Steamed Up - Alresford - Cache listing

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Steamed Up - Alresford OK00D8

hidden by sandvika

N 51° 05.323' W 01° 09.670' (WGS84)

Coordinates in other systems
Location: United Kingdom > Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Cache type: Multicache
Size: Small
Status: Ready for search
Time: b.d. Distance to travel: 1.25 km
Date hidden: 22 March 2009
Date created: 24 January 2010
Last modified: 24 January 2010
Waypoint: OK00D8

{{found}} 1 x found
${{not_found}}$ 1 x not found
{{comment}} 0 comments
0 cachenotes
history of visit
1 watchers
344 visitors
1 x rated
Rated as: N/A

Available maps: Opencaching.org.uk
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Cache attributes

Parking nearby Winter safe Listed on Opencaching only Password Attribute

Please read the Opencaching attributes description article.

Description EN

In a twist on the "SideTracked" series of caches that exist on the Green Frog site, this is a series of four OpenCaches at stations along the "Watercress Line" preserved steam railway in Hampshire.

In 1861 the Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway Company was authorised to build a new railway to connect to the existing London & South Western Railway lines at Alton and Winchester. It was opened on 2 October 1865 as the Mid-Hants Railway. Trains were operated by the London & South Western Railway who eventually purchased the Mid-Hants Railway Company in 1884.

Stations were initially constructed at Itchen Abbas, Ropley and Alresford. The station at Alton was already in existence. The station at Medstead & Four Marks was added in 1868. Just outside this station, the line is at it highest point (652 feet (199m) above sea level) having risen from Alresford (263 feet (80m) above sea level) and descending to Alton (339 feet (103m) above sea level). The section of line became known as "the Alps", due to the steep gradients.

The railway was eventually closed by British Railways in 1973. The section of line from Alresford to Alton that can be seen today was successfully purchased from British Rail in November 1975 and restored over the next 10 years.

The Saxon settlement of Alresford is the second largest town on the railway, but it is scenic. This cache, the last in the series, is an offset cache starting at the station. At the published coordinates is an information board. On it is a dotted red line that you should follow. The board describes how Alresford was destroyed by fire twice, in years ABCD and EFGH.

Your next waypoint is at N51° 0(B-A).(C-G)(H-E)C W1° A(H-B).E(E+G)(F-E).

Here note that New Farm dates from the 1J century and the Toll House from the 1K century.

The cache is located very nearby at N51° 0(B-A).(C-G)(J-2)(D-2) W1° A(H-B).E(K-H)(G+A).

This cache is a 500ml lock top box. Access to the cache involves a little fun, it should only take a little while to find it and the clue should only be needed to confirm it is missing.

Utilities

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Logentries {{found}} 1x ${{not_found}}$ 1x {{comment}} 0x New log entry

17 June 2010 Amberel Found it

Logging in June 2010, after having found the cache on 28th May last year, when it was a TerraCache.

It took me two visits to find this one. On my first trip I found the first two locations OK, but the third and final set of co-ordinates did not match the impression I got from reading the cache page. To put it another way, the more fun I was having, the further away from the cache I appeared to be .

So I read the clue, but that didn't help either. Trouble was that the nearest thing that fitted the clue was a little way off, but if I accepted that it WAS some way off then LOTS of things fitted the clue. And it wasn't clear if the direction referred to in the clue was before or after I had the little bit of fun .

It has to be said that the enthusiasm with which I seach for a cache is in inverse proportion to the distance shown on my GPSr, so while I did look around, it was a somewhat desultory look. But not so desultory that I didn't get a rash of stings from some vicious early spring nettles - I had just about forgotten how much more virulent they are in the Spring.

Unsure if the problem was a misread clue, a miscalculated sum or an errant GPSr, I went back to check the numbers and the maths from the last waypoint, but nothing new presented itself and I gave it best.

When I got back I discussed it with the cache owner, and it transpired there were a couple of errors on the cache page. On the second visit, and with the right numbers, my GPSr took me to the area I thought it should have been from the description.

But what a difference 2 months makes! The logs I had used to bridge the river were no longer there, the strip of land which was pretty dry in March was a boggy morass in May, and the nettles had grown from 4 inches to 4 feet high! Altogether it was FAR harder than before, but though I came out with arms and hands covered in nettle stings, I also came out with the cache .

Many thanks for the cache,

Rgds, Andy

05 February 2010 two_bad_mice Didn't find it

Really needed the clue which isn't on the cache page