Tag: Event

News & New Caches 184

Thanks to a very busy Clueless_Goose we have several new caches since our last post:

GCB5YXY REALLY SideTracked – Port Dinorwic by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5
GCB5RKC SideTracked – Llanfairpwll by Clueless_Goose Mystery D3.5/T1.5
GCB5V3A SideTracked – Bangor (Gwynedd) Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCB5QE3 Pont Britannia by Clueless_Goose Multi D2/T2.5
GCB5M1E Taken for Granted by Clueless_Goose Multi T2/D2

Premium Member Only
GCB60FP Water Under The Bridge by OuroborosOutdoors Traditional D4/T4.5
GCB5V2C REALLY SideTracked – Griffith’s Crossing by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2.5/T1.5
It is nice to see a cache back here, see below for a brief history of this once ‘famous’ station.

Event Reminder

GCB5JC5 9 Usual Suspects Nosh & Natter 77 by 9 usual Suspects
When: Thursday 24th April 2025
Where: Snowdonia Parc, Waunfawr, LL55 4AQ
Time: 7pm to 9pm
For this months Nosh & Natter we are back at the Snowdonia Parc, Waunfawr.

Griffith’s Crossing, a Brief History

The Griffiths Crossing Station was a Station on the Menai Bridge to Afon Wen line which was opened in stages between 1852 and 1871.

13th July 1913 the royal train arrives at Griffith’s Crossing

In 1911 a ceremony was held in which the future King Edward VIII was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon castle. Part of the event was a procession into the town led by King George V and Queen Mary. Griffiths Crossing was chosen as the location at which the royal party would alight. The station facilities were considered inadequate for the royal party, so temporary timber structures were erected which included an extension to the down platform and a canopy. The Royal train stopped at Griffiths Crossing on 13th November 1911. After the event, the station reverted to its basic form.

Griffith’s Crossing station at time of closure in 1937

The station closed in 1937 even though the line remained busy into the 1960s, but following the closure of Caernarfon and Afon Wen section in 1964, it went into decline. In the second half of 1966 the line through the station was singled, and the former down line lifted. On 1st July 1969 Prince Charles was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon castle, once again it was decided that a procession would take place and that Griffiths Crossing would be the ideal location for the royal party to alight the Royal train. As Griffiths Crossing had been demolished a temporary platform was built further west then the original station, where the bridge passed over into the Ferodo Factory. 

Below is a video showing guests to the investiture arriving at Caernarfon Station, now Morrisons, and the royal train arriving at Griffiths Crossing with the then new Ferodo Factory in the background.

All services ended on the 4th January 1970. However on 23rd of May 1970 a fire on the Britannia Bridge isolated Holyhead from the railway network. Holyhead was at the time an important freightliner depot, so Caernarfon was pressed into use for freightliner services. Freightliner trains passed through Griffiths Crossing until 5th February 1972. The line then closed completely and was lifted.

The site of the station was lost under a road improvement scheme but the house nearby is the old Station Master’s House, and is the only evidence of a station once being here.

News & New Caches 182

In our area we have had five new caches, all placed by Clueless_Goose published and a some events for your diary, a CITO and after CITO event.

GCB5210 Church Micro 15374…Llanedwen by Clueless_Goose Multi D2.5/T1.5

Four of the new caches are an extension to the highly recommended Bryngwyn Slate Trail linking the end of the existing trail back to Rhostryfan. If parking at Rhostryfan this creates a circular walk.

GCB4VDV Alexandra Tramway by Traditional D2/T2
GCB4VZ4 Capel Hermon by Clueless_Goose Multi D2/T2
GCB4W7H Behind the Bush by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1/T1
GCB4W7Z Winging It by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2.5/T1.5

GCB4TNP Grit and Grime by Bradshaws65 Event D1/T1
When: Friday 11th April 2025
Where: Bridge End, Llangollen
Time: 6.15pm to 7.15pm
A chance for local and not so local cachers to meet up and discuss our fascinating hobby.

