News & New Caches 128

A couple of new caches plus 4 events have been published since our last post:

Parc y Dre after its recent council make over

GCAMC25 Parc y Dre by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2
GCAMJ97 The White Rabbit by seanx90 Earthcache D1.5/T1.5

Events
GCAMM4Z 9 Usual Suspects Cake and a Brew Event D1/T1
When: 23.3.2024
Where: Parc Dre, Caernarfon
Time: 1-1.30pm

GCAMVAX 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 66 by 9 Usual Suspects
When: 28.3.2024
Where: Parc Snowdonia, Waunfawr, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 4AQ
Time: 7pm to 9pm or when the last person leaves

GCAMKWG Six Peaks Adventure – Hello from Llandderfel by terrapintim & GeoPaul Event D1/T1
When: 22.4.2024
Where: Bryntirion Inn, Llandderfel, Bala, Gwynedd, LL23 7RA
Time: 7-8pm

GCAMKV0 Six Peaks Adventure – Snowdon Meet & Greet by terrapintim & GeoPaul D1/T4
When: 23.4.2024
Where: Snowdon Summit
Time: 12-12.30pm

Old Anglesey Aluminium Site Demolition of Chimney Stack

Orthios Site in Holyhead Continues With Demolition

March 20th sees the demolition of the iconic 122 meter chimney stack which has stood for last 50 years at the old Anglesey Aluminium site. The demolition is to make way for the new Anglesey Freeport.

Would you like to push the button? Holyhead RNLI are running a fund raising draw in the memory of their crew member Iwan Williams to press the button signalling the demolition.

Single prize draw entry starts from just £3. Entrants to the draw must be 18 years-old or over, but the winning entrant can bring a friend or family member to accompany them to the event (this person can be under 18).

To enter visit: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/holyhead-chimney-stack-prize-draw

Village Hall Week 2024

The Village Hall Series started in 2013 with the first cache placed by GeoJaxx in Denmead, Hampshire.  It has steadily grown in popularity and currently can be found in 72 counties in England, Scotland, Wales, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

​The geocaches can be set in any hall which is used by the community for local groups or available to hire for private functions (but not social clubs and halls for members only). They have various names including village hall, community hall, parish hall, reading room, church hall to name a few. There are thousands of halls within our communities so there is plenty of scope for the series to grow considerably. 

There are very few Village Hall caches here in North Wales and only one event in the whole of Wales but the following profile badges are available to download for:

  • Placing a cache/Hosting an event
  • Attending a village hall event
  • Finding a village hall cache

News & New Caches 126

We have a few new caches to report since our last post:

GCAJ1GP Tŵr Marcwis by RichieBlod Multi D1.5/T2.5 Premium member Only

As part of our Leap Day celebrations 29 new caches went live on Lon Eifion. There is a varied mix of D/T’s and containers, some easy and some not so. Warning, there are no hints but there may be clues in some of the titles. The lack of hints is reflected in difficulty rating.

GCAJNTY Lon Eifion, Another Tree by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAJNTZ Lon Eifion, Araneae by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCAJNV0 Lon Eifion, Afon Seiont by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D4.5/T1.5
GCAJNV2 Lon Eifion, BOT by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAJNVC Lon Eifion, Posted by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAJNVE Lon Eifion, The Crossing by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D4/T1.5
GCAJNVJ Lon Eifion, Rail Bridge by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5
GCAJNVP Lon Eifion, Fron Goch View by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAJNVQ Lon Eifion, Gated by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAJNVW Lon Eifion, Meet Ivy by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAJNWJ Lon Eifion, Meet the Bison by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAJNW6 REALLY SideTracked – Bontnewydd by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D5/T1.5
GCAK6FF Lon Eifion, Afon Gwyrfai Bridge by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCAK7VY Lon Eifion, Fence by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAK6FZ Lon Eifion, Meet Nagini by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCAK6GC Lon Eifion, Gate Crossing by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAK6MK REALLY SideTracked – Dinas by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GCAK6MY Lon Eifion, Meet Kermit by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCAK6N1 Lon Eifion, Hole in One! by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAK6N4 Lon Eifion, Meet Hazel by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5
GCAK6N6 Lon Eifion, Rotcelfer by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1
GCAK6NC Lon Eifion, Deathly Hollows by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAK6NE Lon Eifion, Meet Roland by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAK6NJ Lon Eifion, Gates by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T1.5
GCAK6NP Lon Eifion, Oak Tree by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D4/T1.5
GCAK6NW Lon Eifion, Sycamore Gap by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2/T2
GCAK6P3 Lon Eifion, Design by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCAK69C Lon Eifion, Tafarn Pennionyn by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3.5/T1.5
GCAK6PA Lon Eifion, Inigo Jones by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5

