Why not come and join us just off the M60 in Clifton, Manchester, to celebrate this leap day and maybe join us for a few iconic finds?
Robin Hood's Stride is a rock formation on the Limestone Way in Derbyshire close to the village of Elton. According to legends, during the 14th Century Robin Hood leaped between the large stones at each end of the tor which led to it becoming known as Robin Hood's Stride.
It does not therefore seem particularly fitting to use this as a link for a Leap Day event here in Clifton, Manchester, however it is the best I could come up with to associate the pub name with a leap. It's iconic, because if things go to plan, you will leave the event with 7 icons.
The term leap year probably comes from the fact that a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar normally advances one day of the week from one year to the next, but the day of the week in the 12 months following the leap day (from 1 March through 28 February of the following year) will advance two days due to the extra day, thus leaping over one day in the week (so for example, Christmas Day 2023 was a Monday, it will leap over Turesday and will fall on Wednesday in 2024) .
On 1 January 45 BC, by edict, Julius Caesar reformed the historic Roman calendar to make it a consistent solar calendar (rather than one which was neither strictly lunar nor strictly solar), thus removing the need for frequent intercalary months. His rule for leap years was a simple one: add a leap day every four years. This algorithm is close to reality: a Julian year lasts 365.25 days,
In the Gregorian calendar, now the standard calendar in most of the world, almost every fourth year is a leap year. Each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. Adding one extra day in the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a tropical year by almost 6 hours. However, this correction is excessive and the Gregorian reform modified the Julian calendar's scheme of leap years as follows:
Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400. For example, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are.
The long and short of all this from a geocaching perspective is that we have a day more this year which means you have the opportunity to increase your numbers over a none leap year. with 366 caching days available instead of the usual mere 365.
It also means if you are filling in your day grid calendars this is your only chance until 2028 to find a geocache on February 29th, or attend an event or find whatever other kind of icon you may desire.
With this in mind, myself and Hitman9956 are hosting an event here at the Robin Hood on February the 29th and the intention is to publish a small number of geocaches with a scattering of different icons, giving an opportunity for joint FTFs etc, to allow you to do a little box ticking for your February 29th requirements.
The venue has been chosen as it is very accessbile, located directly opposite the exit from the M60, however, be aware you can only exit the motorway from the east and also you can only join it going east. You can either use the next exit and roundabout to turn around, or use other roads to reach the venue. The venue is part of the Flamin' Grill chain and they offer BOGOF on burgers on Thursdays and weekday two for £13.49 meal deals (Menu). A space has been reserved for us in the pub, there is no requirement to buy food or drink to attend.