Cavehill Trail 1: The Green Sheep Traditional Cache
Cuilcagh: The cache owner is not responding to issues with this geocache, so I must regretfully archive it.
Please note that if geocaches are archived by a reviewer or Geocaching HQ for lack of maintenance, they are not eligible for unarchival.
Cuilcagh - Community Volunteer Reviewer for Geocaching HQ (Ireland)
Cavehill Trail 1: The Green Sheep
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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The Cavehill Cache Trail takes you from Belfast Castle to the caves via a less used route through deciduous woodland. Series placed with kind permission from Belfast Parks.
Geologically, the Cave Hill is at the southern end of the Antrim Plateau, which was largely formed about 65 million years ago (yes, just at the end of the age of the dinosaurs) by great lava eruptions that continued for millions of years. The basalt rock which resulted was worn down by subsequent ice ages and weathering into the smoother formations seen today.
The Cave Hill was formerly known as Ben Madigan, probably after a local chieftain who died in 855 AD. McArt's Fort is probably named after Art O'Neill, a sixteenth century chieftain of the family who held the land around Cave Hill. In 1603 this land was granted by King James 1 to Arthur Chichester, later the Earl of Donegall. There are five caves (four visible from below) which are man-made, cut from the basalt. The lowest is accessible from the Sheep's Path. The caves were not permanently occupied, but may well have been used as temporary refuges.
There are a number of sites of archaeological interest on the Cave Hill, dating back to the stone age. These include several ringforts (raths) and a lake dwelling (crannog) at Hazelwood. McArt's Fort is on the highest point which is popularly (but inaccurately) known as Napoleon's Nose. It is likely that this was used for ceremonial rather than defence purposes and it appears to date from about three thousand years ago.
Most of the area of the Cave Hill is within the boundaries of the Cave Hill Country Park which, together with Belfast Castle, is owned by Belfast City Council. The Park comprises 750 acres of land. This public ownership protects the area from development and guarantees public right of access. It also gives Belfast City Council the main management responsibility for the Cave Hill.
Cache #1 is a small tablock box with a logbook and small swaps. It is best approached by the path that forks left off the road at the northern entrance to Belfast Castle.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fvg ba gur terra furrc. Vg'f haqrearngu lbh!
Treasures
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