This cache was first placed a few days short of 21 years ago - how time flies!
It has been thoroughly overhauled, having been suspended for a while and it is now very much back in business.
For most people Frostenden is nothing more than a bend in the A12 and some usefully situated loos. However, the Domesday Book shows that, 1000 years ago there was a thriving seaport here with two churches and a sizeable community.
The name apparently derives from ‘field of frogs’ or ‘frog valley’. Nowadays this is hard to imagine as the river which once was navigable to large sea-going vessels is just a trickling stream.
Some of the history of Frostenden is still visible if you are prepared for a bit of a ramble and have a cache to find.
Most of the port area is situated in wooded band close to the road that runs from Wrentham to Southwold. This is best approached from Cove Bottom which loops off from the main road close to the church. Be careful f driving as it's a very sudden right-hand turn off of a busy road. Look for the footpath that leads into the fields - there is a substantial farm building about 100 metres before the path. Although it's not well marked as such at this end, it is a public footpath. Parking is a bit difficult here, but if you are considerate there is some space to the side of the path.
The first part of the track is metalled (although still mudy) but at the end of the track the footpath continues into the field first going through a double farm gate. The footpath proper heads left and goes around the perimeter of the field, but the more obvious 'desire line' slopes down towards the trees and the remains of the river in a more or less direct line.If sighted from the farm gate you can see the hiding spot.
To the right you will notice a large earthen mound surrounded by a ditch. This is believed to be be a 'Naust' – a kind of Viking dry dock rarely seen outside of Denmark. This may be a bit romantic but despite this the mound is certainly big, artificial and close to what remains of the river and a series of quite complex water courses which are believed to be quay headings. The remains of the river snake towards the sea at Southwold and this was presumably used for the carriage of goods.
The cache coordinates given are actually for the summit of the mound. but the hiding place is just beyond the tree line within the port area. Backtrack from the mound itself towards the treeline and find the post with the yellow footpath arrow - this is roughly at N52.36399 E1.65897 but it's perhaps more useful to say that it is directly in line with the the farm gate. When you reach the tree line, at the coordinates given you will notice the little yellow footpath disc but it's become a bit distressed with age and somewhat hidden by foliage. The hiding spot is clearly visible from the post, but you may have to use the hint.
N.B I paid a maintenance visit to the cache on 24/7/25 as there had been several 'couldn't finds' and found that the whole area is incredibly overgrown to the extent that the original hide is now completely covered with giant ferns and I couldn't get to it. To remedy this I have made a temporary cache using the spare box that I'd made up just in case the original one had disappeared. The clue now refers to the temporary hide.If you do venture here I would suggest that you go around the perimter of the field as I actually got lost on the return visit to the farm gate as the grass in the field is at chest height!
If you go beyond the hide location you will come to a bridge, but by this time you will also be disgustingly muddy, but if it is actually firm underfoot you might want to explore more of the port and the two bridges crossing the watercourses, although do be warned that there are farm animals grazing in the field after the second, so it would be wise to go no further, and obviously make proper use of the latches on the bridge gates.