Geohashing expedition 2023-03-10 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2023-03-10 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

North Leigh Common, West Oxfordshire.

Participants

Plans

My evening just freed up, so – weather-permitting – I might brave the sleet and cold and cycle out to this hashpoint this evening.

Expedition

Our dog had surgery at the start of the week and has now recovered enough to want a short walk, so I changed my plan to cycle for one to drive (with the dog) out to somewhere near the hashpoint and take her for a walk to and around it. Amazingly, I might have been faster to cycle: a crash on the A40 had lead to lots of traffic being re-routed along the exact same back roads that was to be my most-direct route, and on the local rat run through South Leigh I got trapped behind a line of folks who weren’t familiar with this particular unlit and twisty road and took the entire derestricted section at an average of 25mph. Ah well.

Out of laziness, I didn’t bring my GPSr or make a tracklog; I just used the Geohashdroid app and took a screenshot when I got there. South Leigh Common is pleasant, but it was dark, and my photos are all a little bit hard to make out! But the stars were beautiful tonight, and the dog loved one of her first outings since her surgery and enjoying running around in the long wet grass and sticking her head into rabbit holes. At 19:00 precisely I got within about a metre and a half of the hashpoint – well within the circle of uncertainty – and turned to head home.

I also took the time while there to update OpenStreetMap by drawing in the boundaries of the common, replacing the nondescript “point” that had marked it before.

Photos

Map of 51.8201826,-1.4209405

Dan Q found GC8A40R Brockholes Stone Circle

This checkin to GC8A40R Brockholes Stone Circle reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Found with the elder geokid plus my mother and sister while on a layover in Preston to break up our journey from Aviemore to Oxford. We’re getting to visit quite a few some circles this half term, both old and new plus some old-but-restored, many of which have earthcache or virtual caches!

Thanks for the geology lessons and the interesting location. Answers sent already, FP awarded, TFTC.

In a grassy field, a 9-year-old girl in a bright coat, accompanied by two women, examines a standing rock at the edge of a small stone circle.

Dan and his mother stand in a stone circle, their arms spread wide and smiles on their faces.

Map of 53.775017,-2.625483

Dan Q found GC6CTKF Cache Wars – Han Solo

This checkin to GC6CTKF Cache Wars - Han Solo reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Travelling down from Aviemore to Preston on a multi-stage journey back home to Oxfordshire, we stopped off at the visitor centre and took the tour of the wind farm. My 6 year old loves wind turbines and was really excited to see so many in one place and to get the opportunity to give one (turbine #42) a hug (pictured)!

The tour complete, I took a quick jog back to turbine #40 to find this geocache. As others have noted, it’s in bad nick – no container and damp log – but I was (barely) able to sign it.

TFTC in this awesome spot.

A smiling boy and girl in brightly-coloured coats hug the bottom of a very large wind turbine stem.

Map of 55.709633,-4.341083

Dan Q found GCD6C2 Long Meg [Cumbria]

This checkin to GCD6C2 Long Meg [Cumbria] reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Ruth, the kids and I love a good stone circle. This one’s in better condition than the one nearest our house (for which I’m CO to the Virtual, GC88ZY9!). We chanced it and counted the stones twice but luckily got two different answers – phew! – before proceeding to Long Meg. Loved the original carvings and quickly found the requisite more-recent addition; message to follow with the answer. Thanks for a lovely virtual.

Dan, in a grey hoodie, stands with a nine-year old girl in an iridescent coat. The pair have their ears pressed against a tall standing stone as if listening to it.

Map of 54.72765,-2.668317

Dan Q found GC2HF4T Plus Lucis

This checkin to GC2HF4T Plus Lucis reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A quick find while exploring the city after spending a few days meeting work colleagues from around the globe. Greetings from Oxfordshire, UK! TFTC/DFDC!

Dan reaches up to touch a bust of Dr. Carl Auer, Freiherr von Welsbach, Austrian chemist and engineer.
Carl Auer, Freiherr von Welsbach is, of course, best known as the inventor of the gas mantle, but he also isolated two previously-undiscovered chemical elements.
Map of 48.22015,16.35675

Dan Q found GC5DC7H Friedensbrücke

This checkin to GC5DC7H Friedensbrücke reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Superb cache, my favourite in Vienna so far. Love the design; I might try to make one like this back in Oxfordshire, UK upon my return! FP awarded.

Coordinates put me exactly where I needed to be. Fortunately I had exactly what I needed to retrieve the cache: it’s something I always carry when I’m caching anyway!

TFTC!

Map of 48.227517,16.364565

Dan Q found GCM8CB Urania

This checkin to GCM8CB Urania reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

I’ve been in Vienna for a week to meet work colleagues, and today – our meetings at an end and still with a few hours before my plane leaves – I decided to come out and find some local geocaches.

At the GZ there were lots of good hiding places so I reached over and around. In a few seconds my fingers touched the cache. Great!

But then – disaster! As others have observed, the magnets in this cache aren’t the strongest and it bounced free. It fell a long, long way! I rushed across the road and down to the lower level to grab it. Luckily the cache container was unharmed, so I signed the log as I carried it back to up its hiding place. What an adventure!

FP awarded for the cool container and hiding place, and for the fun story you helped me tell. Greetings from Oxfordshire, UK. TFTC!

Dan, wearing a grey hoodie and a purple "Woo" hat, holds a black puck-shaped geocache. Behind him, a concrete bridge support pillar is decorated with colourful graffifi.

Map of 48.211583,16.38275

Dan Q found GC97PZV 1 BH

This checkin to GC97PZV 1 BH reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Finishing my morning walk where, perhaps, I should have started it with the first cache in this enjoyable series. Took a while for a good GPSr fix and I walked up and down the path a few times before spotting the container. But then – disaster – this replaced cache has a brand new log book… and I’ve dropped my caching pencil somewhere between the last cache and this one. Unable to sign log, but hopefully attached picture showing CO’s replacement message will suffice.

TFTC, and the series in general. So glad to be able to take this lovely walk from Fairlawns this year. FP awarded here for the series in general.

Fresh geocaching log book with a message stating that it's a replacement, added January 2023, held in a hand.

Map of 52.602367,-1.9042