Geocaching
Saturday, 30 April 2011 15:39![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iguanaYesterday was a bank holiday due to a certain event I shalln't lower this journal into mentioning, so I decided to go for a cycle ride and hunt out some geocaches. For the uninitiated (amusingly referred to as muggles by geocachers), geocaches are small containers hidden around public spaces, containing a log book to record your visit and often a few trinkets you can swap one out for something of your own. Their GPS locations are published on geocaching.com, where you can look up clues and photos if you're stuck.
I aimed to find several caches while I was out: three in Foots Cray Meadows; one or two, time depending, in Joyden's Wood; and perhaps one in Dartford Heath if I had time. I ended up looking for just the first four since I was starting to get thirsty by the time I got to Joyden's Wood. I found one, my first! Some of the others have been found since, so perhaps I still haven't got the hang of where these things get hidden.
Despite having a GPS and being within sight of houses, I managed to get utterly lost in Joyden's Wood after turning down what I thought was a path but turned out to be an inescapable tangle of ivy, vines and ditches. Carrying a bike through that kind of stuff isn't much fun, especially when your GPS phone tells you it's running low on batteries. I found my way back to a path eventually (head in the same direction forever, chances are there'll be a path) and soon found myself at Bexley Park, where -- thankfully -- there was a corner shop I could get some bottled water from.
By then I didn't fancy tackling Dartford Heath, so zoomed back home past my old secondary school and through Dartford town centre.
Here's the eventual route I took. I think in practice it was more than ten miles, since I was walking around a bit to find the caches, and the bit where I got lost in Joyden's Wood. Clicky for interactive:
The whole excursion took me from about 14:30 until 18:00, and to treat myself I ordered a pizza when I got home. I'll probably do a similar route at some point, since there are several caches in Joyden's Wood and Dartford Heath which I want to do. Plus it's good exercise and good fresh air.
Meanwhile, my garden is going pretty nicely. Everything I've planted so far has now germinated, with the exception of the rosemary, which apparently doesn't like me. I may just buy some ready-grown ones if they don't come through soon. Still, I should have broccoli, broad beans, nasturtiums, forget-me-nots and carrots by the autumn, plus apples from the apple tree which is doing considerably better this year than last.
I aimed to find several caches while I was out: three in Foots Cray Meadows; one or two, time depending, in Joyden's Wood; and perhaps one in Dartford Heath if I had time. I ended up looking for just the first four since I was starting to get thirsty by the time I got to Joyden's Wood. I found one, my first! Some of the others have been found since, so perhaps I still haven't got the hang of where these things get hidden.
Despite having a GPS and being within sight of houses, I managed to get utterly lost in Joyden's Wood after turning down what I thought was a path but turned out to be an inescapable tangle of ivy, vines and ditches. Carrying a bike through that kind of stuff isn't much fun, especially when your GPS phone tells you it's running low on batteries. I found my way back to a path eventually (head in the same direction forever, chances are there'll be a path) and soon found myself at Bexley Park, where -- thankfully -- there was a corner shop I could get some bottled water from.
By then I didn't fancy tackling Dartford Heath, so zoomed back home past my old secondary school and through Dartford town centre.
Here's the eventual route I took. I think in practice it was more than ten miles, since I was walking around a bit to find the caches, and the bit where I got lost in Joyden's Wood. Clicky for interactive:
The whole excursion took me from about 14:30 until 18:00, and to treat myself I ordered a pizza when I got home. I'll probably do a similar route at some point, since there are several caches in Joyden's Wood and Dartford Heath which I want to do. Plus it's good exercise and good fresh air.
