Category: Events

News & New Caches 170

It’s a very quiet time for geocaching here in North Wales, no new caches or events to report since our last post.

HQ Announce ‘Treasures’ a New Feature

Starting in March 2025, ‘Treasures’ will be a new collectible game feature. The digital treasures will be like previous challenges, Mystery at the Museum and the magic items in Signal’s Labyrinth. Unlike those challenges when digital treasures were temporary and disappeared when the promotion ended, these ‘Treasures’ will be a permanent feature. Geocachers can collect these digital items by finding and logging caches that meet specific criteria set by HQ to form a ‘Treasure Collection’. The amount of treasures needed to complete a collection will vary. The treasures will placed in caches with certain D/T ratings or cache types or a combination of both making some collections easy to complete while others will be very difficult.

Not all completed Treasure collections will receive a souvenir.

As the release date approaches HQ will be announcing more details.

2024 Statstics

At the beginning of every year Geocaching HQ release stats on the previous years geocaching. As Geocaching is a global game I’m always surprised to see how few active participants there are, with a world population of just over 8 billion, only 1,846,540 geocachers found at least one cache and less than 60,000 geocachers hid a cache in 2024! Are Adventure Labs taking over?

Maybe we ought to do 9US stats….

News & New Caches 169

Just 3 new events to report since our last post:

GCB22EV 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 74 by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1
When: Thursday 30th January, 2025
Where: Parc Snowdonia, Waunfawr, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 4AQ
Time: 7pm to 9pm or when the last person leaves

GCB23HF Boar on Tour Visits North Wales by severn_UK_Mega_2025 D1/T1.5
When: Friday 7th February, 2025
Where: The Palladium, 7 Gloddaeth Street, Llandudno LL30 2DD (Wetherspoons)
Time: 6.30pm to 8pm

GCB22FR 9US & Severn UK Mega Team present Ski Saturday by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T2
When: Saturday 8th February, 2025
Where: Plas Gwernoer, Nantlle LL54 6BB
Time: 2pm to 5pm or when the last person leaves

Piratemania UK 2025

GCB0V77 Piratemania 17 Sudeley Castle – SAILING WEST
When: 26th July, 2025
Where: Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Cheltenham GL54 5JD
Time: 10am to 10pm
Cost: £5 adult, £1 child Only payable for Day visitors

This year Piratemania is berthing somewhere in the 1,200 acre grounds of beautiful Sudeley Castle, a Grade 1 listed privately owned castle close to the medieval market town of Winchcombe.

The castle and gardens have featured in many films and is famous for being the home of Katherine Parr, the last and surviving wife of King Henry VIII. Her elaborate tomb can be seen in St Mary’s church in the castle grounds. A little know fact about Katherine is she was married 4 times, her 3rd marriage being to Henry, this is a record for a Queen of England.

Currently we are waiting for details for camping, an announcement is expected around Easter.

Is This The Best Geocaching Challenge Ever?

GCAJFR0 České pivo, České zlato! / Czech beer, Czech gold! by Seedcorp Virtual D5/T1

One brewery that has to be visited

While planning a trip to Prague later in the year this cache came to my attention initially for the 5 difficulty rating. As most geocachers are aware many of 9US regular event attendees enjoy a pint of good beer. To claim this virtual cache 50 breweries/micro breweries have to be visited, a challenge we are excepting. The 50 breweries can be any where in the world, but must include the brewery at the cache page coordinates. Is this just an excuse for more P&P stops? Probably.
Join us on this quest and look out for forth coming events at our local breweries. Let’s start with this months N&N at Snowdonia Parc, Waunfawr, not just a pub but a microbrewery. Here is a link to the beers they brew Snowdonia Parc Real Ales

News & New Caches 168

Download Ai Generated, Happy New Year, 2025. Royalty-Free Stock Illustration Image - Pixabay

Happy New Year everyone!

Just a short post to start the New Year, we have just two new earthcaches published since our last post:

GCB1NX9 A Tale of Two Rock Types by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D2.5/T3.5
GCB1NXG Criccieth Coastal Engineering by Mr MagnaDefender Earthcache D1/T2

And our 2024 video:

Please like and subscribe to our YouTube chanel.

Let’s hope 2025 will be a great year for us all filled with lots of fun and many geocaching adventures.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

News & New Caches 167

We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. In our area there has been no new caches or Ad Labs published since our last post. But we do have some event reminders.