Leap Day Events Review

To celebrate Leap Day 2024 we hosted 3 events.

Starting with a breakfast event at Caffi Gerlan, GCAJWJ6, a conveniently located cafe to begin the day’s adventures. During this event our first batch of new caches went live. After hearty breakfasts accompanied by plenty of geochat we regrouped in the car park at Groeslon for the start of our CITO, GCAKA5E, and the walk to Caernarfon.

A grey day but luckily the rain held off. As well as finding the 29 new caches we collected 3 bags of general litter leaving the cycle path looking a lot tidier. Congratulations to Bess’s Friends who found their 8,000 find.

We completed our mission in a record time leaving us with several hours before our final event of the day. Once everyone was reunited with their cars we all headed to 9US headquarters for well earned refreshments before heading back to Caernarfon for our final event, GCAJXR3, at the Anglesey Arms. 

A few photos from our day:

CITO 2024 Season 1

Friday 1st March saw the start of CITO Season 1 which runs to Friday 31st May. To earn the souvenir simply attend a CITO event. We are in the process of planning another litter pick around Parc Dre and Afon Seiont area of Caernafon.

Piratemania Update

GCAH4MB Piratemania 16 Dinton Pastures, Eight Bells Nigh! 
Where: Dinton Pastures Countryside Park, Sandford Lane, Hurst, Wokingham RG10 0SU
When: July 25th-29th

Booking for Piratemania 16 camping is now open. Have you booked? We have!

Click here to book your berth here Piratemania 16

Event Reminders

To qualify for the Leap Day 2024 souvenir find 4 geocaches on the 29th February, any type of cache including events and Ad Lab locations count towards this souvenir.

Our Plan
Leap Day only comes once every 4 years so why not join us for our celebrations of this special day. Be part of the whole day or catch up with us at one of our 3 events.
We will be starting our day with a breakfast event:

GCAJWJ6 The Extra Day, Leap Year 2024 by 9 Usual Suspects
When: Thursday 29th February 2024
Where: Caffi Gerlan, Inigo Jones Slate Works, Groeslon
Time: 10.30-11.15am

During breakfast the first batch of new caches will go live along Lon Eifion before we move to Groeslon for the start of our CITO event:

GCAKA5E Lon Eifion CITO by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T2
When: Thursday 29th February, 2024
Where: Groeslon Carpark
Time: 11.30am

We will be leaving the car park promptly at 11.30am to litter pick the cycle path towards Caernarfon stopping regularly to find the new caches. The second batch of new caches should go live at 12pm. Depending on our progress and the weather we may make a detour to the Newborough Arms, Bontnewydd for a P&P stop. The only other refreshment stop will be Fron Goch Garden Centre. Along our route there is very little litter until we reach Caernarfon. We will leave any full bags at convenient points for us to pick up the next day. The last batch of caches go live at 1pm. We will end our day in Caernarfon with:

GCAJXR3 9 Usual Suspects, Leap Day Nosh & Natter 65 by 9 Usual Suspects
When: Thursday 29th February 2024
Where: Anglesey Arms, Harbour Front, Caernarfon LL55 1SG
Time: 6pm-9pm or when the last person leaves

It is difficult to estimate our arrival time in Caernarfon the distance from Groeslon to the Anglesey Arms is approximately 8.5km so we should arrive with plenty of time before the start of our evening event. Pete will give a lift to drivers to collect their cars from Groeslon.

