hash log

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-27 53 -8

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-27 53 -8 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Driveway outside a house in Garrafrauns, Co. Galway, Ireland.

Participants

Dan Q
his mum

Plans

A quick and easy find on our way to the airport at Knock to end our Irish adventure, this morning.

Expedition

Finding the hashpoint was easy. We drove to it, arriving at 10:31, overshooting very slightly and walking back 20 metres (we could’ve done it without even getting out of the car if we’d cared to). Then we were done.

Dan and his mother, smiling, in frozen countryside, with fog behind. — It’s pretty cold out.

What happened next is where things went wrong. We stopped in Ballyhaunis, half-way between the hashpoint and the airport at Knock, for a comfort break and to find a local geocache. Then we hiked out to find a second nearby geocache, but the icy conditions on the way back slowed us down considerably (and my mother fell over at least once). We stepped into a cafe for a quick drink, and apparently my attitude to our imminently-departing flight was so laid-back (in actual fact, I thought we had about half an hour more in-hand than we did) that my mother decided to reflect it and play laid-back too. Sarcastically, she suggested we stay around Ballyhaunis for a round of cakes, too, and I – not recognising her tone as sarcastic – agreed. In fact, I thought that her relaxed attitude was because we had a long time until our flight, too. (tl;dr: when two people famed for their sarcasm communicate sarcastically with one another, they should be careful not to, y’know, completely fuck up their plans for the rest of the day by accident)

As we digested our scones and my mother prepared to pour a second mug of tea, I pulled out my phone and realised to my horror that our plane was scheduled to depart in a little over 40 minutes: I’d got the departure time wrong. She said, “I thought you knew it was close, but you knew something I didn’t, like that it was really late!?” Nope.

We ran as fast as the icy ground would permit us to back to the car and drove at great speed to the airport, just in time to miss the closure of the departure desk. We’d just missed the last and indeed only flight out of Knock airport that day. Fuck.

Anyway, all of which is to say that we extended the rental on our car, arranged to drop it off at Dublin airport, and drove coast-to-coast across Ireland to get to a more-favourable airport and a last-minute AirBnB, where we dropped out bags then went out for pizza in a dangerously underlit bar before listening to some Irish folks music in a different bar and going to bed.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow… we’ll leave the country. I promise.

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-26 53 -9

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-26 53 -9 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Sea, 1.5km South of Clare Island, near Mweelaun Island.

Participants

Dan Q
his mother

Plans

This can’t be done. Right? Right?! Except maybe it can. I’ve found a few folks with boats and I’m going to phone-around in the morning and see about chartering one.

Expedition

I left lots of voicemails and messages lots of people, but nobody could offer me a lift to this random spot on the edge of Ireland. We later took a tour boat out into the bay but it didn’t go near it either (but was a delightful ride, and we just-about came within sight of the hashpoint).

Dan and his mother ride on the back of a boat through a bay full of islands. In the distance, the distinctive shape of Clare Island can be seen, jutting out from the sea, and to the left of it a red pin is superimposed upon the image with the message 'hashpoint is here'. — It’s actually about 10km away at this point. We could’ve gotten closer, but we couldn’t quite get close enough.

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-25 53 -8

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-25 53 -8 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Field East of Claremorris, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Participants

Dan Q
his mother

Plans

Today we need to drive North up the entire length of the M18 and M17 to get to our next accommodation. If we take only a minor diversion at Tuam we can see how accessible this hashpoint is, on the way!

Expedition

On today’s leg of my mother and I’s expedition to go hashing around the West coast of Ireland (hampered only by the floods of Storm Bert) we were scheduled to drive a few hours up the country to move from our old accommodation of the last few nights to our new accommodation of the next two. On our way we accidentally drove the wrong way down the M6 for a spell (as you can see on our tracklog) as we intended to visit Athenry for some geocaching, before pushing on to the hashpoint.

GPSr showing 102m to a destination inside a green pasture. — 102 metres to go, but we’ll need to find a gate… and some better footwear…

We drove past the field with the hashpoint in order to dodge an incoming tractor and to scout out safe parking spaces. Finding a suitable verge, we pulled up and took a look at the pasture with the hashpoint. The gate into it was seriously churned up with mud, so I switched to my wellies and my mother pulled on a pair of waterproof trousers, and we waded out.

Muddy wellies, as seen by the person wearing them. — Some of the early bits of the field would suck us ankle-deep, but by this point things were better.

Once past the gate, it got a lot easier and we were able to quickly find our way to the hashpoint at 13:10.

Dan raises his hands - one of them holding a GPS receiver - in the air in a victory pose, in a green pasture with a forest in the background. — One great thing about having a geohashing buddy is they can take a “victory pose” picture of you!

It was the middle of a muddy field. Not exciting, but a good view of rolling countryside and wind farms.

Panoramic view showing many fields, bordered by hedgerows and distant forests. — Fields as far as the eye can see. Until you hit the treeline.

We swiftly made our way back to our car to avoid any questions from passing farmers about what we might be doing hanging our near a piece of mystery agricultural equipment we were near.

Dan and his mother grin in a grassy field. — Requisite silly grins, as required by geohashing law.

Then, after changing back into our regular footwear so we didn’t bring tonnes of mud into our rental car, made our way down into Claremorris. There, we enjoyed a celebratory carvery lunch, toured a handful of local geocaches, explored a path that Google Maps (only) claims exists – possibly a trap street? – and walked around a lake with lots of scultpures until we discovered that the route we’d planned to take was underwater. At that point, we figured it was time to go check-in to our new AirBnB and returned to our car to set off.

A woman sits in front of a plate loaded with food in a pub setting, holding a knife and fork. — I had the curry, but my mother managed to order a portion of gammon and mash slightly larger than her own head.

A highly-successful trip.

Tracklog

Full journey

(includes drive from old accommodation, geocaching, hiking, drive to new accommodation, etc)

Download full journey tracklog.

Walking

(from where we parked to the hashpoint and back)

Download walking segment tracklog.

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-24 52 -7

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-24 52 -7 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Forest in the Suir Valley, South of Kilsheelan, Ireland.

Participants

Dan Q
his mother

Plans

Day three of our geohashing-focussed holiday in Ireland, and the other hashpoints near us look likely to be inaccessible to owing to flooding, but this one’s in a hillside forest. Should be easy, right?

Expedition

It took us around an hour and a half to drive from our accomodation out to Kilsheelan, from which we’d planned to cross the bridge and ascend the hill into the forest where the hashpoint could be found.

Dan's mum climbs a hill into a forest. — The route up the hill into the forest wasn’t especially steep, but it seemed to take a while.

We’d originally anticipated that we’d tackle the trail of geocaches alongside the River Suir afterwards, but looking down from the bridge made it clear that this was not going to be possible: the riverside path was completely underwater where the river had broken its banks.

A riverside footpath is completely flooded. — Yeah, we’re not walking along that footpath.

We pressed on up and into the forest. It’s mostly a managed pine forest, surrounded by pockets of native deciduous trees. The trails are, for the most part, wide enough for the forestry vehicles to traverse, and – apart from the points at which streams has escaped their culverts and flooded the path – it was mostly dry and easy walking.

Dan walks ahead on a wide, muddy forest trail. — The trails were muddy, but very navigable.

The maps indicated the the fastest route to where the hashpoint could be found would have been along a road, but we opted to climb to an altitude of about 150m to take a forest trail parallel to the road, instead, and it was certainly a more-welcome view.

Under a blue-white sky, a rounded hill towers over a fertile green valley dotted with little white houses, as seen from between the trees of an ancient forest. — Especially impressive was the view of Slievenamon across the valley, which I shared from the field.

Getting closer to the cache, we found a trail leading down and began to approach it. We seemed to be endlessly stuck at around 370 metres away as our track wound back and forth with the contours of the hill, but eventually we began to approach it. I was momentarily panicked when we disovered an area of new plantation, surrounded by a 3-metre tall wire fence, because it looked as though the hashpoint might turn out to be inside it and therefore inaccessible, but as we continued to walk we discovered to our delight that it would, instead, be in one of the mature parts of the managed forest instead.

A fenced-off area full of newly-planted pine trees sits just off the side of a forest trail. — Uh-oh, this fence looks like trouble.

We broke off the track with around 50 metres to go and began to hack our way through the slippery mud and tangled undergrowth.

A GPSr shows 48m distance to a target, off a path and into a forest. — We need to go… thisaway!

Before long, we came across a stream, converted into a torrent by the floodwater and the mountaintop’s melting snow!

A GPSr shows 28m to go... through a stream. — This stream could be a problem…

After scouting for the narrowest point (and giving up on attempting to construct a bridge) I leapt across, and then reached back to help my mother do the same.

Dan looks concerned next to his mother, in a forest. — “You think we can jump it?” “I think I can jump it, but I don’t know about you.” “Can you… pull me over?”

Dan and his mother cheer alongside a raging stream. — “We got over it!”

Now we were able to pick our way around decaying wood and slippery leaves to finally get to the hashpoint. We arrived at 11:20.

Dan raises his hands in a victory pose in a forest. — Victory pose!

A GPSr shows 0m distance, muddy ground is visible beneath. — Ground Zero!

Panoramic view of a forest with a woman in it. — A panorama from the hashpoint.

Dan and his mother smile for the camera in a forest, holding a GPSr between them. — Requisite silly grins.

Retracing our steps to the path and continuing our descent, we returned via the road to the bridge we’d crossed at. We enjoyed a spectacular view of Slievenamon to the North, a mountain that towers over the valley. Returning to Kilsheelan, we had a great lunch at Nagle’s Bar, then continued on our day’s adventures: taking in some history at Cahir Castle (and finding a nearby geocache), dodging the rain at coffee shop Keep Coffee, and then taking on a challenging series of caches on the Millennium Loop of Glengarra Woods, where we almost found ourselves stranded by the setting sun, short on batteries for either GPS, phone, or torch use, and having to carefully pick our way back to the car before a long dark drive over the winding Kilmallock road to get back to home, beer, and baths.

Dan sits in a bar; the word 'Nagles' is over his head on a sign. — Lunchtime!

A wonderful adventure that’s left me heavy of foot and light of spirit.

Tracklog

Full journey

(includes the driving sections and our other expeditions, including some lunch, touring a castle, and geocaching a valley)

Download full journey tracklog.

Walking

(just the bit from where we parked up into the forest, to the hashpoint, and down again; minus a bit at the start where I forgot to turn my backup GPSr on)

Download walking segment tracklog.

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-23 52 -8

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-23 52 -8 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Field East of Newcastle West

Participants

Dan Q
his mother

Plans

On the second full day of our geohashing tour of Western Ireland, we’ll try to drive to somewhere close to this hashpoint (maybe up towards Knockaderry?) and see if we can walk to it (and if it’s accessible when we get there).

Expedition

This part of Ireland’s been under moderate snow cover for several days, but overnight that turned to rain and as it warmed up early in the morning, the snow rapidly melted and poured down into the valleys. The River Arra burst its banks in several places, and our first, second, and third attempts to find places to cross it to get closer to the hashpoint were foiled by floods (too deep and fast-flowing to safely ford) and closed roads.

A road through a field and towards a river bridge is deeply submerged under fast-flowing water. — Yeah… I don’t think I’m gonna chance that (especially in a rental car!).

After seeing several fields of about the altitude of our target also deeply flooded, we opted to give up on this expedition for our own safety! Instead, we went geocaching in Newcastle West and then went up to Foyle where we visited the museum of maritime history and learned about the history of the flying boats that were stationed there in the inter-war years.

Dan alongside a replica of a flying boat called Yankee Clipper. — Hey look, I found a flying boat.

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-22 53 -8

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-22 53 -8 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Field East of Abbey, Ireland.

Participants

Dan Q
his mum

Plans

When my mother proposed that we take a holiday together somewhere, and that I could choose the destination, I started by looking at the Geohashing Expeditions Map.

Where, I wondered, could I find a cluster of mostly-land graticules (“square” degree of latitude and longitude) in which nobody had ever logged a successful expedition? I’ve been geohashing for ten years now and I’ve never yet scored a “Graticule Unlocked” achievement for being the first to reach any hashpoint in a given graticule.

So this week, we’re holidaying on the West coast of Ireland, doing a variety of activities that take our fancy and, hopefully, finding a geohashpoint or two in previously-unexplored graticules!

Looking at the nearby hashpoints, we decided that this was our best bet. An hour and a half’s drive from our accomodation to a village near the hashpoint and we might be able to make the rest of the way on foot.

Expedition

My mother’s never been hashing before, but unlike most people I’ve told about the hobby she didn’t turn her nose up at the idea so she was happy to accompany me on this unusual adventure.

Random dog we met along the way. — We met a surprising number of dogs out, alone, “taking themselves for a walk’. Like this one.

We drove to Abbey, which turns out to be a delightful village, and parked outside the community centre (where my mother was able to use the bathroom).

Abbey Community Centre, plus a car. — Parking was plentiful in Abbey.

Sign saying The Lazy Wall. — We still don’t know what makes this wall “lazy”.

Then we switched to foot, walking along the banks of the stream and following the road to the East, towards the field where we’d hoped to find the hashpoint.

A quick survey around the outskirts of the area suggested that it was, indeed, in what had once been an active pasture but had been abandoned and disused for many years. The grass and brambles grew high and were caked in snow, but we hopped the gate and pressed on for the final hundred metres.

GPSr showing 106m, snowy overgrown field ahead. — Very close…!

We made the right choice: the hashpoint was just barely inside the disused old field, and we were able to get to it with only slightly wet feet and without disturbance (except for some kind of nesting bird that was unhappy to see us, and some kind of medium-sized mammal – possibly a fox – that ran away as we approached).

We reached the hashpoint at 11:24.

Dan and his mum grinning. — Obligatory silly grins.

Flushed with success at this relatively easy victory, we continued our walk to a nearby dairy to see if they’d sell us some cheese (their farm shop was shut), and then crossed the river and climbed the nearby hill to find the fantastic geocache at Pallas Castle.

Pellas Castle. — The castle was a wonderful diversion on our way back.

Circling around from the hilltop to return to the car, we drove back home, completing our expedition (hashpoint, cache, and all) in a little under 7 hours.

Tracklog

Download tracklog.

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-14 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-14 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Field East of Ducklington, West Oxfordshire

Participants

Dan Q

Plans

Not certain, but might be able to make this one!

Expedition

The dog and I drove out to Ducklington, parking near the church, and walked out to these fields. Unfortunately the hashpoint turns out to be 33+ metres into a field full of sheep. That _might’ve_ been the kind of trespassing I’d have been willing to consider, were it not for the combination of the amount of pedestrian traffic (a whole platoon of birdwatchers, armed with extra-long camera lenses, and every dog walker under the sun!) and the fact that I had the dog with me (who’d have to have waited unhappily outside the field: not taking her _into_ a field of sheep, even by only 33 metres).

GPS receiver in front of a field. The compass points deeper into the field and the screen reports that the destination is 32 metres away. Sheep are (barely) visible in the field, in the distance. — So near, and yet so far…

Instead, then, we took a pleasant walk around Ducklington and found the GC656RM “Church Micro 8564…Ducklington” geocache, so it wasn’t entirely a wasted trip. The dog’s come home and zonked out in her basket after a decent walk, anwyay!

Dan and his dog on a footpath with a field in the background. — Sad-face Dan and dog, near the hashpoint.

Tracklog

Download tracklog.

Geohashing expedition 2024-11-10 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2024-11-10 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Barnard Gate, where the A40 cycleway briefly diverges from the main road.

Participants

Dan Q

Plans

After brunch, I reckon I can get to and from this hashpoint… Tron-style!

Expedition

I planned a slightly circuitous route to this hashpoint in order to make a Tron achievement possible. I got my bike lightcycle out of the garage, checked the brakes and tyres, and set off in the opposite direction of the hashpoint! My thinking was I could cut up Tar Lakes Road to Cogges Farm, join the A40 cyclepath at Witney, follow it all the way to Barnard Gate, and – after passing through the hamlet and hopefully the hashpoint – turn _back_ along the opposite side of A40 (for the section that doesn’t have a cyclepath) and then cut through South Leigh to get back home.

My first hazard came just three minutes out of my door, where a motorist failed to give way to me at Stanton Harcourt Roundabout, entering the junction even though I was already half-way across it from the other direction. They had to slam on their brakes to avoid smashing into the side of me, and I’ll admit I may have sworn at them at least a little as they pulled guiltily away.

The Tar Lakes road remains a delightful route from Stanton Harcourt to Witney, which I’ve enjoyed cycling many times. It was a little busier than usual, perhaps because it’s Sunday and folks were off to and from the fishing lakes along its path to do some angling or to walk their dogs, but it was still a fast and easy journey. Reaching Cogges, I turned back towards the hashpoint and joined the A40 cyclepath which, I hoped, would bring me right through it.

Approaching the hashpoint, I was concerned to see that the road was closed ahead, but a sign reassured me that it was still open to pedestrians, so I dismounted my bike. This also provided an excuse for me to slow down and pay attention to my GPSr as I counted down the metres. I got within the circle of uncertainty at ~3m away, as I leaned over the dyke that separates Pear Tree Cottage’s garden from the byway.

I snapped the regulation silly grin selfie at 14:44.

Photo taken, I then had to continue to push my bike all the way through the roadworks: the fastest way home would have been to turn around, at this point, but I didn’t want to be robbed of my shot at the Tron achievement, so I pressed on.

At the far end of Barnard Gate I determined that cycling back along the A40 without the benefit of a cyclepath was perhaps a little too dangerous (especially after my scare earlier), so I adapted my route to instead head East towards Eynsham, crossing the main road at the Evenlode pub to get onto Old Witney Road, through Eynsham, and back onto the road home.

Returning home, I made sure to cut the corner short as I turned into my driveway so I didn’t cross the path I’d taken as I’d initially exited, an hour earlier. A successful trip, and a fresh achievement!

Tracklog

Download tracklog.

Geohashing expedition 2024-10-22 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2024-10-22 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Harcourt Hill Bridleway, between Cumnor and North Hinksey

Participants

Dan Q

Plans

I’m on sabbatical from work right now, so I’m hoping to be able to get out to this hashpoint while the kids are at school.

Expedition

After dropping the kids off at school, the geopup/hashhound and I set out for the hashpoint. Coming up the “short side” of the bridleway from Botley would be a shorter walk, but we opted to park in Cumnor and come up the “long side” of Harcourt Hill to avoid Oxford’s traffic (and the inevitable fee for parking on the city’s side of the hill).

Harcourt Hill (like my village of Stanton Harcourt) doubtless gets its name from the Harcourt Family, who supported William the Conqueror during his conquest of Great Britain back in 1066 and were ultimately granted huge swathes of land around this part of the world in recognition of their loyalty. To this day, you find “Harcourt” in a lot of place names in this neck of the woods.

The hashpoint was so easy to find, we almost walked right over it: it’s right in the centre of the footpath/bridleway. Even my dog, who often doesn’t like long walks or muddy paths, didn’t get a chance to complain before we got there. We arrived at 09:35 and took the requisite photos, which can be found below. We also kept a GPS tracklog and vlogged our experience, all of which you can see below.

I’ve not properly hashed in a long while, so it was great to get back out there!

Tracklog

My GPSr kept a tracklog.

Video

Also available via YouTube.

Photos

A footpath becomes a zebra crossing despite there being no road to cross, just a lawn (probably there USED to be a road). — What’s the point of this crossing? Do rabbits pass very fast through this junction?

A French Bulldog stands derpily on a muddy footpath between fields, under blue-grey skies. — View East from the hashpoint (plus dog).

A footpath vanishes between fields, flanked by wild bushes. — View West from the hashpoint.

A GPS receiver shows "0 metres" to destination. — Right in the middle of the circle of uncertainty.

Dan crouches by his dog to take a selfie. — Silly grin/silly tongue-sticking-out.

Geohashing expedition 2024-05-09 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2024-05-09 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Between Standlake Allotments and the Horns Way footpath.

Participants

Dan Q and his dog

Plans

I originally though I’d cycle out here in the evening and see if I could reach the hashpoint, but with the weather so delightful (and the dog clamouring for a walk) I opted to adapt my lunchtime plans to go to Standlake Post Office (rather than the only-slightly-closer Eynsham Post Office) to post a parcel and take the dog for a walk… and check out the hashpoint at the same time!

Expedition

Success! The dog and I parked near the Post Office, and tired firstd walking through the allotments, but they don’t go as far back as I thought they might and we couldn’t really get close to the hashpoint. So we doubled back, with the anticipation of going via the churchyard, when I spotted a convenient footpath sign (for a footpath not marked on my map), so we followed that. Conveniently it turned out to be a shortcut to Horns Way, the alternative route I’d considered to try to get close to the hashpoint. Travelling along it, we found an (also not on the map) back gate into the allotments: we could’ve just come this way, after all! We’d later use this route to get back home.

Approaching the hashpoint, we needed to push through a thicket of trees and jump a ditch, but this delivered us into a delightful meadow. We reached the hashpoint at 13:44, took the requisite silly photo, and set off back. On returning to the footpath (by a decidedly inferior route) we discovered a bench (with a dedication on it) that also wasn’t listed on OpenStreetMap nor on OpenBenches. I took a photo and pushed it to OpenBenches. There should be an achievement for that.

I added the missing footpaths, gate, and bench to OpenStreetMap and we set off back to the Post Office, delivered the parcel, then returned home.

Tracklog

My GPSr kept a tracklog.

Photos

Sunny allotments. — Hard to find a way out of the allotments.

Verdant meadow. — Made it into the meadow!

GPS receiver showing 0 metres. — Success!

Dan squints into the sunlight in a grassy field, alongside a dog. — Pretty silly pup.

Memorial bench with inscription "In loving memory of Bill Mitchell 1934-2021" — A new addition to OpenBenches!

Geohashing expedition 2024-02-10 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2024-02-10 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Field between Cumnor and Appleton, West Oxfordshire

Participants

Dan Q

Plans

I haven’t hashed for long enough that my home graticule got marked as inactive. I’ve got a little free time this morning, so let’s fix that!

Expedition

It took two attempts to reach this hashpoint.

The first attempt saw me set off around 09:40, with a plan to drive over the world’s stupidest toll bridge (paying 5p for the privilege), park up in Cumnor somewhere, then work down the Cumnor-Appleton footpath before dipping into the fields (which are likely to be fallow this time of year) to claim the hashpoint. I suggested to take the dog, and the 7-year-old child asked if he could join me too, so the three of us with our eight legs set off.

This winter’s seen heavy rain around these parts, and the stream that runs alongside the footpath had broken its banks and flooded the fields. The water had receded, but the ground remained extremely boggy. That kind of thick, wellie-sucking mud that means that if you stop walking for more than a couple of seconds, you might as well give up and say you live there now because your boot is never coming back.

The kid found the going especially-tough, especially after a particularly-deep puddle splashed over the edge of his wellies, and asked to turn back. The dog was finding it a bit challenging too! So we doubled-back and found a geocache a little way off the path. We’ve generally been disappointed by Cumnor’s geocaches and especially this series, finding them to be ill-maintained or completely absent, but it looks like the cache owner has been working on repairing and replacing them towards the tail end of last year and this one was soon found. I drove the dog and child home (back across the toll bridge), then came back out myself (paying the fivepence toll a third time). So began the second attempt:

Unburdened by short-legged dogs and damp-footed kids, I made better progress. At points, the path was completely flooded-out, but this gave me an excuse to walk along the “tramlines” of the cultivator that must’ve been working in the field last year, which put me on a better course to reach the hashpoint. By 11:06 I was well within the circle of uncertainty and declared the mission a success.

Then I plodged back through the mud, changed my footwear, and drove over the toll bridge a fourth time. The attendant, clearly sick of seeing me driving back and forth, took pity on me and let me off without paying yet another 5p piece, so that was nice.

Tracklog

Download tracklog.

Photos

A waterlogged path alongside a field. — This “path” seems to be a stream.

Green Wellington boots in deep sticky mud. — Muddy boots

GPSr, held up in a fallow field, reading 209m from destination. — 200 metres to go.

GPSr showing 0 metres to destination. A reflection of Dan's face can be seen in its screen. — Zero point!

Dan, smiling, holding up his GPSr, in a field. — Silly grin

A field with furrows and wispy clouds above. — View North from the hashpoint.