Event Reminders

GCB0QRK 9 Usual Suspects Say Goodbye to 2024 by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1.5
When: 31st December, 2024
Where: Anglesey Column Cafe & Information Centre
Time: 11am-12pm
Our last event of 2024 and a chance for a quick catch up before the New Year Celebrations begin. There is no better way to start your celebrations than meeting up with your geocaching friends! Please log will ‘attend logs’ as we need to give the cafe numbers in advance.

GCB0PTH 9US Discover 2025 with a Beach Clean by 9 Usual Suspects CITO D1/T3
When: Wednesday 1st January 2025
Where: Beach Car Park nearest the Airport
Time: 11am to 12pm
Why not blow away those New Year cobwebs and join us for a litter pick along the beautiful beach of Dinas Dinlle?

GCB16T1 9 Usual Suspects TB Race Launch by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1
When: 1st January, 2025
Where: Airport Cafe, Dinas Dinlle, Caernarfon LL54 5TP
Time: 12.15pm – 1.15pm
An event to launch our 2025 TB Race. TB race rules can be found here. Not entering the TB race? This is a chance to catch up, swap TB’s and enjoy some geochat while watching the airport activity.

New Year Souvenirs

Celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of 2025 by earning two new souvenirs, Logged 2024 and Discovering 2025. To earn the souvenirs find one geocache or Adventure Lab® location, all geocache types count including events.
Logged 2024 is available from 24th to 31st December.
Discovering 2025 is available from 1st to 8th January.

Quiz Answers

  1. Which song includes the lyrics “They’ve got cars big as bars, They’ve got rivers of gold” Fairytale of New York, The Pouges (1987)
  2. In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, what was the first name of Scrooge?
    Ebenezer
  3. What colour are mistletoe berries?
    White
  4. Which song includes the lyrics “It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid”
    Do they know it’s Christmas – Band Aid (1984)
  5. In Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone what did the Dursleys give Harry for Christmas?
    A 50p piece
  6. Which single has been number 1 in the charts in 2023 & 2024, but only made number 2 when it was released in 1984?
    Last Christmas – Wham (It’s been in the charts 21 times over 117 weeks)
  7. Elvis Presley isn’t going to have a White Christmas, he’s going to have a….?
    Blue Christmas
  8. According to the song, what did my true love give to me on the eleventh day of Christmas?
    Eleven pipers piping
  9. What fruit is used to make a Christingle?
    Orange
  10. Three of Santa’s reindeer’s names begin with the letter “D.” What are those names?
    Dasher, Donner & Dancer
  11. If you’re born on Christmas day, what’s your star sign?
    Capricorn
  12. What is glühwein?
    A German version of mulled wine
  13. When do the 12 days of Christmas start?
    Christmas Day
  14. What is the Grinch’s dog called?
    Max
  15. How many states in the US have a town called ‘Santa Claus’?
    Three – Indiana, Arizona and Georgia

Happy New Year

We would like to take this opportunity to Thank everyone for their support and wish you all a very Happy New Year, may 2025 be a year full of fun and adventures.

News & New Caches 166

We have one new cache to report since our last post:

GCB11G4 War Memorial #2225 ~ Ysbyty Ifan by two nosy parkers Multi D1.5/T1.5

And just one bad cracker joke:
Why are Christmas trees no good at sewing?
Because they alway drop their needles!

9US Christmas Quiz

A little something to keep you entertained while waiting for the turkey to cook.

  1. Which song includes the lyrics “They’ve got cars big as bars, They’ve got rivers of gold”?
  2. In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, what was the first name of Scrooge?
  3. What colour are mistletoe berries?
  4. Which song includes the lyrics “It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid”?
  5. In Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone what did the Dursleys give Harry for Christmas?
  6. Which single has been number 1 in the charts in 2023 & 2024, but only made number 2 when it was
    released in 1984?
  7. Elvis Presley isn’t going to have a White Christmas, he’s going to have a….?
  8. According to the song, what did my true love give to me on the eleventh day of Christmas?
  9. What fruit is used to make a Christingle?
  10. Three of Santa’s reindeer’s names begin with the letter “D.” What are those names?
  11. If you’re born on Christmas day, what’s your star sign?
  12. What is glühwein?
  13. When do the 12 days of Christmas start?
  14. What is the Grinch’s dog called?
  15. How many states in the US have a town called ‘Santa Claus’?

