This year there was no Kent Mega at the MayDay bank holiday and although it had only been running for a couple of years I was really missing a weekend away. So when Adam said to look at the All Things Welsh weekend in South Wales I decided that I would go along.
Angel78 decided that she needed a weekend away as well, so managed to book the same guest house that I did – Adam had been out and bought a camper van so he was camping – even though by the Wednesday he still hadn’t got one sorted out… by Friday he had it bought and taxed ! (the main reason I guess for the rush to get the camper was that he was taking a young lady with him…)
30th April 2016 – Ye Olde Survey Monuments GC45CC – cache #4022
This time logging YSM658 – Stairfoot Lane
First of all on my way to Wales I had to go for this, well when a new YSM location appears only 6 miles from your doorstep you have to go off and find it don’t you ? A bit like a FTF hunt for YOSM’ers !
The lane here is very narrow, nowhere to stop your car, so although this looks like a drive by it really isn’t !
30th April 2016 – Ye Olde Survey Monuments GC45CC – cache #4023
This time logging YSM392 – Knightwick
Another stop off on the route to Wales. When logging buried surface blocks in the long grass at gate entrances you sometimes have difficulty locating the block under the vegetation, but this one was no problem finding, left clear by some recent YOSM or TP visitor. So a nice big gateway to park in and an easy to find block made this a quick driveby find
30th April 2016 – ‘All Things Welsh’ Camp 2016 – Eisteddfod and Cawl GC6AXEX – cache #4024
Visited along with Adam (UKCacheMag), Erica (Angel78) and Sally (Trusmoov)
We didn’t get together in Llandovery until the event was already underway and by the time we found the Scouthut we had missed the first few performers.
But the Cawl was lovely and we’d stopped at the Co-op for some liquid refreshment to wash it down with, so we had a nice evening.
30th April 2016 – 2. The Welsh Trail – Welsh Cooking GC6FYVZ – cache #4025
I would like to say we did the trail in order, except we did this cache on the way back from the Eistedfodd event so about 12 hours before we did the rest of the trail !
1st May 2016 – ‘All Things Welsh’ Camp 2016 – Flash Mob GC6FYPM – cache #4026
Angel78 and I were staying in a B&B in town so we had time to walk up and explore the castle before the campers arrived for the flash mob. I think we were probably the only people not wearing something Welsh.
Fortunately the weather was nowhere near as bad as forecast so after the flashmob we had a visit to the tearoom and then set out on the new cache trail
1st May 2016 – 1. The Welsh Trail – Castles GC6FYTW – cache #4027
As this cache was at the castle and so were we for the flashmob it seemed an opportune moment to find the cache.
1st May 2016 – 3. The Welsh Trail – Griffith Jones GC – cache #4028
Eventually spotted the cache after searching round and finding several objects that weren’t cache containers hidden in the undergrowth. Maybe if we had read the hint we would have looked a little higher off the ground !
1st May 2016 – 4. The Welsh Trail – Williams Pantycelyn GC6FYZ4 – cache #4029
When faced with a cache like this it’s always amusing to let the shortest person in your party do the honours… Sally (Trusmoov) had no problem getting the cache out, but could only just stretch far enough to put it back
1st May 2016 – 5. The Welsh Trail – Industrial Revolution GC6FZ0Z – cache #4030
Quickly spotted by Sally and retrieved by Adam
1st May 2016 – 6. The Welsh Trail – Red Kites GC6FZ53 – cache #4031
No Kites in evidence today, but up where I live in rural Yorkshire there are usually 2 or 3 visible gliding around in the skies (or being chased off by the crows !) so not seeing one wasn’t a disappointment.
Sally found the cache but there was a bug on it so I had to put it back, just in case the small insect she saw turned out to have lots of friends
1st May 2016 – 7. The Welsh Trail – Physicians of Myddfai GC6FZ8V – cache #4032
I’ve seen this type of cache several times, but Sally being a relatively new participant hadn’t – so we let her search through most of the containers, though it was Adam who opened the right one
1st May 2016 – 8. The Welsh Trail – Twm Siôn Cati GC6FXBY – cache #4033
Found the first part easily enough but under the trees the GPS wasn’t really accurate enough to guide us straight to the second part, so we took a few minutes to look everywhere in the are before we found it.
Maybe not helped by the fact that Sally was wearing wellingtons and being a big kid wanted to go paddling in the stream so tried to convince us that the new co-ords led under the bridge !
1st May 2016 – 9. The Welsh Trail – Owain Glyndwr GC6FZFF – cache #4034
Okay, we were English cachers in Wales singing a Scottish song… but I did find the cache to the strains of
“O ye’ll tak’ the hee road, and I’ll tak’ the low road, And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye”
Well they do call Wales the land of song !
1st May 2016 – 10. The Welsh Trail – Drovers GC6G6Q1 – cache #4035
To say there was such a prescriptive hint it took us several minutes to spot the cache
After this we didn’t find GC6G6RW 11. The Welsh Trail – Famous People, and well neither did anyone else really… the place looked like a bomb had hit it as there had been so many searchers looking all over… the cache had been found, when no one could find it the CO went to look and handed it to the cacher who went with him to claim the FTF… and the other finders had it handed to them by the FTF’er on a later visit
1st May 2016 – 12. The Welsh Trail – National Parks GC6G6VF – cache #4036
After the trials of No. 11 it was nice to get to an easily found cache
1st May 2016 – 13. The Welsh Trail – Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd Fychan GC6G6XH – cache #4037
No problem spotting the hint item so no problem finding the cache
1st May 2016 – 14. The Welsh Trail – The Welsh Flag GC6G6ZJ – cache #4038
Quickly found, signed and replaced (We signed the logs Team Cachemag)
1st May 2016 – 15. The Welsh Trail – Rugby GC6G71F – cache #4039
Sally (Trusmoov) being from Rugby was strangely excited by this cache…
1st May 2016 – Welcome to the ‘All Things Welsh Camp 2016’ GC6G725 – cache #4040
Found along with UKCacheMag and Angel78
I would have liked to add ‘and Trusmoov’ but she took far too long to get from the toilet block to the cache so we had found it before she got there… much to her dismay. (Though she did find it on Monday before going home)
1st May 2016 – “POWER SHOWER” GC20MGQ – cache #4041
Adam had heard about this cache where you went behind the waterfall… so we asked the locals and were directed here.
And well worth the visit it was. Sally (Trusmoov) tested her waterproofs under the power shower – Mountain Warehouse, 9 out of 10 for keeping her dry !
2nd May 2016 – GCMM #27 ‘May’ We Go Home Now?! GC6EYE5 – cache #4042
Attended along with UKCacheMag, Angel78 and Trusmoov
A Tardis of a cafe, looks small on the outside but is huge on the inside… Thanks go to the organisers for the whole weekend.