GCB4YXC CITO 2025 Season 1, Lon Eifion by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T2.5
When: Saturday 12th April 2025
Where: The Old Bridge, Morfa Parc, Caernarfon
Time: 2pm – 3.30pm
This is our last CITO to gain the Season 1 Souvenir. We will be concentrating our litter picking on Lon Eifion, most of the cycle path is litter free but some areas are awful. Our base will be on the old bridge as in previous litter picks. We will be splitting up into 2 groups with some volunteers starting in Bontnewydd to work their way back towards Caernarfon while others starting at the beginning of the path in Caernarfon. Hopefully in the allotted 1.5 hours the two groups will meet some where around the ‘Crossing’ cache.

GCB4YY7 9US A Thank You, Cake and a Brew by 9 Usual Suspects D1/T1
When: Saturday 12th April 2025
Where: Old Bridge, Parc Dre, Caernarfon
Time: 3.30pm to 4pm
As a Thank You to our hard working volunteers we will be supplying refreshments and a chance to catch up, swap TB’s and enjoy some geochat while having a brew and cake.

GCB53M3 Caernarfon, Gwynedd – Final Counties Tour by goldpot & FLtravelers Event D1/T2
When: Tuesday 29th April 2025
Where: Black Boys, Caernarfon
Time: 7pm to 8pm
Goldpot & FLtravelers are touring every area of the UK finding caches in every county. While in Gwynedd they are hosting this event and would like to meet up with local and not so local cachers to discuss our fascinating hobby.

GCB53QA Pontcysyllte, Wrexham – Final Counties Tour by goldpot & FLtravelers Event D1/T1.5
When: Wednesday 30th April 2025
Where: Pontcysyllte Viaduct
Time: 2pm to 2.45pm
A continuation of Goldpot & FLtravelers Uk geocaching tour of the UK.

Celebrate 25 years of geocaching at Community Celebration Events – Official Blog

GCAZVXE 2025 Community Celebration Event by Bess’s Friends Community Event D1/T1
When: Saturday 7th June 2025
Where: Rocklands, Cymyran Road, Caergeiliog, Anglesey LL65 3HN
Time: 1pm to 6pm
Join Bess’s friends for a BBQ followed by an afternoon of fun and games to celebrate 25 years of geocaching.  If you have a favourite game they ask you to bring it along.

New Treasures

From April 1st two new Treasure collections, Navigational tools and Egg hunt, became available for geocachers to collect when they find and log qualifying geocaches. To access these collections, you must first complete the Celebrating 25 years collection.

Navigational tools
This collection celebrates the tools that explorers have used to navigate the world. The collection features five Treasures ranging from an astrolabe to a map.

You can collect these Treasures by finding and logging any Traditional geocache with a difficulty rating of 2 or higher, and a terrain rating of 1.5 or lower.

Egg hunt
This collection highlights seven different geocache types with seven different Treasures. Each Treasure in this collection has different criteria for the geocaches you have to find and log in order to collect the Treasure. The Treasure can be collected in any order:

    • Egg 1: Collect by finding and logging one Traditional Cache with a difficulty rating of 2 or above
    • Egg 2: Collect by finding and logging one Mystery Cache with a difficulty rating of 2 or above
    • Egg 3: Collect by finding and logging one Multi-Cache with a difficulty rating of 2 or above
    • Egg 4: Collect by finding and logging one Letterbox Hybrid with a difficulty rating of 2 or above
    • Egg 5: Collect by attending any regular Event Cache
    • Egg 6: Collect by finding and logging any EarthCache
    • Egg 7: Collect by finding and logging any Virtual Cache

News & New Caches 181

We have replaced 2 of the caches that have regularly gone missing on Lon Eifion with different hides, just the same location. Hopefully this time they will stay in place!