    Answers in the next post…..

And Finally

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas/Nadolig Llawen

Hopefully Santa is on his way!

News & New Caches 165

We have one new event published since our last post. We have lots of dates for 2025, souvenirs and our events.

GCB16T1 9 Usual Suspects TB Race Launch by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1
When: 1st January, 2025
Where: Airport Cafe, Dinas Dinlle, Caernarfon LL54 5TP
Time: 12.15pm – 1.15pm

An event to launch our 2025 TB Race. Not entering the TB race? This is a chance to catch up, swap TB’s and enjoy some geochat while watching the airport activity.

2024 9US Video

We are currently putting together a video of our 2024 adventures. If you have any pictures or video you would like included please contact us.

Confirmed Souvenirs for 2025

Here are the confirmed souvenirs for 2025 and dates that they are available:

  • Discovering 2025 January 1st-8th
  • Cache In Trash Out®, Season 1: March 1st–May 31st
  • Pi-Day: March 14th
  • March Equinox: March 20th-23rd
  • Pajama Day: April 16th
  • Blue Switch Day: May 2nd-4th
  • June Solstice: June 20th-22nd
  • International Geocaching Day: August 16th
  • Cache In Trash Out®, Season 2: September 1st-November 30th
  • World Postcard Day: October 1st
  • International EarthCache Day: October 10th-12th
  • Adventure Day: October 17th-19th
  • Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF): November 6th-16th
  • Farewell 2025: December 24th-31st

9US Event Calendar 2025

Please find below our event calendar for 2025. Event dates may change up until publication.

Wednesday 1st January GCB0PTH 9US Discover 2025 with a Beach Clean D1/T3
Wednesday 1st January GCB16T1 9 Usual Suspects TB Race Launch D1/T1
Thursday 30th January Nosh & Natter 74

Saturday 8th February Ski Saturday The Severn Mega will be in attendance
Thursday 27th February Nosh & Natter 75

Saturday 8th March CITO Season 1
Thursday 27th March Nosh & Natter 76

Thursday 24th April Nosh & Natter 77

Saturday 17th May Llangollen Canal Boat Trip
Thursday 29th May Nosh & Natter 78

Saturday 7th June Bardsey Island?
Thursday 26th June Nosh & Natter 79

Wednesday 23rd July Nosh & Natter 80
Thursday 24th-27th July Piratemania
Monday 28th July-3rd August Severn Mega

Saturday 16th August International Geocaching Day, 9US 10th Birthday Party
Thursday 28th August Nosh & Natter 81

Thursday 25th September Nosh & Natter 82

Thursday 30th October Nosh & Natter 83

Saturday 1st November Halloween Party
Sunday 9th November GIFF
Saturday 29th November Nosh & Natter 84, Christmas Dinner

Wednesday 31st December Farewell 2025

Llangollen Canal Boat Trip

Saturday 17th May Llangollen Canal Boat Trip

We will be starting at Trevor travelling to Llangollen, it takes just over 2 hours to reach the turnaround point. See map below:

All day boats are equipped with the following: cutlery, crockery, a kettle, 2 burner hob, fridge, sink and toilet. There’s indoor and outdoor seating on all day boats. We will be stopping for lunch some where en route, probably The Sun (marked on map) where we may hold an event. Dogs are allowed. Boat hire times are from 9am – 4pm so we would be meeting up around 8.45am at Anglo Welsh boat yard.
There are very few geocaches currently along the canal but we will make every effort to pick any up as we pass.

Cost will be around £20 per person. There are 10 places per boat, if enough interest we will try to book 2 boats. To book a place contact us, we will need deposits of £10pp.

Any questions? Contact us.

News & New Caches 164

We have one new cache to report and our new TB race.

GCB11JR Church Micro 15301…Ysbyty Ifan – St John’s by two nosy parkers Multi D1.5/T1.5

TB Race 2025

As part of 9US 10th anniversary celebrations we are having another TB race. There will be prizes for the furthest travelled, most countries visited and special prizes for any TB that makes it back to our New Years Eve 2025 event. To enter the race you do not have to attend our event at Caernarfon airport on New Years Day but you do have to dip the TB into the event as all distances are to be calculated from this events coordinates.

