My Kingdom
for a Horse (Bucks) 
Not your straight forward Multi-cache I'm afraid. There's a
little bit more to it. I have reflected this in the difficulty
rating. Not a circular route. Please read on for the details.
Parking is not provided and you will have to use
your own commonsense.
First a bit about the area which might prove to be more helpful
than you would think.
East Claydon
Botyl Well
Situated in the hamlet of
Botulph Claydon, Botyl Well has recently been rediscovered. It
is supposedly dedicated to St. Botulph, an East Anglian Abbot
who died c.680, who was, according to St. Cedfrid a man "of
remarkable life and learning". There may, however, be an
element of folk etymology involved.
Botyl, still the name of the main street, is simply the Old
English word "botl" meaning "house" and may have been corrupted
(perhaps deliberately by the early church to erase pagan
influences) to Botulph. There seems little reason to suppose that
St. Botulph came this far west from his 'home base' of
Lincolnshire.
The well lies in a field behind the houses of Orchard Way.
Access to the field is via a public right of way footpath running
up the side of one of the houses in Orchard Way just passed the
quaint but now disused bus shelter. Cross a stile into the field,
follow the fence line on the left to the end and St Botolph's Well
is about 10' to the left. The actual path shown on maps actually
runs right through the middle of a ploughed field!
There's no pub in East or Botolph Claydon, but there is a club
called the Mushroom Club, which welcomes new members, and is
connected to the Village Hall. And the club offers a wide variety
of activities including a pool and a snooker table. It is open on
most weekday evenings, and it is open on Monday to Sunday at
different times.
Please enjoy the magnificent views to be had along the walk
during this cache!
Onto the Cache
Location #1
The co-ordinates above will take you to St Botolph's Well where a
micro is hidden. The field can be very muddy after rain. In the
micro, you will find a FIVE (5) digit number. Make a note of this
number, put it back and replace it carefully where you found it.
Please ensure the lid is on securely as it tends to get wet. Answer
the following five questions and then place the answers in that
order. (If your code # is 41235 then the answer to Q4 is written
first, followed by answer to Q1 etc)
NB: Keep ALL information, you will need it throughout the
cache
Location #2
N51 55.106 W000
55.969
- How many mushrooms are there, in total, on the sign?
- What is the date on the building that was the Public Library?
(YEAR: YYYY)
- What is the house number of the building attached to the
hall?
- The date on the clock tower is...? (YEAR: YYYY)
- How many clock faces are there?
You will then have an TWELVE digit number. Assign each
individual number a letter from A -
L
e.g. Should your 12 digit number be 97531.. etc then A=9, B=7, C=5
and so on. Of course YOUR numbers may not run consecutively. Any
numbers repeated are still assigned their own letter. Clear as
crystal? Good. Now feed your answers into the following
formula:
Location #3
N51 5(G-L).H(I-J)A W000
55.(D-E)FK
This structure was built by L Stonell & Sons, in what
year?
ANS: 191M
Location #4
Now go to
N51 5(G-L).(G-B)F(D-L)
W000 55.(B+M)(I-L)H
En route to this location you must find the answers to the
following which are along the route and in close proximity (No more
than 10yards) to the footpath:
- Note the two dates shown on the bench commemorating Ken
MERIVALE, an ex-Parish Councillor of East & Botolph Claydon
villages.
ANS: 19NP - 19QN
- Find the weather vane which depicts a yacht. How many sails are
there?
ANS: R
Having arrived at Location #4 locate the house with tall
chimneys. How many can you see?
ANS: S
Location #5
Walk to the Green from this house, look for and go through Mary's
gate. How many people are watching you from the building as you
walk around the grounds?
ANS: T (Hint: Do not include
the broken one!)
You now have all the information you need to find the final
cache which is situated at;
N51 5N.R(Q-K)(P-M) W000
55.(J+C)(T-S)(P-Q)
Good Luck
Things you may see along the way. (Click on the picture to
enlarge).
The cache originally contained:
TB: Take your pick
Radio
TSKC vouchers
World Cup Playing Cards
Padlock and keys
Keyring
Toy window 'stick emon' suckers
Pen, log book and cache notice.
Please replace the cache as you found it, if
not - better! No piles of sticks please.
Oss!
Domo arigato.
Please rate my cache on the GeocacheUK
website.
Whilst in the area, you may wish to do one
or more of the following caches: Bluebell Wood; and Claydon Conundrum (Bucks);
Geocache UK rating: 