GCB4QFY Lon Eifion, Another Oak Tree by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T1.5
GCB4QFC Lon Eifion, Sycamore Gap Returns by 9 Usual Suspects Traditional D3/T2

Event Reminder

GCB496T 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 76 by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1
When: Thursday 27th March, 2025
Where: Parc Snowdonia, Waunfawr, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 4AQ
Time: 7pm to 9pm or when the last person leaves

CITO Season 1

After a recent maintenance run along Lon Eifion we were very disappointed on the amount of litter we found between Bontnewydd and Caernarfon. So we are planning another littering picking CITO for the weekend 12th/13th April. This will give anyone that has not collected CITO Season 1 souvenir a chance do so. Please let us know if you prefer Saturday or Sunday for this event.

Blue Switch Day Souvenirs

On May 2nd, 2000, the United States government decided to discontinue restricting GPS accuracy, known as Selective Availability, making GPS technology more accurate for everyone. May 2nd became known to geocachers as “Blue Switch Day.” The first geocache was hidden the following day on May 3rd, 2000.

To celebrate 25 years of geocaching there are two new souvenirs to earn for Blue Switch Day 2025, a finder and hider.

To earn the Blue Switch Day 2025 Finder souvenir log one geocache, attend an Event, or complete an Adventure Lab® Location between May 2nd and 4th.

To earn the Blue Switch Day 2025 Hider souvenir have any type of geocache excluding events and Ad Labs published between May 1st and 31st 2025.

News & New Caches 179

A new mystery cache and an event for your diary:

GCB44PM Pi Puzzle Box by 9 Usual Suspects Mystery D4/T1

Event
GCB496T 9 Usual Suspects – Nosh & Natter 76 by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1
When: Thursday 27th March, 2025
Where: Parc Snowdonia, Waunfawr, Caernarfon, Gwynedd LL55 4AQ
Time: 7pm to 9pm or when the last person leaves

Event Review

GCB3F98 Pi Day Party by 9 Usual Suspects

This event was part of 9 Usual Suspect 10th anniversary celebrations. 10 years ago before 9US had a geocaching account ‘A Slice of Pie’ hosted by naturesbyte was the event where several of the original 9 Usual Suspects first met.

For this event we had already planned to have a lot of different pies when we received a message from RichieBlod ‘Do you think we will have 25 different pies. We could then qualify for the locationless cache. I’ll do a poster anyway’. We like a challenge so the hunt for 25 different pies was on. A team effort, with the scouring of several different super market shelves and we had the required 25 pies.

Here is the list of pies that were devoured at the event:
Steak & Kidney, Steak, All Steak, Steak & Cornish Ale, Chicken Ham & Leek, Creamy Chicken Smoked Bacon & Leek, Chicken & Mushroom, Beef & Stilton, Minced Beef & Onion, Chilli Con Carne, Spinach Feta & Pine Nut, Wild Mushroom, Cheese Leek & Potato, Sweet Potato Feta & Pumpkin Seed, Curried Chick Pea Red Pepper & Spinach, Mini Pork Pies, Mini Cheese & Pickle Pork Pies, Pork Pie, Pork Egg Gala, Melton Mowbray, Apple & Blackcurrant, Apple, Cherry, Mince Pies, Hot Cross Pies.


A lovely afternoon of eating, geochat and playing with RichieBlods green screen was had by all. The new cache was found and the log signed after some teamwork mainly by our junior attendees. Thank you everyone for attending and the donations of pies. Maybe in the future a ‘tart’ event?

Here are a few photos from our day:

News & New Caches 177

We have one new cache and and event for your diary:

GCB3YT3 Sit amongst the Daffs! by MonHunter Traditional D1.5/T1.5

GCAXGMC 2025 Community Celebration Event EHDoT Great Orme by evanshorndean Event D1/T2
Where: Great Orme, Llandudno
When: Wednesday 9th July, 2025
Time: 4pm to 6pm
EvansHornDean are holidaying in the area and would like to meet up with local and visiting cachers to discuss our fascinating hobby.