Race Rules
1) The race will last for one year, starting on 1st January 2025 and finishing on 31st December 2025.
2) The start will be from 9US event GCB16T1, 9 Usual Suspects TB Race Launch all TB’s to be dipped into this event.
3) The TB can be ‘dipped’ by the owner into another cache before it is to be released into the ‘wild’. No hanging on to it and bringing it to next year’s event!
4) A country is as defined by Geocaching.com.
5) TB’s distance to be recorded in KILOMETRES, not miles and start at zero!
6) There is no limit to how many TB’s you can enter.

Any questions contact us. Oh, The judges, Pete, decision is final!

News & New Caches 163

We have no new caches or events to report since our last post, but plenty of other news.

December Solstice Souvenir

The December solstice marks the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day in the Southern Hemisphere. Geocaching HQ crafted a special souvenir exclusively for geocachers to commemorate the December solstice. Earn this souvenir by finding any geocache, attending any Event, or completing an Adventure Lab® Location from 20th-22nd December, 2024.

2025, A Year of Celebrations

2025 is going to be a very busy year for the social geocacher with a wide range of events taking place. We all are aware that May 2nd 2025 is the 25th anniversary of geocaching with many celebratory events taking place worldwide, but did you know it is also 9 Usual Suspects 10th anniversary? Not only are there Giga, Mega, CITO’s and ordinary events taking place but also Block Parties and Community Celebration Events.

What is a Block Party? Basically it is a Mega Event. Geocaching HQ hosted the original Block Parties in Seattle from 2011 to 2015. Only 5,064 geocachers received the Block Party icon during those years. To enable more people to acquire this icon HQ are giving organisers of Mega or Giga Events the option to choose the Block Party icon for their event.
For an event to qualify as a Block Party the following criteria have to be met:

  • Take place between 1st January, 2025,- 31st December, 2025.
  • Qualify as a Mega-Event or Giga-Event.
  • Have at least 300 Will Attends.
  • Be at least 6 hours long.
  • Highlight celebrating 25 years of geocaching.

At the time of writing there is just one Block Party published for the UK:
GCAK7KC London Calling 2025 by London Calling D1/T1
When: Saturday 3rd May 2025
Where: Central Halls Westminster
Time: 10.30am – 5pm
Admission Charge: £7 in advance, £12 on the door, children under 15 free if accompanied by an adult

What is a Community Celebration Event? An event that all attendees receive a special icon to celebrate significant milestones in geocaching. To earn a Community Celebration Event 2025 credit, simply, host an event and publish a geocache in 2024. All geocachers who qualify will receive a CCE credit to be used from 1st January to 31st December 2025.

9US 10th Birthday Celebrations
We have received our Community Celebration Event credit and will be hosting an event to celebrate 9US’s 10th birthday on International Geocaching Day, Saturday 16th August 2025.

We are currently putting together our event program for 2025. In the past 10 years we have hosted over 170 events and CITO’s, do you have a favourite location or event that you would like to re-visit as part of our celebrations? Or any ideas/locations for an event? Please contact us through comments or message us through 9 Usual Suspects geocaching account.

Christmas Dinner, Event Review

GCAZ9WX Christmas Dinner – Nosh & Natter 73 by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1

This is the 3rd year we have had our Christmas event at the Goat Inn, Glandwyfach, a perfect location for this event. By having the event on the Friday night we were the only party in the function room. There was a lot of general banter and geochat before the serious part of the evening, eating and drinking began. The food was again excellent, the secret Santa was fun and what can I say about the Welsh Bingo? A lovely evening and a great start to Christmas.
Here are a few pictures:

News & New Caches 162

We have one new cache and three events to report since our last post:

GCB0NY4 Hand-me-down by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T1.5

Events

GCB0MMV Christmas Stroll up Tryfan by swindon_leys D1/T5
When: 25th December, 2024
Where: Tryfan Summit
Time: 12pm-12.30pm
No plans for Christmas Day? This event could be just what you are looking for.

GCB0QRK 9 Usual Suspects Say Goodbye to 2024 by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1.5
When: 31st December, 2024
Where: Anglesey Column Cafe & Information Centre
Time: 11am-12pm
Our last event of 2024 and a chance for a quick catch up before the New Year Celebrations begin. There is no better way to start your celebrations than meeting up with your geocaching friends! Please log will ‘attend logs’ as we need to give the cafe numbers in advance.

GCB0PTH 9US Discover 2025 with a Beach Clean by 9 Usual Suspects CITO D1/T3
When: Wednesday 1st January 2025
Where: Beach Car Park nearest the Airport
Time: 11am to 12pm
Why not blow away those New Year cobwebs and join us for a litter pick along the beautiful beach of Dinas Dinlle?
This event will see the start of a new TB race, see below.

