CC50 Complex Collection Completion Challenge
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is the fiftieth, and last, of the “Caerphilly Collection”, that explores the whole Borough Council area. Like a symphony, this is complicated, with four parts – initial research, a trail of virtual caches, the conventional cache (a medium sized plastic lunch box) and a concluding question. There is also a double CC meaning for the title! Anticipate a walk of about 2 miles, with 350’ of ascent, on some good paths, but also fields and steep, rough and muddy tracks.
The Caerphilly Collection is distinguished with a unique CC number and consists of 50 caches, which vary in difficulty and type and may have other “C” word connections – castle, cheese, coal and canal come to mind. There may even be some Cryptic Clues for Clever Clogs! The current Caerphilly unitary authority grew out off the former Rhymney Valley and Islwyn Councils and stretches from the outskirts of Cardiff and Newport in the south to the Brecon Beacons, north of Rhymney. Despite a past dominated by coal and heavy industry, it has a diverse history and varied and dramatic scenery. We hope you will enjoy exploring it with us.
CC48 is an “Accumulator” cache, the location of which is given in coded form. The translation details of the code are distributed around the whole Collection, but only about a quarter of the caches contain a piece of the code, which will be found on the back of the Log Book. To do the Accumulator, you will need to keep a note of each piece of code that you find. Unless you are very lucky, you will need to find the majority of the Collection in order to do the Accumulator. The Accumulator cache is hidden in an area of difficult terrain and demanding navigation, with a rating of 5,4½.
When we embarked on the Collection, we knew we would set up around 50 caches but, in the end, it seemed neater to wrap it up exactly on the half century. On reviewing our coverage of the Council area, we felt sorry for missing out Abertysswg, so you will find that the reference coordinates for this cache are in the centre of this village. Apart from this, the coordinates are not helpful, although you should end up within 10 miles of this location. Before we leave Abertysswg to obscurity again, it is worth mentioning that it owes its existence to the Pwll Llaca Pit that opened there in 1897, supplying steam coal to the steel industry. It changed hands and names, closing as the Abertysswg Colliery in 1969. Since then, its claims to fame seem to be as an “open” site for hang gliding and paragliding and as the home of the Welsh Giant Vegetable Championship.
To even know where to head for, you will have to do some research to establish numbers that you will need later. All of the following nine clues relate to the Caerphilly Council area.
1. You are greeted by Col. Prichard’s servants in the year 1abc.
2. Jemima only has a severed arm, but welcomes visitors – but can only seat de at a time.
3. The number that goes with HanGer is fg.
4. Llywelyn Bren attacked the castle with 10000 men in 1hjk.
5. The museum that recreates the 1870’s occupies m cottages.
6. Thornewill and Warham’s engine number npq was built in 1891.
7. A pair of foxes had a dig on the Common in 1rst.
8. Big Vein at Bedwas was uvw yards below pit head (the bottom of the North shaft was 4 yards below this seam).
9. The Long Bridge Viaduct was 50 feet high and had xy arches.
You are now ready to get out in the fresh air!
In the following, VC stands for Virtual Cache, IW for an Intermediate Waypoint and RC for Regular Cache.
VC1 is at N51 bh.qad W003 du.pkk and you will find parking space here. If you look around, you will see an emblem that shows trucks (or coal drams) morphing into a branch. There are z leaves on the branch.
VC2 is at N51 bh.dkw W003 dn.cfd. The sign names the Lake and also the colliery that once occupied this site. (SIGN HAS BEEN REMOVED – TEMPORARILY, WE HOPE – IF YOU ARE THINKING OF SEEKING THIS, PLEASE CHECK WITH THE CACHE OWNERS FOR FURTHER ADVICE.) There are @ letters in the name (one word). Nearby is another sign with only the number * on it.
VC3 is at N51 bh.prp W003 dn.wjp. # is the dram number.
IW4 is at N51 bh.#tu W003 dn.smu.
IW5 is at N51 bh.m*s W003 dn.wzf.
IW4 and IW5 will take you to helpful stiles on an otherwise unmarked path.
VC6 is at N51 bh.w#t W003 dn.ake. Note the colour of the waymarked route. The second letter of this colour comes at number ^ in the alphabet.
RC7 is at N51 bx.v@y W003 dn.^wz.
To get back to your car, take the descending track in a north-westerly direction to just passed a track junction, then follow the path heading south-east (the start of this path is not easy to pick up).
The following two questions used to be a supplementary challenge, with each correct answer prompting a £5 contribution to Children in Need. While this is no longer the case, you might want to give them a go ... just for the fun (?) of it.
1. There used to be an important link between Abertysswg and the locality in which the cache trail is set. If you can find out what it is, DO NOT INCLUDE IT IN YOUR FIND LOG but send us an email with the answer.
2. Can you also give us the coordinates for the Powder Store in the same locality.
This cache is on Forestry Commission land, set up in accordance with their guidelines. Generally, these are the same as for any other cache, basically requiring sensible and responsible behaviour. However, because forestry operations can be dangerous, the Commission may close access at any time, in which circumstances all warning signs should be obeyed.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)