Minions Moor
This virtual cache will take you on a nice walk of about 2.5 km there and back from the given car parking coordinates. (N 50 30.833 W 004 27.360)
The walk is level and reasonably easy going, although can be wet in places after rain. It is across open moorland where sheep, cattle and ponies may be grazing so best to keep geohounds on leads.
On the way, just a short distance from the car park, you will pass through the magnificent Hurlers Stone Circles - legend has it that these are the pertrified remains of men caught playing hurling on the Sabbath.
All the way across the Moor you will see the Cheesewring Tor on top of Stowes Hill. Keep heading towards that landmark to bring you to the Virtual GZ.
Daniel Gumb's House
Minions Moor is littered with ancient monuments, grave sites, industrial heritage and tales of mystery and legend. One such tale - which is real - is about the 18th Century stone-cutter, Daniel Gumb, who made his home on the Moor - a wild and remote place at the best of times.
Daniel was born in 1703 and died, aged 73, in 1776. He is buried in the churchyard of Linkinhorne Church. He spent his adult life cutting granite by hand, in all weathers, out on Minions Moor. Daniel must have liked the place because he created a cave-like home for himself by excavating beneath a large granite slab and created a number of small rooms complete with a fireplace.
It must have been pretty comfortable because Daniel got married and his wife joined him in his stone house where they allegedly raised six children. With not much else to do during the nights on the open moor, Daniel took to studying the night sky and also developed an interest in mathematics.
In Victorian times, the house in the rocks became something of a tourist attraction but when the nearby quarry was extended, the house was destroyed but some of the stones, on which Daniel carved a representation of Pythagoras's Theorem, were moved to the present location and a facsimile of his cave home was created where it remains to this day.
The Cheesewring Quarry nearby is worth a visit - at one time this quarry supplied quality stone for many prestigious structures in London including the Tower. Lambeth and Westminster Bridges.
Logging Requirements
Logging the cache as a FIND is straightforward:
Please visit the site of Daniel Gumbs Cave and, with your FOUND IT Log, post a picture of either yourself OR your GPS device OR your caching name on a sheet of paper, with the identifiable cave entrance in the background.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.