2025 TB Race

As part of our 10th anniversary and geocaching’s 25th anniversary we will be having another TB race starting on 1st January 2025 finishing on 31st December 2025. There will be prizes for the furthest traveled and most countries visited. Rules and details in our next post.

TB Race 2021 Update

Do you remember this TB race? The original race was for one year, starting on International Geocaching Day 2021 and finishing on International Geocaching Day 2022, with prizes for the furthest traveled.
We decided to continue the race as a test of endurance with the winner being the last TB in circulation.

6 TB’s took part in the original race there are now 4 still traveling.

HQ Win the Race TB owner lostnwet
Traveled: 136,706km
Current Location: France in the hands of *Mana*
13 Countries Visited: UK, Ireland, France, Canada, USA, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Sark, Jersey, Guernsey

Racing Dragon owner Ann@Birdbrook
Traveled: 72,903km
Current Location: Czechia in the hands of Pe_Bo
10 Countries Visited: UK, Portugal, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Denmark, France, Poland, Czechia

Draco owner Naturesbyte
Traveled: 57,168km
Current Location: Puppy Dog’s TB Hotel, Nevada, USA
10 Countries Visited: UK, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, France, USA


Welsh Sea Pottery owner escapefromwork
Traveled: 9,168km
Current Location: RAL [7] Whitby Road, Bristol, UK
2 Countries Visited: UK, Ireland

Halloween Video

GCAZ0QW Come and Monster Mash with 9US by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1.5

We would like to thank everyone for attending and taking part in our activities. Bet you can’t wait to see what we are planning for next year!

News & New Caches 161

We have no new caches or events published in our area since our last post.

Event Reminders

GCB07G5 CITO 2024 Season 2 by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T3
When: Sunday 24th November
Where: The Old Bridge, Morfa Parc, Caernarfon
Time: 12pm -2pm
Haven’t already got your CITO 2024 Season 2 souvenir? Then come and join us for our 25th CITO event, a litter pick at our regular site in Caernarfon. This may be your last chance to acquire this souvenir as CITO 2024 Season 2 ends on November 30th.

As Storm Bert is set to hit us hard on Saturday we may cancel this event and just meet for a panad and cake. We will assess weather conditions Sunday morning and make an announcement through the cache page if we are canceling.

Christmas Dinner

GCAZ9WX Christmas Dinner – Nosh & Natter 73 by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1
Where: Tafarn Yr Afr/Goat Inn, Glandwyfach, Porthmadog LL51 9LJ
When: Friday 29th November
Time: 7-9pm or when the last person leaves
Dress Code: Anything Christmas

Please note all food for this event has to be pre ordered

This is the final call for food orders, we need your choices today, either message us through our geocaching profile, your will attend logs or contact us through the comments.
The Christmas menu is available here.

New Souvenirs

Celebrate the end of the year and the beginning of 2025 by earning two new souvenirs, Logged 2024 and Discovering 2025. To earn the souvenirs find one geocache or Adventure Lab® location, all geocache types count including events.
Logged 2024 is available from 24th to 31st December.
Discovering 2025 is available from 1st to 8th January.

We will be hosting events on both New Years Eve and New Years Day which we hope to have published by our next post.

Llangollen Canal Trip

To answer a few questions that have arisen from our last post. We will be starting at Trevor travelling to Llangollen, it takes just over 2 hours to reach the turnaround point. See map below:

At the moment we have no confirmed dates, we are just gaging interest as we are trying to plan our event calendar for 2025. There are 10 places on a boat, if enough interest we will try to book 2 boats. Boats get booked up along time in advance for weekend hires, so we need to book early to book two boats. Unless we can get a very good deal, current proposed dates are Saturday 22nd or 29th March 2025. Cost will be around £18-£20 per person. Dogs are allowed. Boat hire times are from 9am – 4pm so we would be meeting up around 8.45am at Anglo Welsh boat yard.

All day boats are equipped with the following: cutlery, crockery, a kettle, 2 burner hob, fridge, sink and toilet. There’s indoor and outdoor seating on all day boats. We will be stopping for lunch some where en route, probably The Sun (marked on map) where we may hold an event.

There are very few geocaches currently along the canal but we will make every effort to pick any up as we pass.