS!  🎉🎉 

STF- Flatcoat Walker 

TTF- evende