Month: January 2026

News & New Caches 213

We have an event reminder and 9 new Earthcaches published since our last post:

GCBHRY2 Carnedd Gwenllian Periglaciation by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D4/T4
GCBHT4B The Clogwyn Mawr Anticline by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D3.5/T2.5
GCBHT1T Glacial Geomorphology by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D3/T5
GCBHR6A Anglesey GeoMon – Paleocurrent Indicator by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D3.5/T2.5
GCBHR3T Meltwater Channels of Moel Faban by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D1.5/T3
GCBHR9R A bit of Northern Ireland in Menai Bridge by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D2.5/T2
GCBHR4C Anglesey GeoMon – Dewatering Structure by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D3/T1.5
GCBHRAF Elidir Fawr by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D1.5/T4.5
GCBHQBX Metasedimentary Rocks by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D3.5/T3.5

Event Reminder

GCBFR57 Piratemania On Tour #1 by Piratemania Crew Event D1/T1.5
When: Saturday 31st January 2026
Where: Parc Snowdonia, Waunfawr, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 4AQ
Time: 2.30pm to 5pm

A chance to meet and support the Piratemania Crew as they promote Piratemania 18 [2026]. Never been to Piratemania? Come along and find out what you have been missing. There will be a raffle and other merchandise on sale with all proceeds going to fund Piratemania 18 Mega event.

Update on Lôn Eifion Path Closure

The following statement was issued by Gwynedd Council on 22nd January:

🚧 Lôn Eifion Update 🚧
Following the significant damage caused by severe weather before Christmas, a section of Lôn Eifion is closed between Penygroes and the Inigo Jones site in Y Groeslon.
After carrying out a detailed inspection of the damage, plans are now in place to rebuild the embankment. We are working to appoint contractors so that work can begin in the coming weeks.
Our aim is to reopen the route before the Easter holidays. We apologise for any inconvenience, but due to the extent of the damage caused by the stormy weather in December, this section of the path is not currently safe for public use.
We will share a further update once work begins on-site. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

News & New Caches 212

Four new caches and a couple of new events have been published since our last post:

GCBEK24 YOSM #1298 Cefn Du by Clueless_Goose Letterbox D2.5/T3
GCBHJ3D pǝʌᴉǝɔǝɹ ǝƃɐssǝW by Clueless_Goose Letterbox D2/T3.5
GCBHJ0Q A New One for Bess’s Friends by Squaddie101 Traditional D2/T1.5
GCBH9QY TT – The Last Milestone by Squaddie101 Traditional D1/T1

Events
GCBHN19 9US TB Race Prize Giving by 9 Usual Suspects Event
When: Sunday 8th February, 2026
Where: Airport Cafe, Dinas Dinlle, Caernarfon LL54 5TP
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
9 Usual Suspects invite everyone to their TB Race prize giving event. Due to the on going renovations at 9US HQ we are returning to the Airport Cafe at Caernarfon Airport where our TB race began. 

GCBHQ1P UK Counties PitStop by new.neo Event
When: Sunday 15th February 2026
Where: McDonald’s, Parc y Llyn Retail Park, Llanbadarn Fawr, Aberystwyth SY23 3TL
Time: 8pm – 8.30pm
New.neo are taking a break on their UK County tour and would like to meet other geocachers to discuss our fascinating hobby.

Treasures Milestone Souvenirs

Geocachers can now earn souvenirs for reaching certain milestones for collecting Treasures and completing Treasures collections. There are six available souvenirs for the following milestones:

  • Collecting 100 Treasures
  • Collecting 200 Treasures
  • Collecting 300 Treasures
  • Completing 10 collections
  • Completing 25 collections
  • Completing 50 collections

New Treasures collection

The Seashells collection was released on 20th January 2026. You can collect these Treasures by finding and logging any Micro size, non-Event cache (excluding Adventures) with at least 1 Favourite point.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

What is the Big Garden Birdwatch?
Big Garden Birdwatch is the UK’s biggest citizen science wildlife survey. By taking part, you can help understand how garden birds are doing right now. This years survey runs from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th January.

