Dan Q found GC7QC7R Lothal

This checkin to GC7QC7R Lothal reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

As a quick diversion from the nearby WAG series, the geopup and I meandered out this way to find this cache. Once I was in the vicinity of the cache something stood out to me as unusual, so we went to pick it up… it turned out to be a chunk of wraught iron, but finding it soon pointed me in the direction of the cache. TFTC.

Dan, wearing a white t-shirt and with a red dog lead hanging over his shoulder, stands in a forest, gesturing down a path to a small French Bulldog following him.

×

Dan Q found GC610PB WAG 12 – Wroxhills Wood

This checkin to GC610PB WAG 12 - Wroxhills Wood reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

A quick and easy find: we walked straight to where the coordinates said and there it was. My phone, having been rebooted during the last leg, was now behaving much better at narrowing down a satellite fix!

These woods are really quite amazingly beautiful and serene. It’s quiet and calm here, and both the geopup and I really appreciate the excuse to have come here.

Next, it’s time for a quick diversion from the series to find nearby GC7QC7R!

Dan Q found GC54DXQ WAG 13 – Oh deer!

This checkin to GC54DXQ WAG 13 - Oh deer! reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Took several attempts to find the correct hiding place and the poor geopup – who didn’t like the tight-knit undergrowth here except when it suited her (when she wanted to chase after a pheasant!) – eventually had to be tied to a tree while I pressed-on without her to get the cache in hand. Phew! TFTC.

A French Bulldog on a forest path pulls against her lead.

×

Dan Q couldn’t find GC78WN6 WAG 8 – Battle Farm

This checkin to GC78WN6 WAG 8 - Battle Farm reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

This was the moment when I found myself wishing that my dedicated GPSr unit was with me and working, as my phone’s GPS fix started jumping all over the place. The geopup and I made a few valiant attempts to search in the obvious places, criss-crossing our way through some quite fierce brambles as we did so, but without success. Eventually, we had to move on and chalk this one up as a DNF. I’ve no reason to believe it’s not out there somewhere, but it’ll be a job for somebody whose satellite navigation kit is playing ball.

Boot stepping into long bramble undergrowth.

×

Dan Q found GC54DF1 WAG 7 – Fuming!

This checkin to GC54DF1 WAG 7 - Fuming! reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

The geopup made herself useful for this cache, running straight to the cache location. (I suspect that some prior canine visitor may have left their mark somewhere very near to the cache, and she was more interested in smelling that than she was at helping me find the container, but I can dream of a dog who’s a useful geocaching assistant, can’t I?) TFTC.

A French Bulldog standing by a rural "gas pipeline" warning sign.

×

Dan Q posted a note for GC54DEF WAG 6 – Water Break

This checkin to GC54DEF WAG 6 - Water Break reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Working our way through the first part of the WAG series, we unfortunately had to skip this one without an adequate search: the area was crawling with ramblers, consulting their maps and chatting with one another, and I didn’t have a good excuse to stop and search. Maybe next time!

Dan Q found GC9BYME WAG 5a

This checkin to GC9BYME WAG 5a reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

The geopup struggles to understand why I sometimes insist on stopping our walks to go and poke around in the nearby trees, and this time was no exception. The hint could refer to one of several hiding places, and like a previous cacher I worried for a moment that the hiding place might have been destroyed by some recent logging work in this area, but nope: it’s still here! It was a little more-challenging to retreieve than it perhaps was originally, though, as a pile of branches has been placed between the path and the hiding place, but we found it in the end then pushed on across the road, waving to some friendly cyclists as we did so.

Dan Q found GC8C4TE WAG 5 – Battle

This checkin to GC8C4TE WAG 5 - Battle reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Another excellent bit of camoflage here, on what has so-far appeared to be a well-loved but well-maintained series. The geopup and I went back and forth a few times before we found the correct host, but soon had the cache in hand. TFTC.

Dan Q found GC54DD8 WAG 4 – Chiltern Way Extension

This checkin to GC54DD8 WAG 4 - Chiltern Way Extension reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Unfortunately, my dedicated GPSr had been left turned-on after my last geocaching/geohashing/whatever expedition, and I hadn’t realised until I was just setting off this morning. I tried to charge it in the car but it didn’t take on enough battery to make it worthwhile to bring it out, so I was working from my phone (whose GPSr is… adequate… usually), and my watch (whose GPSr is good, but whose user interface for caching is pretty pants).

