Grovely Wood is a large area of woodland that now belongs to the
Forestry Commission. By ancient right, the villagers of Great
Wishford (4 miles east of cache location) can gather their firewood
there. Oak Apple Day celebrates this custom and is held annually on
29th May. In more recent times, it was used during World War 2,
look hard enough and you can still find some old air raid shelters.
There are numerous places to park to access this cache depending
on the length of the walk. I recommend you turn off the main road
at N51 06.748 W001 59.527 and either park soon after, or continue
down this track for about 0.6km to a small parking area near a pile
of black gravel.
The cache itself is a short walk from the second parking area
and is a 2-litre container. It contains all the usual type of
things (photo frames, wind up toys, books etc). After finding the
cache, should you wish to extend your walk, turn left along the
track (rather than heading back to the car), go straight over at
the next junction and take the next left along a major track.
Follow this path, which narrows considerably, and you’ll end up
back at the parking area after about 30 minutes. There are lots of
other walking options up here – go and enjoy!
NOTE: It appears people may be a little concerned with
the spent cartridges found near the parking spot. This is an area
well used by walkers and I have been walking up here for over 10
years without the slightest problem. Yes, the area is used for
pheasant shooting occasionally but it has never presented a problem
to myself or other local walkers. That said, exercise caution if
you're mad enough to go at night! Please don't let this put you off
visiting a beautiful area!
