Flash Series # 1 Flash Bang Wallop Traditional Cache
Royal Oak: As the owner has not responded to my previous log requesting that they check this cache I am archiving it.
If you wish to email me please send your email via my profile (click on my name) and quote the cache name and number.
Royal Oak
Volunteer UK Reviewer - geocaching.com
UK Geocaching Information & Resources https://wiki.groundspeak.com/display/GEO/United+Kingdom#
http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx#cachemaintenance
Flash Series # 1 Flash Bang Wallop
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
The Flash series is based at Wigan Flashes. Parking Co-ordinates below are for the entrance off Cemetary Rd, Ince. There are several other entrances (eg off Poolstock Lane) but that is the nearest point to the first cache.
If you've never visited Wigan Flashes – you should. Within easy reach of Wigan town centre, and covering an area of 593 acres, the Flashes are an ideal place to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon.
The history of Wigan Flashes is fascinating. Originally formed by mining subsidence, the Flashes were a dumping site for industrial waste including colliery spoil and fly ash. The spoil was re-quarried for a short time during the 1950s and 1960s, to extract ash for road building. When quarrying was abandoned and the Flashes were left to nature the scrub began to encroach over the area, and some parts of the reed bed dried, creating the beginnings of the interesting and ecologically diverse landscape we know today.
Recognising the importance of the Flashes, Wigan Council has worked hard to develop and promote the site as an area of special scientific interest and biological importance and as a recreational area. Many people enjoy the Flashes each week. The canal towpath, which runs through the site, is popular with walkers, the birdlife makes the area a magnet for ornithologists, and fishing and sailing are popular weekend activities. Wigan Council formally recognized the site as a local nature reserve in 2002.
With evocative names like Bryn Marsh and Horrocks Flash, the area has been described as a miniature version of the Broads. Reed beds and willow scrub, open water and grassland are home to a wide range of birds; over 140 species have been recorded in the last ten years. Colonies of orchids also thrive here, and the area includes no fewer than six sites of biological importance.
The Council and partners, such as the RSPB and Lancashire Wildlife Trust, are creating an extensive nature park and wildlife reserve based on the Flashes, ensuring that this unique and nationally important habitat is preserved and enhanced for future generations. Special efforts are being made to create the right conditions to attract the rare ‘booming’ bittern to breed.
In recent times, Wigan has gathered a reputation for pie munching. However, once upon a time, the town was renowned throughout the land for the ability of its clockmakers! This less well known historical fact is celebrated in an innovative “Pie Dial” that has been installed by the local youth service. The attraction forms part of an exciting new water discovery trail. The trail features ten water bound orienteering points, which are all works of art. Many of the features can only be seen by boat. Local artists have produced some of the points under commission, while others have been constructed by a group of 30 young people. In addition to the “Pie Dial”, the trail features a mosaic of the local canal and a 9ft wooden dinosaur, typical of the creatures that lived in the carboniferous period when the coal seams, so important to the recent history of Wigan, were laid down.
Our trail only covers one side of the area and does not include the water trail but we would love to see photos in the gallery if anyone spots a sculpture. Similarly it would be nice to see photos of the rare bittern (I’m sure those ‘twitchers’ amongst you could oblige)
We have had some lovely bike rides around the flashes whilst planning this series and some days have hardly seen a soul. There are occasionally motorbikes around but they seem to stay well away from the main paths and it’s more the noise that’s annoying (there are several ‘No Motorcycle’ signs around!?) Some paths can be very muddy after rain and there are one or two gates across the canal path but you could probably get a robust pram around quite easily.
for events at the flash
(visit link)
for info about wigan flashes.
(visit link) (visit link)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqregur raq bs n ebggvat fyrrcre arne n srapr
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures