Waddington

Length	Estimated Duration	Difficulty
6 miles	3.5 hours	4
Max Elevation	Terrain Types	Smiley Rate (Caches/Distance)
275 feet	footpath / roadway	2.8

Had the Waddington series planned in for a while now but just needed a break in the weather to do it justice and today was the day. The Good Wench and I prepped everything the night before so we could make an early start on what is a nice six mile jaunt through some lovely countryside. Idea being we could get back before the sun got too hot for the kids to handle… that was the plan anyway. The series begins at GC29PNP and there is limited parking in and around this cache site. We landed at 9am so it was pretty quiet. The first few caches are along the main road so the pace is quick and we are covering ground pretty easily. The cache containers are all nice and easy to find and are decent sized and well kept. The crew pulled a face at GC29PNX though as the local arachnid population seem to have been doing some web spinning practice.

At about the third stop you could carry on following the series but we decided to extend the walk a little by taking a jog up the river bank for about a mile (in total) to pick up a few other caches from other cache owners. It was a nice distraction to walk along the river and see Amber the Geohound getting her feet wet. This area is lovely but it’s spoilt by the yoof who seem not to be able to clean up after themselves. We bumped into a local who stopped for a chat and he told us how at 4am they were still gathering and partying in the fields next to his house. I sound old!... nobody say a thing!! I know I was no angel when younger and we used to get up to all sorts (none of which will be documented on here because my mother reads this) but we never left a place looking untidy and we respected others around us. Whinge over. It’s nice and warm today but even so we can’t help thinking that the kids swimming in the river must be blinking freezing or, again, am I just showing signs of old age? Answers on a post card to someone who cares….J

At this point we are doubling back on ourselves and heading back to pick up the rest of the Waddington series. GC29CTC is next up. Along the way The Captain stops to look at an old roller abandoned in the field and was considering staging a photo of the kids pulling it. Without thinking he grabs the end to see how heavy it is and ends up covered in grease and oil. Nice one Cyril – now I will need to get in the river for a wash! Bad idea –move on.

We bag the next couple easy enough but then the path looks like it is taking us through a field of cows. Cows are a bit of a nemesis for us as the Geohound doesn’t get on well with them and they always seem to stare at us. This time is no exception and word has got out that we are coming and they have all lined up in front of the stile we need to cross and aren’t budging. We end up having to climb a nearby fence and jump a stream just to avoid the bovine bullys.

We press on and we are soon racking up the finds and the miles. The sun is high over the yard arm now and the crew are complaining that they need a grog break. We are in a bit of an urban area so the next time we find ourselves in a field we’ll rest up I think.

One of the caches along this route (which you can download don’t forget by clicking the Everytrail link to the right) is a puzzle.You can solve it in the field but it’s easier to do a bit of planning and get the co-ords sorted before you arrive, which is what we did.We soon arrive where we think we should be and start hunting for the cache in the hawthorn hedgerow.My least favourite place to be – getting poked in the eye and scratched to buggery! Well after ten minutes or so we are still empty handed and I’m starting to doubt my co-ords (even though they have been checked).We notice a friend (stevebm) has already done this one so decide to give him a call. The crew take the opportunity to picnic.After a short conversation that went on the lines of “Help”, “Ok I’m on my way”, stevebm took a detour from his drive to Clitheroe to meet up with us and lend a hand. Nice one Steve.

As we wait for Steve to arrive the crew finish off the dried bread and grog that The Good Wench has kindly prepared for them.The Captain decides to take another look now he is rested and within minutes has uncovered the cache! Now no one is blaming anyone and our crew operates a strict no blame culture to ensure that we operate as a team and we take collective responsibility for finds as well as fails…but…The Good Wench claimed to have spent, and I will quote, “Ages”,looking there.That’s all I’m going to say on the matter, I’m hardly mentioning it, in fact forget I said anything.

As we head off to grab the last remaining few caches we meet up with stevebm and he tags along to mentor us and see us safely home.The final cache is a welcome site and the cache owner has had the presence of mind to place a pub only a few feet away from the GZ.It’s now 1pm and the sun is well and truly beating down on us and we deserve a drink.Nothing better than to spend the day wandering the countryside with the family, meeting up with friends, sharing a cold drink and swapping stories. Perfect.

The series is great and the CO’s do a lot to maintain them. The containers are all shapes and sizes (enough to keep you guessing) and all well kept. The route takes you through some fantastic country side and is a mix of fields and roads so it’s easy going for kids. Apart from our close encounter of the bovine kind we completed the route pretty much as planned. There is another series over the other side of the river and we will certainly be coming back to this beautiful area another day. As ever, for more photos take a look at the Everytrail route. Happy hunting!