An electricity pylon stands along in a green/brown field. — View East from the hashpoint.

A field with furrows with a tree line in the distance. — View South from the hashpoint.

The edge of a field, becoming increasingly waterlogged into the distance. — View West from the hashpoint.

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

Dan Q

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:

Photos

A concrete path running between mowed grass past a lamp post. — Looking West from the hashpoint

A concrete path running between mowed grass and trees. — Looking East from the hashpoint

Dan, wearing a grey Three Rings hoodie, carrying French Bulldog Demmy, standing on a path with trees in the background. — A pair of silly grins

Screenshot from Geohashdroid, showing 51N 1W 27 Jul 2023 hashpoint 2.571m from the user. — Proof (from the app)

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

Dan Q

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

Geohashdroid screenshot showing a distance of ~1.5 metres to the hashpoint. — Proof from Geohashdroid

Dan takes a selfie in the dark; a French Bulldog looks confused in the background. — Silly grins in the dark from a man and his dog

Long exposure of South Leigh Common: the last of the sunlight disappears behind dark trees; damp frosty ground can be seen by torchlight. — Long exposure, with flashlight on, showing the hashpoint and the Common beyond

Geohashing expedition 2023-01-02 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2023-01-02 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Muswell Hill, Piddington, Oxfordshire

Participants

Dan Q

Expedition

I bundled the dog into the car and drove out to Piddington, a couple of kilometres North of the hashpoint. Cherwell Council advertise a circular walk that seems to circle from the village (which looked like a good place to park) up to Muswell Hill, the summit of which is near the hashpoint.

She and I walked through Piddington, past the church, and up onto the path. A soggy kilometre or so later we quickly discovered that this was going to be more-challenging than I’d anticipated. We quickly got bogged down in a flooded field and needed to double-back. With my socks already soaking wet and the dog in a similar condition, we found a different route that looped around the entire hill and through an alpaca farm (or were they llamas?), then we worked our way up the South face of the hill, over the summit, and down to the hashpoint. We got there at 11:00 UTC, took a quick look around and pulled the closest thing a dog can manage to a silly grin, and then hacked our way back (by road) to Piddington for the drive home and some dry clothes.

Tracklog

Entire expedition

Download tracklog (GPX)

Walking part only

Photo

Dan - a man with a beard, wearing a grey fleece with a white poppy attached - crouches alongside his French Bulldog in a green field under a blue sky with a few wispy clouds. — Multi-species silly grin.

Video

Also available on YouTube.

Geohashing expedition 2022-12-05 51 -1

This checkin to geohash 2022-12-05 51 -1 reflects a geohashing expedition. See more of Dan's hash logs.

Location

Bridleway behind Cokethorpe School, West Oxfordshire, UK.

Participants

Dan Q

Expedition

When I saw this hashpoint appear I thought to myself: that’s eminently achievable! I hoped I might be able to slip away from work for a lunchtime cycle to claim it.

But the gods of technology didn’t approve of my plan and turned my workday into a catastrophe of the kind that only a computer can, and the chance of taking a long lunch evaporated quickly. But fortune dealt me a second hand when the weather held off into the evening, and I instead opted for a post-dinner huckle in the dark out to this hashpoint.

I set out around 18:30, South through Stanton Harcourt then North up the adorably-named Ducklington Road. It took some time to sight the somewhat-concealed bridleway around the hill of Cokethorpe School. And then, another challenge – navigating by OpenStreetMap I missed my turning and went straight through a farmyard, and had to carry my bike over a fence at the other end. Turns out the map is wrong and I later found a sign indicating the true course of the bridleway; I’ll get that corrected.

I abandoned my bike for the final 50 metres, trekking through the thick grass of an unmown meadow to the hashpoint and arriving around 19:00. No panoramic photo today it’s too dark – but you get a silly grin.

Pleased with this fast expedition, I diverted on my route home to the Harcourt Arms pub for a pint of their surprisingly-delicious seasonal guest ale, Fairytale of Brew York, which genuinely tastes like stollen. There, I wrote up this expedition report, but I’ll have to get home before I can extract my GPSr‘s tracklog.

Tracklog

Download tracklog