Harry's Cache (Sandwood Bay, Sutherland)
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Size: 
(regular)
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Britains' most isolated beach with a 4 mile walk to get to it, and 4 miles back of course! Fairly gentle terrain but only the first two miles would suit a mountain bike.
Harry, my next door neighbour is solely responsible for me planting this cache at Sandwood Bay. Sometime back in the 1970’s, Harry visited this beautiful location and the memory of his visit has never faded. Having given me the benefit of his experiences I decided that I too must visit this location whilst in the Highlands of Scotland, apparently Britain’s most isolated beach, and would honour the occasion by leaving behind a cache in his name! And not only that, but managed to get from him a small item which could be used as a travel bug which will be left in the cache to start its travels. Harry Mouse TB to be precise. For the “first to find” there is a National Lottery scratch card, so good luck to whoever claims that prize.
Park in Blairmore, in the very convenient parking area, N58º 29.448 W05º 06.005, cross the road and follow the well-worn track to the Bay. The sign says Sandwood 4½ miles, the cache is found approximately 4 miles along the track overlooking the Bay, but having come this far it would be a shame not to continue on to the beach whilst you're there. After two miles, the track becomes rather more interesting and the use of mountain bikes, which up to now would be fine, becomes impractical due to its rather rocky nature. The day I placed the cache, 26th October 2004, was beautiful, but having had a lot of rain prior to this, the path seemed to disappear underwater several times along the shores of the very full lochans, and in general, underfoot conditions were rather on the damp side.
The prospect of an eight mile plus, return walk without finding the cache, would I know, be extremely disappointing and disheartening for most people, so I have hidden the cache in what I would consider to be a very probable place to any seasoned geocacher, and even to those not-so-seasoned ones too, and I don’t think it will pose any problems being found. The location should however be safe from any other visitors to the area. There are no particularly steep ascents, however the clamber up to the final resting place of the cache needs a little extra care.
The original contents of the cache, which is a standard plastic "lunchbox" with a white lid, are as follows: A National Lottery scratchcard for the "first to find" plus Harry Mouse TB, Rehoboth Beach TB, BOYD the bear TB, an aromatherapy burner and several other smaller odds and ends and the customary log book.
Finally, I’d just like to thank Sssmokin and Mr Rhu for kindly adopting this cache on my behalf. It’s a fair trek from Thurso, but I don’t expect they’ll have to make the journey very often!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybpu fvqr bs, naq haqrearngu, n ynetr ebpxl bhgpebc, uvqqra oruvaq n fznyy ebpx. Ryringvba nccebkvzngryl 140sg