Caches 1101 to 1108 – May Day in the Lakes

1st May 2011 – Armboth GC15C12 – cache #1101
The first cache of Sunday morning was on the banks of Thirlmere, Thirlmere is actually a reservoir created in the late 1800’s to supply water to Manchester and when it was built it submerged the village of Armboth.
The cache is accesssible from a little car park which was actually quite busy when I got there, there were a couple of camper vans that had overnighted there, a couple of cars full of walkers and a Water Board employee emptying the car park ticket machine. 
(I didn’t bother paying to park myself as I was only there 5 minutes as the cache is only a short distance along the shore from the car park, and is hidden in the roots of a tree, covered by rocks and stickoflage.

1st May 2011 – DUNMAIL RAISE GC1A9F5 – cache #1102
Dunmail Raise is the highest point between Thirlmere and Grasmere and the road there splits round a large mound of stones which is reputedly the burial cairn of King Dunmail of Cumbria. The cache is on the side of the southbound carriageway opposite this, just next to a sign for Grasmere

1st May 2011 – THE STRUGGLE GC1A9F8 – cache #1103
The Kirkstone Pass goes over the hill from Ambleside to Patterdale and Ullswater. The Struggle is the name of the steep, winding road up out of Ambleside. There is a little viewpoint near the top of the pass and the cache is a few yards down the hill. There were a few people about so I covered my finding of the cache by taking photographs of the view, as I came back up to the lay-by another couple walked down to where I had come from, she with A4 printed sheets in her hand and he looking furtively about… so I called out “You need to look just where I was standing !” and the chap turned round a bit surprised them saw my smile and started chuckling – A suprised Team Andlou out on the hunt.

1st May 2011 – ST PATRICK’S WELL – ULLSWATER GC211JZ – cache #1104
Glenrhydding is the town at the southern end of Ullswater, and it was full at Lunchtime so although there are several caches in the vicinity this was the only one I could get to. As the Well is on the roadside the cache is actually on the footpath just behind the well and was easy to find as it was another of the false stones – and I’ve seen so many of them now that I recognise them easily

1st May 2011 – The Daffodils – The Wordsworth Way GCTR6V – cache #1105
A cache on the shores of Ullswater, another picturesque location. All I had to do here was be very quiet so as not to disturb the canoeist who was dozing in the sun just a few yards away from the cache. I was a few weeks late to see any daffodils !

1st May 2011 – AIRA FORCE GCK21K – cache #1106
Aira Force is a 70ft high waterfall not far from Ullswater. It is in a heavily wooded area and I was quite fortunate to be there at the right time of day so that the sun was shining into the chasm and lighting up the water.

The cache itself is on a footpath a few hundred yards away from the top of the fall, hidden in the roots of a fallen tree.

1st May 2011 – THE BOATHOUSE – ULLSWATER GC211K8 – cache #1107
The last cache in the Lake District on this trip was at the top end of Ullswater, near the 18th Century boathouse which is another of the iconic sights in the Lake District. The cache is the other side of the road from the lake and hidden next to a farm gatepost

1st May 2011 – Motorway Mayhem – Killington Services GC12454 – cache #1108
On the way home from the Lakes down the M6, Killington Services is a good stop off point as it has one of the best views from any Motorway Services in the country, facing over the Killington Reservoir. The Cache is down the access road to the services from the Northbound carriageway and has a little twist in that when you follow the GPS to the cache site you end up on the wrong side of the barbed wire fence. There is a stile over onto the field that forms the reservoir shore about 50 yards back towards the Services, but from the cache logs most people get the wrong side of the wire first time.

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