But luckily for this cache at least my geosense brought me to exactly the right spot, and I quickly saw something that looked out of place. Imagine my delight when I pulled on it and the cache was in my hand. Fantastic stuff, TFTC.

Dan, wearing a grey hoodie over a white t-shirt, pets Demmy, a French Bulldog.

×

Dan Q found GC54DB8 WAG 3 – Cleeve Corner

This checkin to GC54DB8 WAG 3 - Cleeve Corner reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

The time before last that I was in Goring – the first of my now-three visits – was for a birthday/garden party on 24 June 2018. My eldest – then only four years old – was getting a little bored of the grown-up conversations going on and I provided a distraction by taking her out to find GLW5FKG9 and GLW5EFV2 (the latter of which has since been archived).

I enjoyed the camoflage on this cache, but little did I know that it would be a theme throughout many of the caches in this series! FP awarded anyway, because it delighted me at the time. TFTC.

Dan Q found GC54DAM WAG 2 – Cow Hill

This checkin to GC54DAM WAG 2 - Cow Hill reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

The last time I was in Goring was on 9 June 2022, when I cycled here via Eynsham, Abingdon, and Didcot. I enjoyed a meal at at Whale Inn in Streatley, then meandered down into Goring in order to catch a tran part of the way home (I was feeling lazy). Another easy find here. TFTC.

Dan Q found GC54D9K WAG 1 – See the light

This checkin to GC54D9K WAG 1 - See the light reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

Ignoring times that I’ve passed-through, I’ve only ever visited Goring twice before. It’s time to rectify that! This morning, the dog and I drove down from Stanton Harcourt (near Witney), parked up, and begun our attempts at the first half of the WAG trail (along with a couple of others along the way).

Starting as we mean to continue, this was a very quick first find. TFTC.

Dan, wearing blue jeans and a grey hoodie, kneels alongside Demmy, a French Bulldog, on a dirt path between a forest and the wooden fences at the edge of some gardens.

×

Dan Q couldn’t find GC7Z2J6 Pinsley Wood by Olivia and Jessica

This checkin to GC7Z2J6 Pinsley Wood by Olivia and Jessica reflects a geocaching.com log entry. See more of Dan's cache logs.

No luck here this morning for the geopup and I. The undergrowth has come through incredibly thick your summer, and we had to work hard to hunt in likely locations. (The hint didn’t help much, as it wasn’t entirely clear which direction it assumed we were coming from, but the GPSr good looked good so I figure we were on the right spot.) Strangely, we did find a bauble (pictured) – did somebody decorate these woods for Christmas, I wonder?

A green bauble buried in the mossy/grassy undergrowth of a forest floor.

×

Geohashing expedition 2023-07-27 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2023-07-27 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Northern boundary hedge of West Witney Primary School, Witney

Participants

Expedition

I wasn’t supposed to be here. I was supposed to be on the Isle of Man with my partner, celebrating our 0x10th anniversary. But this week’s been a week of disasters: my partner lost her job, our plane to the Isle of Man got cancelled, and then I got sick (most-likely, I got to catch airport germs from people I got to sit next to on an aircraft which was then cancelled before it had a chance to take off). So mostly this week I’ve been sat at home playing video games.

But the dog needed a walk, and my partner needed to go to the supermarket, so I had her drop me and the geopooch off in West Witney to find the hashpoint and then walk to meet them after she’d collected the shopping. I couldn’t find my GPSr, so I used my phone, and it was reporting low accuracy until I rebooted it, by which time I’d walked past the hashpoint and had to double-back, much to the doggo’s confusion.

I reached the hashpoint at 14:16 BST (and probably a few points before than, owing to my navigation failure). I needed to stand very close to the fence to get within the circle of uncertainty, but at least I didn’t have to reach through and into the school grounds.

Tracklog

My smartwatch kept a tracklog:

Map showing Dan's wanderings back and forth around West Witney Primary School before heading East-South-East across the town towards Waitrose.

Photos

Note #21687

Morning walk with Demmy, first of her name, Queen of Stealing Your Spot On The Sofa, Empress of the Farts Of Doom, rightful keeper of That Gross Chew Toy, bringer of snuggles, destroyer of rosebeds, scourge of the mailman.

A champagne-coloured French Bulldog with a dark face stands on a dirt path in a young forest. She's wearing a red and black tartan harness and her long tongue is lolling out.

×