Mega Brat's Belated Birthday Cache Multi-Cache
The Brat Pack: As this cache had not been found for over a year, and the last few logs were DNFs, it was time to do some Owner Maintenance and check it out.
I must admit Ground Zero was significantly more overgrown than when I last visited and the nettles were a hindrance but after I good search even the Cache Owner was reporting a DNF. Consequently I think it is time to archive this cache.
Mega Brat's Belated Birthday Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The village of Llanblethian lies to the south of Cowbridge and is situated in a hollow, with the River Thaw running through it from north to south. The village dates back before Roman times with an Iron Age Fort, Caer Dynnaf on the hill behind the church. St Quentin's Castle dominates the village from Castle Hill. The castle stands in a loop of the River Thaw on a low ridge above the village.
There is limited parking by the castle at: N51 27.460; W003 27.342 although the car park may be locked outside normal hours.
A plaque nearby describes the history of the castle and the lordship of Llanblethian. The current castle was started in the 14th century by Gilbert de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan although an earlier timber establishment, with a defensive bank and ditch, previously existed on the site. Gilbert de Clare was killed at Bannockburn in 1314 and never saw the castle finished. The castle then became one of the many homes of the Lords of Glamorgan, and as late as 1886 the Constable of the castle automatically became the Mayor of Cowbridge. By the late 19th century it had degenerated into a cowshed. The ruins were handed into state care in 1994. Little of the walls remain, but the site has recently been restored.
You will need information from this plaque to get you to a Virtual Cache (VC1).
In which year did Robert Fitzhamon grant the lordship of Llanblethian to Herbert de St Quentin?
Answer = abcd
In which year was the lordship seized from the St Quentin family by Richard Siward?
Answer = efgh
In which year did Richard Siward then loose it to Richard de Clare?
Answer = jklm
The Virtual Cache is at: N51 27.ghn; W003 27.pqc where n= k+m, p = a+b+c+d+f and q = k x l
If you choose to drive to VC1 there is parking nearby but you should avoid some of the narrow lanes that may be suggested by the GPS. We would encourage you to take advantage of a walk down the lanes through Llanblethian, where there are a number of large historic houses including the former dower house of Dunraven Castle and a house owned at one time by the Gonzales Byass family of sherry fame.
At VC1 you will find a monument with a plaque commemorating a tree planting event. The date = rstu.
The Final Cache site is at: N51 27.tm(t+u); W003 27.nrf although there is some tree cover, which may affect the GPS signal.
If you are still parked at the Castle you can either carry on across the field and down through Cowbridge, where there are numerous pubs and restaurants, or stay in the woods and follow the waymarked path down the hill and back towards the castle.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre n ebpx (gur bar jvgu ab zbff)!