Across the UK, over 590,000 people took part in Big Garden Birdwatch 2025, counting a whopping 9.1 million birds! House Sparrows took the top spot, but counts of these chirpy birds are down by 64% compared to the first Birdwatch in 1979. In fact, we’ve lost 38 million birds from UK skies in the last 60 years. With birds facing so many challenges, it’s more important than ever to get involved in the Birdwatch. Every bird you do – or don’t – count will give us a valuable insight into how garden birds are faring.

Here are the 2025 survey results for Wales:

To take part in this years survey go to Big Garden Birdwatch

TB Race Results

Finally we have the results to our TB Race:

Most Travelled

  1. Ann@Birdbrook – 46,423.8 km
  2. ECOBAKE – 45,745.52 km
  3. Clueless_Goose – 35,940.8 km
  4. Wendy2000 – 32,349.9 km
  5. sionyn68 – 32,167.7 km
  6. Cwm DJ – 24,053.87 km
  7. Bess’s Friends (GraPeS The Bear) – 22,719 km
  8. Mossfamilymacc (Lackey Tag) – 21,730.5 km
  9. FfiLli – 16,113.9 km
  10. escapefromwork – 15,911.9 km
  11. Bess’s Friends (Compass Winnie) – 14,591.4 km
  12. 74jen – 14,422.3 km
  13. lostnwet – 6,290.6 km
  14. naturesbyte – 4,939.4 km
  15. YnysMonBirders – 4,481.2 km
  16. Geojade2013 – 1,194.9 km
  17. WelshDisneyMum – 1,184.6 km
  18. Mossfamilymacc (Mardi Gras) – 583.4 km
  19. jude100 – 194 km
  20. Team Marzipan – 123.4 km

Total Distance Travelled 341,162.09 km

Most Caches Visited

  1. Ann@Birdbrook – 951
  2. ECOBAKE – 676
  3. Cwm DJ – 294
  4. Bess’s Friends – (COMPASS WINNIE) – 257
  5. Clueless_Goose – 164
  6. 74jen – 131
  7. lostnwet – 69
  8. sionyn68 – 29
  9. Bess’s Friends – (GraPeS The Bear) – 27
  10. Wendy2000 – 26
  11. Mossfamilymacc – (Lackey Tag) – 25
  12. FfiLli – 22
  13. YnysMonBirders – 13
  14. Geojade2013 – 12
  15. WelshDisneyMum – 11
  16. Mossfamilymacc – (Mardi Gras) – 7
  17. naturesbyte – 7
  18. escapefromwork – 6
  19. Team Marzipan – 5
  20. jude100 – 4

Total Caches Visited 2,736

Most Countries Visited

Clueless_Goose – 14
Ann@Birdbrook – 11
ECOBAKE – 10
Bess’s Friends (COMPASS WINNIE) – 8
sionyn68 – 7
Bess’s Friends – (GraPeS The Bear) – 6
Wendy2000 – 6
Cwm DJ – 5
Mossfamilymacc – (Lackey Tag) – 5
74jen – 4
FfiLli – 4
escapefromwork – 3
lostnwet – 3
naturesbyte – 2
YnysMonBirders – 2
Geojade2013 – 1
jude100 – 1
Mossfamilymacc – (Mardi Gras) – 1
Team Marzipan – 1
WelshDisneyMum – 1

Countries of the World Visited by all TB’s

Countries visited: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominica, Egypt, France, Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, USA, Uruguay

39 different countries

2 TB’s made it back to our New Year Eve event:Finally

74jen – 74jen Signal Race Tag – TB8M9D9
Team Marzipan – Clogging all over the world – TB2J2M1

Due to renovations at 9US HQ we will be returning to Caernarfon Airport Cafe for presentation of the prizes:
GCBHN19 9US TB Race Prize Giving by 9 Usual Suspects (currently in for review)
When: Sunday 8th February, 2026
Where: Airport Cafe, Dinas Dinlle, Caernarfon LL54 5TP
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm

News & New Caches 211

New Year, Numbers, 3D, 2026 Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

Happy New Year/ Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

We would like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy, prosperous 2026 with lots of fun and geocaching adventures.

