In March 2022 we decided to also show the final location to encourage new visitors. Cache was set in 2005 and is one of the oldest in Derbyshire that is still active so we don't want to archive it. You can still do the walk and questions if you want, but also feel free to go straight to the end if you want.
This used to be a nice big Ammo box stuffed with goodies but it disappeared in September 2009 without a trace? It has been replaced with a tuppaware box but in a different location. The 3 clue locations are the same but the calculation has changed to give a different final location that is still on the original route. This small, quiet South Derbyshire village with a population of less than 200 is set on the banks of the River Trent. Only just over 250 years ago it was the scene of one of the most momentous incidents in English history. From the time when James II, the last Stuart King of England went into exile in France in 1688, the Jacobites had attempted several times to regain the throne. All had failed and in 1745, it was the turn of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, frequently known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, to try to overthrow the English Monarch. Support for the cause was half-hearted, but enough clansmen were raised for the march south. The English though were unprepared for an invasion, most of the troops were abroad and King George, fearing the worst, was preparing to return to Germany.
On the 4 December 1745, Charles Edward Stuart and his army reached Derby and made arrangements for the capture of the strategically important Swarkestone Bridge. It was the only bridge on the River Trent, between Burton and Nottingham.
Unaware of the panic in London, and with no signs of help coming from France, or a revolt in support of Charles, the Jacobite generals decided to retreat, despite the protests of their leader. If the march had continued, it would probably have been successful and the whole course of British history changed. In memory of this important event, a cairn has been erected at Swarkestone Bridge, to mark the southern - most point reached by Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army. The cairn can be found in the gardens of the Crewe and Harpur Arms, towards the river bank.
Swarkestone Bridge and Causeway, at a length of three quarters of a mile, is the longest stone bridge in England and holds Grade I listed building status. There has been a bridge here for 800 years, and at one time a bridge chapel and toll house stood partway across the bridge. It is still today an important crossing place. According to local legend, the building of Swarkestone Bridge in the 13th century is attributable to two sisters who saw their lovers drowned trying to cross the River Trent on horseback. They crossed the flooded meadows safely, but then either missed the ford altogether, or were swept off by the strong current. The horrified sisters saw all this happen through a hall window and vowed to ensure no else met the same fate. They spent the rest of their lives building the bridge and died penniless as a result.
The River Trent was a busy waterway before the Trent and Mersey Canal opened down its full length. Boats traded between Burton and Nottingham, reaching as far afield as Gainsborough, but the completion of the canal in 1777, slowly killed off the riverboat trade.
A few years after the Jacobites retreated, the Crewe and Harpur Arms was built. It is a fine old coaching inn, and at one time, a stable block completely encircled its present day car park. This was used to not only stable carriage horses, but racing horses as well. Derby then had a Racecourse based near Lowes Farm, on the northern side of the village.
It was at the Lowes, situated on a ridge overlooking the village, where archaeological excavations in 1955 and 1956 made some remarkable discoveries. The first was of a Bronze Age burial; a year later, archaeologists found even more striking evidence of structures by the Beaker People of about 2000 BC, along with a small amount of Neolithic pottery.
The most unusual building in the village is the Summer House, sometimes called ‘The Grandstand’. It has a grass covered rectangular enclosure in front. No one is quite sure what its use was; bull baiting and jousting are suggestions. More likely, the much gentler pursuit of bowling took place there. It is now in the hands of Landmark Trust and is let for holiday accommodation. Little remains of the hall, which stood just south of here, but the Old Hall Farm, built out of part of its remains still exists.
The tiny St James Church contains some superb carvings. Sir Richard Harpur, who was one of Queen Elizabeth’s judges, lies in his judge’s gown, on a fine alabaster tomb, with his wife Jane. They both lived at Swarkestone Hall.
James Brindley died before he could complete the final piece in his canal network that revolutionised trade in the country. Hugh Henshall, his brother-in-law, completed the work on the concluding section of the Trent and Mersey Canal. A milestone marks every mile along the route to Preston Brook. At Swarkestone Junction, the former lock house is now a private residence and the old toll bar cottage the home of Swarkestone Boat Club.
THE ROUTE
1. From the initial co-ordinates walk to Swarkestone Lock and head west (left) along canal towpath.
You will see a restored crane. On what day in May 1994 was the restored crane unveiled? Plaque is on the floor in the grass to the West of the crane. The date is the last line. This is AB in the cache coordinates.
Continue along the canal under bridge number 15 (numbers on the west side) until you reach bridge number 16.
Along the way you will be able to work out the following:
If it is 6 miles to Shardlow, how many miles (CD) is it to Preston Brook?
This gives you CD in the cache location.
2. Leave the canal by the steps at bridge 16 and turn left crossing over the railway bridge.
3. Continue down the road until you reach the A5132. Cross carefully and walk down into Barrow-on-Trent.
4. Keep straight on through the village, and down Church Lane (NOT Chapel Lane). Walk around to the church. (New clue from 16.2.14 due to old object being removed). In the churchyard find John Buxton. (Take the weight off your feet for a while).
When did he die? April 8th FE63
Leave the churchyard and continue until the end of the road. If the river is high, this section may be flooded. When the road turns left, follow the narrow footpath by the River Trent, past the “Private fishing” sign.
The Cache location is at:
N52 51.FAB W001 28.(E-D-A)CD
Continue along the side of the river and soon you will see the traffic on the causeway ahead of you.
5. Continue following the footpath by the riverbank around the field to a stone building housing a pump. Cross a stile, then through a short field to a gap between the houses.
6. On leaving Meadow Farm, turn right into Woodshop Lane passing in front of the Crewe and Harpur Arms. The commemorative Cairn is in the garden by the riverbank.
7. Cross the A514 carefully and follow the footpath along the riverbank to Swarkestone Church. Look back as you walk along the riverbank to see the causeway.
8. Continue up the lane to the A514. Carefully cross this very busy road and go up Pingle Lane to return to the start of the walk.
Hope you enjoy this walk
GeoRams
Update: some time after August 2016, the council seem to have been busy at the final location. They have replaced something, that is obvious when you get there. Bless them though as they must have found the cache, put it to one side while they did the work and then put it back on a shelf that they prepared for us. Thanks guys, whoever you are.