Feel free to join us at any point of the day, message us through 9 Usual Suspects geocaching account to find our location and the nearest parking spot.

News & New Caches 125

One new cache has been published since our last post:

GCAKTK4 The Old road. by ArfonDJ Traditional D1.5/T1.5

Community Celebration Events

Community Celebration Events (CCE) will return in 2025 as part of the 25th Geocaching Anniversary celebrations. This event type, with its own icon, is a special community party/gathering held during significant milestone years in geocaching. The last Community Celebration Events were hosted between 2020 and 2022 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of geocaching.

Anyone who has opened a geocaching account before 20th February, 2024, placed both a geocache and hosted an event from 1st January to 31st December, 2024 will receive a Community Celebration Event. Those who receive a Community Celebration Event must host it between 1st January, 2025 and 31st December, 2025. Events must be a minimum of two hours, and cannot overlap with events associated with a Mega-Event, Giga-Event, or Block Party. Each primary account hosting a Mega-Event, Giga-Event, or Block Party in 2025 will also receive a Community Celebration Event.

Ski Sunday Event Review

GCAJMC4 9 Usual Suspects Present Ski Sunday 2024 by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T2

After a week of heavy rain we were very glad that the rain held off and it was not too cold on the slopes of the Nantlle valley. A good turn out for this years Ski Sunday with the competitive competition taking place on the ski jump. Pete did a great job in seeing fair play and ensuring everyones jump distances were recorded. With the main action in the tent the refreshments of snacks, fondue, cake and drinks were consumed in the Cache Bar. To celebrate Steve’s birthday Mossfamilymacc brought ample supplies of Prosecco and non-alcoholic Prosecco which was appreciated by everyone and especially by our junior attendees. A big thanks to Pete for the 3D printed event souvenirs, medals and the amazing dragons.

Medal Table
1st GeoJade2013 with a distance of 89.78 meters
2nd Steve, Mossfamililymacc with a distance of 87.35 meters
3rd Welshgirl11 with a distance of 82.96 meters

The Gallery

News & New Caches 123

One new cache and an update on our Leap Day celebrations:


GCAC12F Banksy on Tour by RichieBlod Puzzle D3/T1.5 Premium Member Only

Leap Day Update

We can now confirm there will be 2 events, a CITO and a new series of 29 caches going live as part of our Leap Day celebrations.

GCAJWJ6 The Extra Day, Leap Year 2024 by 9 Usual Suspects
When: Thursday 29th February 2024
Where: Caffi Gerlan, Inigo Jones Slate Works, Groeslon
Time: 10.30-11.15am

GCAKA5E Lon Eifion CITO by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T2
When: Thursday 29th February, 2024
Where: Groeslon Carpark
Time: 11.30am

GCAJXR3 9 Usual Suspects, Leap Day Nosh & Natter 65 by 9 Usual Suspects
When: Thursday 29th February 2024
Where: Anglesey Arms, Harbour Front, Caernarfon LL55 1SG
Time: 6pm-9pm or when the last person leaves

North Wales Wildlife Trust

North Wales Wildlife Trust are holding several events over half term, these events are free, open to everyone, children and adults alike. If interested booking for these activities is essential, follow the link to their web page.

Love Your beach! Porth Neigwl Beach Clean, Nr Abersoch
When: Wednesday 14th February, 2024
Where: Porth Neigwl, Abersoch, Gwynedd
Time: 11am-2pm

One in a series of winter beach cleans with aim to remove lots of rubbish and help local wildlife. As well as cleaning the beach they will be looking for shark egg cases and nurdles.
The event organiser speaks basic Welsh, please feel free to use Welsh or English during this event.

