This multi-cache has been prepared as I thought a longer walk
would be required than just, the short one to the fairy steps !
(Great walk for those with dogs)
The fairy steps (as they are known locally) are actually part of
Ripon’s History !
A short synopsis of Ripon’s History:-
Some 230 million years ago, Ripon lay at the edge of a tropical
sea, much later the meltwater from the Wensleydale glacier came
down Skeldale, scoured out the valley. About AD715 a settlement
called (in) Hrypis started. Through the ages Ripon was called
Hrypsaetna, Onhripum, Rhypum, Hryppun, Hrypon, Rhypon, Ripim,
Ripun, & finally Rippon ! The second P disappeared around 1800.
Ripon has always been closely related to the church, and has had
churches or cathedrals on the site from the early days. Its first
charter in 886, which has subsequently been followed by other
charters by various Kings
A few more things happened ..... then the 21st Century
came....
Well I did say it was a short synopsis !
For full history on Ripon please visit Ripon
History or better still visit the
Blow your Horn! cache for a great speech.
Now to the cache location..
Parking is best on Mallorie Park Drive . From the traffic lights
at bottom of hill on A61 as you approach Ripon from the South take
road specified Pateley Bridge.
Plenty of parking next to river. I do not advise approaching
down Borrage Green Lane - Harrogate A61 road)
Soldiers had been billeted at Ripon on and off for over a
hundred years before the outbreak of the First World War and the
old racecourse at Hell Wath had been used for Territorial Army
training for a number of years. To try to boost the economy, the
Corporation was already negotiating for a permanent Army Camp so
when war broke out Ripon was well placed for the construction of
what became one of the largest army camps in the country
accommodating some 30,000 soldiers, completely dominating the
city..
The above co-ordinates lead you to the ‘Fairy Steps’, which if
you look closely have two ramps either side of the steps, where
wheels have made depressions. They are actually a ramp to allow
personnel to drag gun carriages from the lower level to the upper
level (the camp and training area!)
Looking back to where the river Laver joins the Skell you will
also notice a slipway down into the river, for the same purpose !
You are actually looking at both ends of a ford !
The main army camp, we will now walk through ! If you look
carefully, you will see concrete foundations.
At the fairy steps you will find a 2" x 3" box, inside there are
the co-ordinates for the final cache box. I have also left some 1p
and 2p coins (only 1 to 2 for each junior member please- you know
they like them). Let me know when they run out.
For those who like a bit more history, When you come out of the
trees and into the open area, this area was once the location of
Ripon Race Course, before it moved to its present site on
Boroughbridge Road. The reason for the move was holes kept
apprearing in the ground (unstable ground as this was the seaside
230 million years ago !)
Good luck, and if you fancy doing a bit of metal detecting, you
never know what you might find in this now overgrown area.