Author: Nine Usual Suspects

News & New Caches 30

A few new caches to keep everyone busy over the weekend plus some updates from Mega Events.

GC9VJ1P HMS Thetis memorial by Glaslyn1 Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9VM36 Courtney’s Beach by bikerchick252 Traditional D2/T2
GC9VHJ8 Welcome to Tregarth/crosoe i Tregarth by cailbows22 Traditional D1.5/T
GC9VCWQ Rockys by NOISY_ShortShot Traditional D2/T2

This weeks also sees an another addition to the Ratgoed Trail, one of three trails around the slate workings at Aberllefenni.
GC9V2TZ Ratgoed Trail 9 by Oldquincepie Traditional D1.5/T2

Beginning of Signals Second Labyrinth Souvenirs

Monday 6th June sees the start of the second labyrinth challenge. Signal has now escaped the Enchanted Forest and is lost in a swamp. Like the first labyrinth challenge there are two souvenirs available and two months to accumulate the required points. You must collect 50 points to earn the first souvenir and 500 points to earn the second souvenir. The special bonus items, magic potions, are worth 50 points. Every time you log a geocache, you will have a chance of finding one. If you go geocaching with a group of people, there’s a chance that one member of the group might find an item at a cache, but others don’t. Is this fair?

Here are the point values for the swamp labyrinth:

Found an Adventure Lab Cache (Adventure Location)5
Found a cache with 10+ Favorite points25
Found a Letterbox Hybrid30
Found a Mystery Cache25
Attended any Event20
Found a Signal’s Labyrinth item50
Found it*15

*Log a Found it on any other cache type
The maximum number of points you can earn for any cache log is 80 points


West Midlands Mega 2022

The West Midlands Mega team have an announced that unfortunately it’s going to have to charge £5 for all adult visitors on Mega day. Children under 18 will get free entry when accompanied by an adult.

This does not include campers, they will get free entry for every person registered as being on site.

There will be stalls of various vendors, trade stands and other Geocaching related activities in the Racecourse Grandstand Exhibition Hall, plus a plethora of new caches in the local area, including some Adventure Lab caches.

A special guest appearance of Signal The Frog will take place on Mega Day!

All the side events for the week have now been published:

GC8NNDF The Imp Takes a Leek
GC9MDXF A warm welcome to you all
GC9MDXM Churnet Valley Railway
GC9MDXR An evening at the Races
GC9MDXT Mined How You Go!
GC9MDXX We want your Brains!
GC9MDXZ Birmingham, Life in the City
GC9MDY2 Marchington, Life in the Country
GC9MDY5 Christmas Party!
GC9MDY6 Teddy Bear’s Picnic
GC9MDY8 Send in the Clowns!
GC9MDYC Tonight I’m gonna party, like it’s 1999!
GC9NVQX It’s a ’Mega’ Community Celebration Event
GC9MDYF Captain Ridley’s Shooting Party
GC9MDYH WM Mega CITO
GC9MDYT Auction and Farewell Party
GC9MDYN Bap, Brew and Beggar Off

Mega Event London Calling 2023

We are giving you plenty of notice for this one, this could be your first diary entry for 2023. Looking for an excuse to visit London? This event could be it. What can you expect from London Calling 2023? A grand venue, fun and interactive lab caches, plenty of vendors, lots of fun, friendship and hopefully a few surprises along the way. 

GC9MAXX London Calling 2023 by London Calling Mega Event D1/T1
Date: 29th April 2023
Time: 11am-4pm
Where: St. Mary’s Church, Marylebone, London

The Gog. Gwynedd Trail

It has been pointed out to me that my original date for attempting this series was the day after the Ale Trail and that some local geocachers might be too hungover……… So the new date is 19th June, for more details contact us.

News and New Caches 29

This week has seen the Mawddach Meander series by CazzaB80 extended by another 4 caches. The series will eventually follow the whole 9.5 miles of the Mawddach Trail between Barmouth and Dolgellau. For more details see our post 17th April 2022 HERE.

