Day: 18 May 2018

This checkin to OK0022 Copdock Hill reflects an opencache.uk log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A planned break from my journey from Oxford to Preston gave me the opportunity for a sunset hill climb in this beautiful setting. Almost as if to congratulate me, the second I returned the log to the cache container somebody far to the South West started setting off fireworks (barely audible from this distance, but definitely visible from this altitude!): I must be doing something right! TFTC.

This checkin to OK0372 Mandala reflects an opencache.uk log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A moment of joy and serenity on my otherwise-uninspiring cycle to work. A wonder I’ve never been down this end of Plantation Road before, given that I’m a fan of the Gardner’s Arms further along it and there are certainly journeys I’ve taken to or from there that would have been just as easy to take via this end of the quaint street.

I tried looking at the mandala image in two different cardinal directions, and saw that it appeared in two different ways. Upright, it seems as though an infinity symbol divided (but you can divide infinity forever and still have an infinity), but rotated 90° it’s more like an hourglass suspended in a rotating frame (and so able to be flipped and started again). Either way, the metaphor to me is one of time.

Thanks for the cache; I hope more people get to find their way to this magical little corner.

This checkin to GC5J655 GO Active Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

I was in such a great streak this evening but that came to an end here, despite a 20min search of gradually-increasing radius. :-( Maybe next time…

This checkin to GLVVQ1AY Not up or Down reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

On my way back down after finding GC18RNH I thought I’d try my luck at this cache, too. The sun had set and I thought my luck would fail me, but the hint (though a little cryptic) pointed me in the right direction. With the help of my torch plus a little bit of feeling-my-way I was able to retrieve the cache and sign the log. TFTC!

This checkin to GLVVQ0XX Copdock Hill reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A planned break from my journey from Oxford to Preston gave me the opportunity for a sunset hill climb in this beautiful setting. Almost as if to congratulate me, the second I returned the log to the cache container somebody far to the South West started setting off fireworks (barely audible from this distance, but definitely visible from this altitude!): I must be doing something right! TFTC.

This checkin to GLVVNCJ2 Cromwell House reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

My geocache-sense was tingling as I approached the GZ by bike this evening and it fared me well: I was able to find the cache quickly and without difficulty. TFTC (and the slice of history).

This checkin to GLVVN9V9 Marsh Lane- Court Place Farm reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A quick and easy find, once the muggle foot traffic died down enough for me to duck into the GZ. TFTC!

This checkin to GLVVN7CY Seaxe reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Found within seconds; barely had to get off my bike! I used to ride down here all the time when I loved in this end of Oxford. Nice to come back and enjoy this downhill section again! TFTC.

This checkin to GLVVN5PH Pub Quiz reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Took me longer than it might’ve to look at this one because I’m feeling a bit saturated with “city centre” mystery caches: why are there so many these days? Pub quiz questions were right up my alley and it was only having forgotten about the existence of a particular piece of filming history that slowed me down – luckily I was able to derive from the maths where my error was likely to be and correct it, and geochecker confirmed where I was headed.

The first place I searched gave me a false sense of satisfaction when I felt something small and smooth stuck-on to something near the GZ… but it turned out to be a snail.

The second place a searched resulted in a knuckle full of stinging nettles. Ouch!

But the third place I searched put the cache right into my hand. Delightful.

This checkin to GLVVN2JX The Tri-Series: The Field reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Even now, well into the Spring, some serious digging-through-leaves was required to find this well-hidden little cache. TFTC.

This checkin to GLVVKH3G Oxford-we-go - Geolympix legacy reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

I’ve had two previous trips to the GZ to look for this cache: turns out that the hint in the Wherigo cartridge is completely inaccurate and mislead me quite a bit! To reiterate what others have said (I should’ve looked at the past logs sooner!), you’re looking for the kind of thing you’d normally expect to find given the cache size and location, NOT a combination lock.

Enjoyed the Oxford tour but ending on the edge of an industrial estate-turned-building site puts a dampener on the whole experience! Perhaps this final stage could enjoy being moved elsewhere? It’s possible it’ll have to anyway, once construction is complete here.

TFTC.