Activity Day at the Spinnies Aberogwen
When: Thursday 15th February, 2024
Where: Beach Carpark, Spinnies Aberogwen
Time: 12pm-3pm

A bit of half term fun aimed at everybody, whether you come with a family or not. There will be a walk around this small coastal reserve, have a look for birds and do some fun activities for children.
Bring sturdy footwear, warm clothing and some snacks or a packed lunch..
The event organiser speaks Welsh, please feel free to use Welsh or English during this event.

Traeth Borth Wen and Porth Y Corwgl Beach Clean, nr Rhoscolyn, Anglesey
When: Sunday 18th February, 2024
Where: Traeth Borth Wen carpark Rhoscolyn, Holyhead LL65 2NJ
Time: 10.30am-1pm

One in a series of winter beach cleans with aim to remove lots of rubbish and help local wildlife. As well as cleaning the beach they will be looking for shark egg cases and nurdles.
The event organiser speaks basic Welsh, please feel free to use Welsh or English during this event.

What are Nurdles?

Taking action on nurdle pollution | Fauna & Flora

Nurdles are small plastic pellets about the size of a lentil, that are melted down to make almost all plastic products. Billions of nurdles are used each year to make products, but thousands of tonnes also spill directly into the environment around the world.
For more information on nurdles go to THE GREAT NURDLE HUNT

News & New Caches 118

We have 2 Earthcaches and 3 Events published since our last post:

Premium Member Only
GCAJ24B War Memorial #1969 – Beddgelert by MrMagnaDefender Earthcache D1/T1
GCAHP83 Fossil Hunt by MrMagnaDefender Earthcache D3/T2.5

Events

GCAHZJ0 CITO, A487 North, Quick Pick 10.30-11.30am D1/T3
When: Friday 19th January, 2024
Where: Lay by A487 North, Caernarfon
Time: 10.30-11.30am
Please note this event is on a Friday

GCAHZKC 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 64 7-9pm Snowdonia Parc, Waunfawr
When: Thursday 25th January, 2024
Where: Parc Snowdonia, Waunfawr, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 4AQ
Time: 7pm to 9pm or when the last person leaves

GCAHCV4 9 Usual Suspects Pop a Lock 2-4pm The PortaCabin, Cwm y Glo, Llanberis
When: Saturday 27th January, 2024
Where: The PortaCabin, Brynrefail, Llanberis
Time: 2-4pm

2024 9US Geocaching Event Calendar

We have decided to move Nosh & Natters to a Thursday night due to the continued uncertainty of some venues opening week nights.

20th January GCAHZJ0 CITO, A487 North, Quick Pick 10.30-11.30am D1/T3 (Please note this event is on a Friday)
25th January GCAHZKC 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 64 7-9pm Snowdonia Parc, Waunfawr
27th January GCAHCV4 9 Usual Suspects Pop a Lock 2-4pm The PortaCabin, Cwm y Glo, Llanberis
18th February Ski Sunday
29th February Leap Day 2024 Nosh & Natter 65 7-9pm
16th March CITO 2024 Season 1
28th March Nosh & Natter 66 7-9pm
25th April Nosh & Natter 67 7-9pm
30th May Nosh & Natter 68 7-9pm
27th June Nosh & Natter 69 7-9pm
24th July Nosh & Natter 70 7-9pm
25th-29th July Piratemania 16, Eight bells nigh!
3rd August GCAAB24 South East UK Mega 2024 by South East UK Mega 2024 Team
The Mega Event will be on Saturday 3rd August 2024 from 10am-4pm
Camping and Side Events will run all week from 29th July to 5th August 2024
17th August International Geocaching Day
29th August Nosh & Natter 71 7-9pm
15th September CITO 2024 Season 2
26th September Nosh & Natter 72 7-9pm
12th October International Earthcache Day
31st October Nosh & Natter 73 7-9pm
30th November Christmas Dinner Nosh & Natter 74 7-9pm
31st December Farewell 2024

News & New Caches 105

Just one new traditional cache near Barmouth and our event published since our last post:

GCAE2D0 Geobabies waterfall walk by svl379 Traditional D1.5/T1.5

International Earthcache Day 2023

This year International Earthcache Day is Saturday 7th October, any earthcache logged on either the 7th or 8th will qualify for the souvenir. To earn the souvenir visit the physical location of an EarthCache, complete the logging requirements to receive both a smiley and the 2023 souvenir.