GC9V7F4 Mawddach Meander – Solo Silver Birch by CazzaB80 Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9V7HQ Mawddach Meander – Gun Enplacement? by CazzaB80 Traditional D2/T2.5
GC9V7GP Mawddach Meander – Barmouth Bridge D3/T2
GC9V7FM Mawddach Meander – Boggy Business by CazzaB80 Traditional D2/T2

The Gog. Gwynedd Trail

Clueless_Goose has been very busy with the publication of a new series of 20 caches. There is an interesting mix of cache types, including a Church Micro Wherigo which must be a first for North Wales. The 6 mile circular walk guides you around quiet country lanes, trails and paths highlighting areas of beautiful Gwynedd countryside that are too often ignored. Remember to make a note of the bonus information which is found in 6 of the caches either on the log book or container lid.

We are planning on attempting the series on Sunday 19th June and would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join us. For further details please contact us either through the comments or by contacting us direct.

GC9T4GO #1 Gog. Gwynedd Trail by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1/T1.5
GC9T4JN #2 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Gate by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T2
GC9T4K9 #3 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Keep Me Posted by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T2
GC9T4M0 #4 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – A Place by the Fire by Clueless_Goose Mystery D2/T2
GC9T4N8 # 5 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Prickly Customer by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2.5
GC9T6AJ # 6 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – A Fairy Good Cache by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/2.5
GC9T6B1 # 7 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Best Zipline in N. Wales by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5
GC9T6B8 # 8 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Rest & Recharge by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2
GC9T6E5 #9 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Sws Sws xx by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5
GC9T6EJ #10 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Sheep’s Lunchbox by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T2
GC9TQP7 #11 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Pont Ogwen by Clueless_Goose Puzzle D2.5/T3.5
GC9T6FW #12 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Styling it Out by Clueless_Goose Letterbox D1.5/T1.5
GC9T9PZ #13 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Bottom of the Hill by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1
GC9T9QD #14 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Riveting Stuff by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2
GC9T9RB #15 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Be Ceffyl Now! by Clueless_Goose Multi D2/T1.5
GC9T9RZ #16 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Stick ’em Up! by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3.5/T1.5
GC9TABC Church Micro 14382…Tal-y-bont by Clueless_Goose Wherigo D2.5/T1.5
(#17 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Church Micro 14382…Tal-y-bont)
GC9T9TE #18 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Don’t Slate It Now! by Clueless_Goose Letterbox D2/T2
GC9T9WE #19 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Pay up by Clueless_Goose Multi D2.5/ T1.5

GC9T9XF BONWS Gog. Gwynedd Trail by Clueless_Goose Mystery D2/T2

Event Reminder

GC9TV0N 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 46 by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1
When: Tuesday 31st May 2022
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Where: Anglesey Arms, Harbour Front, Caernarfon LL55 1SG
If you are planning to attend please could you log a ‘will attend’ as we need to let the pub know numbers.


Postcard from Scotland

Crossing the border

Here we are in dreich, wet, cold and windy, not quite what we had hoped for, but a welcome break none the less. We are currently stopped for the night in the Kelpies’ carpark for a very reasonable £7.50.

Kelpies sculptures by Andy Scott

The Kelpies are horse-head sculptures that depict shape-shifting water spirits. They are constructed out of stainless steel on a mild steel framework being 30 metres high and weigh 300 tonnes each. These are not only a superb piece of engineering and also are stunning to look at from every angle.

GC891CY Phooning with the Kelpies by Doodlejack virtual D1.5/T1.5

Caerlaverlock castle

In-between the weather we have managed to visit some amazing places and of course find geocaches and adventure labs.

Melrose Abbey, note the umbrella at the ready.

One of our ambitions was to walk across the Forth Bridge and to grab the virtual cache in the middle, we achieved this in the teeth of a freezing wind, but it was well worth it for the views. Since the opening of the “New” Forth Road Bridge only busses and taxis are the only motorised transport allowed across the bridge, there is a pedestrian and cycleway either side of the main carriageway at the moment only the east side is open. There was no sign of anyone painting the bridge, maybe they finally finished it!

GC7B69W Fiorth of Forth (Virtual Reward) by Devious_Dwarferkev virtual D2/T2

Old Forth Road Bridge
Forth Rail Bridge from start of the old Road Bridge

One of the adventure labs in Moffat took us down a leafy cul-de-sac to where a full size Second World War fighter plane was parked on a bungalow front lawn, it beats gnomes or solar water wheels for oneupmanship!