New Caches
To celebrate the New Year we have a new series that went live to coincide with our event, ‘9 Usual Suspects UnBoxing 2026’. We would like to thank Penrhyn Estate and Gwynedd council for permission to place the caches.

GCBGKZJ Penrhyn Path, Bryophyta by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D4/T1.5
GCBGKZP Penrhyn Path, Rock On by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCBGM00 Penrhyn Path, Hazel Tree by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCBGM02 Penrhyn Path, Brian by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCBGM07 Penrhyn Path, Muddy Buddy by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCBGM18 Penrhyn Path, Bath House View by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5
GCBGM1Z Penrhyn Path, Stumped by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T2
GCBGM27 Penrhyn Path, Fir Bob by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5
GCBGM2P Penrhyn Path, Twll Broga by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5

GCBB9BW Gwers yr Hen Ysgol by RichieBlod Traditional D3/T1.5

New Event


GCBGZ71 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 85 by 9 Usual Suspect Event D1/T1.5
When: Thursday 29th January 2026
Where: The Australia, 31,The High Street, Porthmadog LL49 9LR
Time: 7pm to 9pm or when the last person leaves

For this months Nosh & Natter we are at the Australia, Porthmadog. We have not been here for a long while as the pub didn’t take table bookings, since they have extended up stairs they now take bookings. If you intend to attend please log ‘will attends’ in advance to ensure we book enough space.

Event Reviews

GCBF9M0 9 Usual Suspects Say Goodbye to 2025 by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1

For our finale event of the year we returned to the Airport Cafe, Caernarfon, where we held the first event of 2025. The airport kept us entertained with lots of comings and goings, with a variety of planes, helicopters and other flying machines while we enjoyed our delicious breakfasts and cakes. A big thank you to the staff for looking after us all so well.

Two TB’s made it back to this event after a year of travelling.

GCBF9MF 9 Usual Suspects UnBoxing 2026 by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1.5

We took a risk with the weather hosting this event but even though it was bitterly cold the promised wintery showers held off. We were also surprised by today’s turnout seeing the conditions last time we were here. After hot drinks and cakes we headed off to find the new caches along the coastal path.

A few photos of our day. Note no MUD!

TB Race

The TB race ended on the 31st December, 2025. The results will be announced shortly once everyone has finished their logging for the holiday period.

Kids Project Geocoin Competition

Looking for something to keep your little ones busy? This could be the answer. Click here.

2026 Confirmed Souvenirs

Here is the confirmed list of souvenirs for 2026. Note there are extra souvenirs for hiding a caches for Blue switch Day and International Geocaching day.

  • Unboxing 2026: January 1st-8th
  • Cache In Trash Out®, Season 1: March 1st–May 31st
  • Pi-Day: March 13th-15th
  • March Equinox: March 20th-23rd
  • Blue Switch Day Hider: May 1st-31st
  • Blue Switch Day: May 2nd-4th
  • June Solstice: June 20th-22nd
  • International Geocaching Day: August 14th-16th
  • International Geocaching Day Hider: August 1st-30th
  • September Equinox: September 19th-22nd
  • Cache In Trash Out®, Season 2: September 1st-November 30th
  • World Postcard Day: September 27th-October 3rd
  • International EarthCache Day: October 9th-11th
  • Adventure Day: November 25th-29th
  • December Solstice: December 19th-21st
  • Farewell 2026: December 24th-31st

Currently Available Souvenirs

Hider 2026

Hider 2026 is available from January 1st-December 31st.
To earn this souvenir simply hide a geocache in 2026.

Unboxing 2026

Earn Unboxing 2026 souvenir by finding one geocache or Adventure Lab® Location between January 1st-8th.