All non-Premium EarthCaches are open to everyone throughout the weekend on the Geocaching® app from 11:00:00 UTC on Friday, October 6, until 10:00:00 UTC on Monday, October 9.

9US Earthcache Day 2023

Our original idea was to visit the earthcaches at Black Rock Sands but the tide times are against us so we have had to revise our plans and put this event on hold for another day. To find earthcaches that our regular attendees (especially Glyn) have not found is hard, but there are 2 earthcaches at Cwmorthin that have very few finds by locals. This will be our 3rd earthcache day event at Cwmorthin but as it is such a beautiful location I am sure no one will object to returning. For any one who has not geocached here there are a further 15 earthcaches, 25 letterbox and traditionals mostly with high D/T ratings.

Our last visit back in 2017

GCAEC35 9 Usual Suspects Return to Cwmorthin, Tanygrisiau by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T3.5

Where: Cwmorthin, Tanygrisiau, Blaenau Ffestiniog
When: Sunday 8th October 2023
Time: 11am to 11.30am

We will meet up in the car park for the event, around 11.30am we will head up the hill to discover:

GC8AGBJ Rhosydd Crazy Stones…. by treboR nosnwoT Earthcache D2/T4.5
GC8AGQC Rhosydd Vesicles….. by treboR nosnwoT Earthcache D2/T2

CITO 2023 Season 2

Another trailer full……

GCADQC3 CITO 2023 Season 2 by 9 Usual Suspects

Thank you everyone for attending and for your hard work making this another very successful litter pick. 12 bags and 6 blue boxes were filled with the usual cans, bottles, fast food containers and general litter. There was a few bizarre items including a hand held vacuum cleaner, a micro wave oven and set of oars. I would love to know how the oars got to the wood behind Tescos. After the litter pick cake, drinks and geochat were enjoyed before everything was packed away for another day. All collected rubbish was disposed of at the recycling centre.

Christmas Dinner

Yes, we know it is only September but bookings for groups are already being taken. We are planning to return to Tafarn Yr Afr/The Goat Inn, Glandwyfach, on either Saturday 25th or 29th Wednesday November. Do you have a preference? Please contact us either through comments or message 9 Usual Suspects geocaching account.

Another 2025 Event

Save the Day……. London Calling Mega 2025

London Calling have announced that they will be hosting this event for the third time on Saturday 3rd May 2025.

News & New Caches 104

GCAE2X5 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 61 by 9 usual Suspects Event
When: Wednesday 27th September
Where: Anglesey Arms, Harbour Front, Caernarfon LL55 1SG
Time: 7pm to 9pm or when the last person leaves

Event Reminder

GCADQC3 CITO 2023 Season 2 by 9 Usual Suspects
When: Saturday 16th September 2023
Where: Parc Dre/Morfa Caernarfon
Time: 11am-1pm

Why not come and join us for another litter pick at one of our regular sites. Our task for the day will be to pick up as much litter as possible starting from the the bridge, around the park then following the River Seiont towards Lon Eifion cycle path. By attending this event you will earn CITO 2023 Season 2 and 75 points towards this months Wheel of Challenges souvenirs.

Cadw, Open Doors 2023

Cadw is a Welsh word meaning ‘to keep’ or ‘to protect’ and is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government. Cadw works to protect the historic buildings, structures, landscapes and heritage sites of Wales.

