Many Cornish Geocachers will remember Hywel known by his caching name of Eclectic Penguin.
He resided in Cornwall for about 18 months during which time he created some very technically challenging puzzle caches that many of us spent hours trying to solve. He was an avid fan of the OS Trig Points and Benchmarks and especially the Fundamental Bench Marks (FBMs)
Hywel returned to his homeland in South Wales where he continued caching until he tragically passed away in February 2023 after a debilitating illness.
We have decided to keep his Cornish Fundamental Benchmark Caches active for others to find and in memory of The Eclectic Penguin (RIP)
If you're not familiar with this series of markers, it may look like a peculiar reduced version of a triangulation pillar (trig point). In this you would be partially right. This marker is known as a Fundamental Bench Mark.
Fundamental Benchmarks
The UK's network of fundamental benchmarks is actually the basic building block for the creation of mapping by the Ordnance Survey in the United Kingdom until the 1980s. A fundamental bench mark is a mark which records height and location to extreme accuracy.They are all constructed directly on stable bedrock. Each has an underground chamber known as the coffin which contain two accurately placed markers, but all you will see are the small granite pillars that mark their location on the surface. There are only 190 of these in the UK (5 in Cornwall) and most are still in existence today. They formed the cornerstone on which all other height and location markers throughout the United Kingdom are based. Unlike most of their larger Trig Point cousins, they are still used by the Ordnance Survey to this day and are described as passive GPS station. Many now contain a plaque, placed by the Ordnance Survey in 1999 to describe their function.
At the headline coorcinates you will find the Troon FBM at the rear of a nicely maintained grassy area opposite a house.
Please do not park on this grassy area, the homeowner opposite would not want tyre marks damaging his grass. The lane is a quiet one and you should be able to park alongside long enough to visit the FBM and obtain the required information.
ON TOP OF THE FBM MARKER IS A CIRCULAR DISK WITH THE HEIGHT ABOVE SEA LEVEL CLEARLY MARKED.
RECORD THIS AS: ABC.DE
Use the following formula to workout the nearby final coordinates:
N 50 11.(A/2)(B-E)B W 005 16.AAC
The cache is a petling tube - Please bring your own pen and you may need tweezers to extract the log.
About Ye Ole Survey Monuments
|
 |
Ye Ole Survey Monument (YOSM) is a captivating series of caches that pays homage to the remarkable legacy of OutForTheHunt's YSM series (GC45CC).
YOSM caches are strategically positioned at or near Trig Points. These triangulation stations have played a pivotal role as surveying landmarks, contributing to the mapping of expansive territories.
Some of these points, bearing historical significance, might now be situated on private land or have vanished with time. As a result, the caches are artfully placed in close proximity, reverently acknowledging the historical importance of these survey monuments.
|
More information, bookmarks and statistics can be found at the YOSM Website
If anybody would like to expand the Ye Ole Survey Monuments Series, please do.
I would ask that you request a number for your cache first at www.yosm.org.uk
so we can keep track of the numbers and names to avoid duplication.