Full size Spitfire replica

As we compose this the rain is still pattering down on the roof of the van, hopefully tomorrow will bring sunshine for a trip to the Falkirk Wheel before heading off to Lindores Abbey Distillery.

News & new Caches 27

There has been plenty of new caches published to keep everyone busy over the Bank Holiday weekend.
GC9RYRT Harbour Bug by Jonesof3 Traditional D2/T1.5
GC9T26N GC Tree by Jonesof3 Traditional D2/T1.5
GC9T270 Old Octel Site by Jonesof3 Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9RZD5 Slugs & kisses by 1jg 190992 Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9T30Q Little Lanes & Roman Remains by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9T3MR Watch the hump by Hughesboys5 Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9T3PM Grit for help by Hughesboys5 Traditional D1.5/T1.5

Premium Member Only
GC9T06F Rhoscolyn Beach by PlasmaWave Mystery/Puzzle D3/T2

Event
GC9RN8V On Top Of………… The Carneddau by Avid SockWearer Event 15.5.2022 D1/T4.5

Bank Holiday Sunday by RichieBlod

We would like to share the following poem log by RichieBlod, it sums a wet Bank Holiday Sunday perfectly.
The log can be found on GC6A9KX Church Micro 8975…. Clynnog Fawr

“On a day like this,
When it’s pouring with rain,
But staying home,
Would drive us insane.

When Muggles stay in,
And wait for the sun,
Geocachers relish,
Some unhindered fun.

So a list was created,
A picnic was made,
Then off we set,
On our crusade.

A beautiful church,
And parishioners to boot,
All dressed in their finery,
In their best Sunday suit.

So we tackled the multi,
Pen and paper in hand,
Worked out the coordinates,
Then scoured the land.

We tracked down the container,
Spotted from a certain view,
Crafted on a 3D printer,
And how nice it was too!

We signed our names,
And the log was dated,
Stealth skills were used
To replace where located.

Thanks for the cache,
Is what we both want to say,
For a fun packed adventure,
On a rainy day!”

News & Caches 26

Just 2 new caches to find and a souvenir available over the Bank Holiday weekend.
GC9N7XP The hole in the cliff face by Cacher247247 Traditional D1.5/T1.5

Premium member only:
GC9R5YJ Dragon Quest by MonHunter Traditional D1.5/T2.5

Blue Switch Souvenir

It’s time to celebrate the anniversary of GPS technology becoming available to everyone. Until May 2000 Selective Availability made the use of GPS technology unavailable to the general public. In the United States, the military was the only entity with access to this technology. On May 2nd 2000, the U.S. government “flipped the switch” and made GPS available to all. For some unknown reason Geocachers call this day Blue Switch Day, and again this year Geocaching HQ are celebrating with a new souvenir!
The Blue Switch Day 2022 souvenir is available from April 30th through to May 2nd, to earn find a geocache, Adventure Lab® Location, or by attending an Event.

News & New Caches 23

There have been 3 new caches recently published, nice to see another fine pair!
GC9PPZH A Fine Pair #1662 ~ Salem by RichieBlod Multi D2/T2
Brooks’ Barmouth Bash series sees the addition of another 2 caches:
GC9QRVF Brooks’ Barmouth Bash meets Mawddach Meander by CazzaB80 Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GC9QRV0 Brooks’ Barmouth Bash #1a – Alternative Route by CazzaB80 Traditional D1.5/T1.5

Event Reminder

GC9QBKA CITO 2022 Season 1 by 9 Usual Suspects CITO Event

When: Sunday 10th April 2022
Where: Morfa Parc, Caernarfon
Time: 11am – 1pm

By attending this event you will earn the above souvenir and also be helping to take care of our local environment. Please note there is only limited roadside parking but we do have permission to park in Tescos carpark. We look forward to seeing you.

New CITO Equipment

new equipment

As our regular litter picking attendees are very aware a lot of our equipment had seen better days and we have been struggling to replace. We are pleased to announce that we have finally made contact and have had a very successful meeting with Clean & Tidy, Gwynedd Councils new department that deal with issuing of equipment and sundries. We have a new supply of gloves, adults and childrens, different design litter pickers and bag hoops. The council would like feed back on the quality of the pickers and hoops, also any suggestions for future purchases of equipment. We have already requested the access to extra long handled pickers.

News & New Caches

A couple of new caches to report. Nice to see a cache back in the library and a more challenging but clever mystery/puzzle.