This September, more than 200 of Wales’ historic sites, landmarks and hidden gems will offer visitors free entry, events or guided tours. Explore some of the country’s lesser-known and smaller-scale sites ― several of which are usually closed to the public.

Why not take the opportunity to visit Barclodiad-y-Gawres Burial Chamber.

When: Saturday 23rd Sep – Sunday 24th Sep 2023
Where: Barclodiad-y-Gawres Burial Chamber, Ty Croes, Anglesey, LL63 5TE
Time: Tours will be at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Meet at the monument.

Barclodiad-y-Gawres is a partially reconstructed Neolithic burial chamber, famous for its decorated stones. The spectacular, cliff side position of this later Neolithic monument is one of its great attractions and accessing it provides a short pleasant walk.  Barclodiad-y-Gawres means ‘The Giantess’s Apronful’ and is a traditional local name.

To find out what is happening near you click on this link Open Doors

2025, A Big Year for Geocaching

2025 sees not only the 25 anniversary of Geocaching but also 9 Usual Suspects 10th birthday – there will be a lot happening. Below is the first event that has come to our attention:

Piratemania Germany

Save the date! Piratemania Germany 4th-6th July 2025

It has recently been announced that in 2025, Piratemania will travel from England through the English Channel across the North Sea and through the Rhine to Germany. The event has yet to be published but will be somewhere in North Rhine-Westphalia. We will keep you updated as more information is released.

Hopefully we will be there…….. will you?

News & New Caches 103

It has been a busy few days so apologies for the delayed post and it may be a bit longer than normal.
We have 3 recently published caches:

GCASW19 Cefni Dam by CheesyPasta Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GCADW0A Damsel fly city! by CheesyPasta Traditional D1.5/T1.5

Premium Member Only
GCADNZN Village Hall Series 1475 – Llanfairpwll by Glaslyn1 Traitional D2.5/T1.5

Event

GCADQC3 CITO 2023 Season 2 by 9 Usual Suspects
When: Saturday 16th September 2023
Where: Parc Dre/Morfa Caernarfon
Time: 11am-1pm

Why not come and join us for another litter pick at one of regular sites. Our task for the day will be to pick up as much litter as possible starting from the the bridge, around the park then following the River Seiont towards Lon Eifion cycle path. By attending this event you will earn 75 points towards this months Wheel of Challenges souvenirs.

Wheel Of Challenges, Teamwork

This is the final month of the Wheel of Challenges souvenir challenges and there is another two souvenirs available, easy and hard. To qualify for the easy earn 100 points and the hard 1,000 points, you can keep track of your progress on your leaderboard. Events and CITO’s gain the maximum 75 points and unlike other challenges Ad Lab stages do not count as a ‘found it’ log.

This challenge started on Monday 4th September and runs to Sunday 1st October.

Here are the leaderboard point values for this challenge:

Attended an Event75
Attended a CITO Event75
Found a cache with 10+ Favorite points50
Received a Favorite point on an owned cache50
Found it*25
*Log a Found it on any other cache type except Adventure Lab® Locations.

SS Denham Event

GCACYNA 9 Usual Suspects Visit a Wreck by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T5

Well what can we say about this event? Here in North Wales 9US hold a lot of events with the average attendees of 8 -12, for this event within a week of publication we had 25 ‘will attends’! This has certainly smashed our records as I write this we have 37 logged attendances and over 100 photos in the gallery! We have joked many times in the past about ‘our’ weather god and they certainly came up trumps for this event, a perfect evening for a stroll across the sand followed by beautiful sunset. It was a shame about the photographic club who thought they had sole rights to the wreck site. We would like to say a very BIG THANK YOU to everyone who attend making this such a special event. See our video below:

One for the Future…….

GC7B7E1 St Helens Fort by Mario McTavish Virtual D4/T5

Any one interested in a trip to the Isle of Wight? This has been on our ‘to do’ list for a while, maybe a 9US road trip with an event here. Interested? Contact us either through the comments or message us via our geocaching account.