After a hiatus of about 20 years I’ve rekindled an interest in Geocaching. My old caches (some of which are still operating) were all based on local history and the purpose of them, beyond just finding the hidden treasure, was to take people to new and interesting places that had a story behind them.
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem
This cache is situated close to St. Mary’s church in Ashby. In keeping with Geocaching etiquette the cache hide itself is a small walk away from the church and on the public footpath. All of my caches are placed with the intention of taking seekers to interesting historical sites with the bonus of a nearby cache find.
Ye olde trip to Jerusalem is actually the name of a 12th century pub in Nottingham, but the idea of embarking on a trip or pilgrimage to Jerusalem was the dream of many crusading knights, pilgrims and adventurers who felt that would earn their way into heaven by undertaking such a feat. Presumably the pub was there for a last drink before setting off on this perilous trip!
The connection with the cache comes later.
Ashby is essentially a disappeared medieval village where only a few scattered houses remain. The parish church stands quite alone about a quarter of a mile from Blocka Road and must be approached by walking or cautiously driving along a footpath which passes through Ashby Hall Farm. Close to the church the footpath is intersected by Snakes Lane which takes you to the car park of the Lound Village Maid if travelling south.
Far from looking abandoned, the church is a visual delight with a bright new fence and an immaculately cared for churchyard. If you visit there you will notice a carefully tended memorial to US airmen who were tragically killed during two nearby crashes which occurred in wartime.
The church itself is based on a Saxon floorplan with the base of of the Saxon round tower remaining. Unfortunately it is locked most of the time but even a brief wander round the outside of the church is still rewarding.
This where we pick up the story of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. For many people the idea of spending several years voyaging to the Holy Lands was impractical, either too expensive, too dangerous or just beyond their physical capabilities, so the very ancient idea of walking a labyrinth was revived as an alternative. A labyrinth is a pattern that twists and turns back and forth several times until you reach the middle. The idea being that if you prayerfully walked, or shuffled on your knees along the twists and turns enough times you would earn sufficient heavenly club card points to be the equivalent of making the perilous trip with the only cost being to your shoes or the knees of your trousers!
In the later medieval period labyrinths started appearing in many larger churches and cathedrals (Norwich Cathedral has one) and so does Ashby St. Mary!
The labyrinth here is cut into the turf and is on the south-west of the church in the clear part of ground where the gravestones stop. It might take a moment or two to pick out the labyrinth but if you stand with your back to the church wall and scan the turf between here and the corner of the church yard you should be able to make out a pattern of furrows that wind back and forth on themselves. The seasons add a bit of variability to its visibility, but once seen it’s hard to unsee. Once you've see it make sure that you walk (or shuffle) the labyrinth yourself
The cache itself is very close to the churchyard at the given coordinates. The hint should be useful. The container is a small waterproof container which contains golden cats and dogs. Avoid the spiky growth - it's in the more hand-friendly area although a very slight crawl may be necessary.
Shortly after placing the cache it disappeared and generated a couple of 'could not find' logs. on 3/7/25 this was replaced.