GC9QNKE Numbers are Key by Clueless_Goose Mystery/Puzzle D4.5/T1.5

Premium Member Only

Well done escapefromwork for your perseverance in getting the following cache published.
GC9Q6TP Bangor Bibliophiles by escapefromwork Multi D2/T1

New Challenge, Signal’s Labyrinth

Tomorrow, Monday April 4, 2022 at noon UTC sees the start of Signal’s Labyrinth Challenge, for finds to count make sure you log after the challenge has started. The first labyrinth you will be visiting is the Enchanted Forest and you have 2 months to earn the 2 souvenirs, this stage ends on the June 6, 2022 at noon UTC. You must reach 50 points on your leaderboard to earn the first souvenir and 500 points for the second souvenir. The first two souvenirs are ‘The Forest’ and ‘You escaped the Forest’.

Here are the point values for the labyrinth in the enchanted forest:

Found an Adventure Lab Cache (Adventure Location)10
Found a cache with 10+ Favorite points20
Found a Multi-Cache25
Found a Mystery Cache25
Found a Signal’s Labyrinth item60
Found it*15

*Log a Found it on any other cache type

The maximum number of points you can earn for any cache log is 85 points.

Event Reminder

GC9QBKA CITO 2022 Season 1 by 9 Usual Suspects CITO Event

When: Sunday 10th April 2022
Where: Morfa Parc, Caernarfon
Time: 11am – 1pm

By attending this event you will earn the above souvenir and be helping to take care of our local environment. Please note there is only limited roadside parking but we do have permission to park in Tescos carpark.

News & New Caches

Be part of the Million Mile Beach Clean at the Inland Sea on Anglesey and make a difference by helping to care for our environment.
GC9N9C1 Plas vs Plastic by Sqiaddie101 CITO Event 12.3.2022

Guess the Cache 4

Well done everyone who recognised this cache, a stunningly beautiful section of the Anglesey Coastal path, the answer is:
GC1QNT1T Porth Llanlleiana by Ramblin JAM

Guess the Cache 5
This one should not prove too difficult ……..

Virtual Rewards 3.0

As part of 2022 Year of the Hide celebrations Geocaching HQ are releasing up to 4,000 new Virtual Caches.

To be eligible to apply, you must meet the following criteria:
1) You did not receive a previous Virtual Reward.
2) You must own at least two active non-Event geocaches.
3)You must own at least one geocache or Event published within the past four years (February 8, 2018 to February 8, 2022).
4) You must have posted a log on a geocache within the past six months.
5) Your owned geocaches must have at least 20 total Favourite points.

Applications close February 26, 2022. Apply HERE
Geocaching HQs random selection takes place on  March 1, 2022 when winners will be notified.
Winners will have one year to create their Virtual Cache.

News & New Caches

Apologies everyone, Ecobake has kindly pointed out that I missed a new cache on the Great Orme in the last post. Not making excuses, but the date placed for this new cache is 23.11.2020! So……. it didn’t show up in my search. At the time of writing this there has only been one find so 2nd to find is still up for grabs.

GC931C0 Fossil Fiesta by WildeFamily2 Traditional D2/T2

Guess the Cache?

Answer to Guess the Cache 2 is GC1QH55 Penrhyn Slate Train: 2, The Tunnel

Well done everyone that correctly guessed, this weeks cache is a little further a field but once done never forgotten.

Guess the Cache 3

Guess the Cache? Number 3, GZ is in the picture, a clue this one needs teamwork!

News

Again another very quiet week with no new Geocaches, Adventure Labs or events published in our area. With Covid infection rates falling rapidly in Wales the current restrictions are beginning to be eased from 21st January. If the rates continue falling the rule of six, table service and two-metre physical distancing in hospitality will cease on 28th January, this means we will be able to resume Nosh & Natters in February.

New Souvenir for 22/2/22 – Deuces Wild!

Celebrate Deuces Wild by logging any two geocaches or Event Caches on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 to earn the souvenir. This just happens to coincide with Februarys Nosh & Natter, there might be a new cache or two……… enabling us all to earn the souvenir.

Guess Which Cache?

Well done everyone, the correct answer for Guess the Cache 1 was of course GC852T2 Les’s layby.

Now for a little harder challenge:

Guess the Cache 2