Please check out the
Geocaching Association of Great Britain
for the home of Geocachers in GB. Please visit www.gagb.org.uk
This cache is in a Thames-side
meadow, along a Thames Path, between Purley on Thames and
Pangbourne.
You have a choice of where to start the
journey to this cache.
Either in Purley Village at the end of
Mapledurham Drive (N51:28:894 W001:02:736) (Thames Footpath -
please note: vehicular access for residents
only).
If you have a bicycle or pram/pushchair it
would be better to join the path from Wintringham Way, Purley on
Thames (N51:28:999 W001:02:512) - go through the kissing gate and
turn right. The second option is also a slightly shorter walk.
Total walking distance from Wintringham Way is approximately 1.5
miles round trip.
For a longer hike, why not start your
journey in Pangbourne. You could park up in Bourne Road - the
entrance to the footpath is not far from here.
As you walk down the public footpath from Purley, the lane splits
into two. The turning left is a private road to the lock. The
public foothpath is the right fork. Please remember to close the
gate as you enter the meadow.
Mapledurham Lock is ahead of you, slightly
to the left. The cache is hidden further along the river from the
lock.
From around March/April time to September/October, there is a small
shop at the lock selling ice creams, cold drinks and other
refreshments. You can sit and enjoy a tea/coffee and watch the
boats go through the lock. There are also plants, postcards,
guidebooks and paintings on sale.
The cache is a large green ammo box and contains an assortment of
items. As you approach the cache site you will see Hardwick House
on the opposite side of the river. Hardwick House is originally
Tudor, but was damaged in the Civil War and later modernised.
Hardwick House is one of the oldest houses in the Thames valley and
thought to be the inspiration for Toad Hall, Wind in the Willows by
Kenneth Grahame.
Please check out the
Geocaching Association of Great Britain
for the home of Geocachers in GB. Please visit www.gagb.org.uk