Event Reminders

GCB34QK CITO 2025 Season 1 by 9 Usual Suspects CITO D1/T3
When: Saturday 8th March 2025
Where: The Old Bridge, Morfa Parc, Caernarfon
Time: 2pm – 3.30pm

We will be meeting at the old bridge, Morfa Parc, Caernarfon, on Saturday 8th March at 2pm. 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 to Lon Eifion. If we get enough volunteers we will pick the wooded area behind Tesco.
Please arrive promptly to ensure you attend the safety briefing. The event will last for 1.5 hours finishing at 3.30pm and then we will have cake and a brew!

GCB34RZ 9 Usual Suspects Cake and a Brew by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1
When: Saturday 8th March 20254
Where: Old Bridge, Parc Dre, Caernarfon
Time: 3.30pm to 4pm

Piratemania Camping

GCB0V77 Piratemania 17 Sudeley Castle – SAILING WEST

Camping is now open for those Pirates that would like a berth, you can find camping at this link:

Event Review

GCB34PF CITO, A487 North, Another Quick Pick by 9 Usual Suspects CITO D1/T4.5

Well we could have done without the wind, but at least it was dry. In an ideal world we would not have to do litter picks as everyone would take responsibility for their rubbish not throw it out their cars, but until then we will try and take care of our local environment. From this lay-by we collected 10 bags of general litter plus an array of bazaar items including a wall light, storage box, Radox shower gel, a pint lager glass, lid of a motorcycle top box, clothing including underwear, a pillow, pipe insulation, a tyre and road signs.
Here are a few pictures of our day:

March Equinox Souvenir

From March 20th to 23rd, 2025, find one geocache, Event Cache, or Adventure Lab® Location to earn the March Equinox Souvenir.

The artwork for this souvenir is inspired by the birds, crowned cranes, whose migratory patterns represent seasonal change.

Northern Hemisphere:
The Red-crowned crane represents harmony and the balance of life.

Southern Hemisphere:
The Grey crowned crane represents change and a renewal of life.

Festival of the Sea: Flint

This festival is outside our area but may be of interest to some of our readers.
The UK’s first Festival of the Sea celebrating all things marine in this beautiful coastal town of Flint.

Celebrate the sea around Flintshire at Flint Castle with activities and stands. This free family-friendly festival will have plenty for people of all ages and abilities. No booking is required, simply turn up on the day, some activities and workshops will be limited to a certain number. To make sure of a place sign up to any specific events on the day.

All activities, workshops and stalls are free to attend thanks to sponsorship by the Welsh Government Coastal Capacity Fund.

Attendees include: RNLI, The Royal Navy, Flintshire Coast Park, Keep Wales Tidy, Mold Pastic Reduction, Seawatch Foundation, Nature Keen, Kirsty Hall, Natural Resources Wales, and Rainbow Biz.

News & New Caches 176

Another quiet week for geocaching with no new caches or Ad Labs published in our area since our last post.

Event Reminders

We have two CITO events this week and on Saturday, an after CITO event where we will be offering refreshments to all our hard working volunteers. By attending either CITO events you will earn the following souvenir:

GCB34PF CITO, A487 North, Another Quick Pick by 9 Usual Suspects CITO D1/T4.5
When: Wednesday 5th March 2025
Where: A487 North Lay by
Time: 11am to 12pm

GCB34QK CITO 2025 Season 1 by 9 Usual Suspects CITO D1/T3
When: Saturday 8th March 2025
Where: The Old Bridge, Morfa Parc, Caernarfon
Time: 2pm – 3.30pm

GCB34RZ 9 Usual Suspects Cake and a Brew by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1
When: Saturday 8th March 20254
Where: Old Bridge, Parc Dre, Caernarfon
Time: 3.30pm to 4pm

Pancake Day, Shrove Tuesday

Today is Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, it is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. In the Christian calendar Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter, was traditionally a time of fasting and by some is still observed today. The name Shrove Tuesday derives from Anglo-Saxon when Christians who went to confession the Tuesday before Lent were “shriven”, absolved from their sins.

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9. In 2025 Shrove Tuesday will fall on March 4th.

Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients. A pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan. A traditional English pancake is very thin and is served immediately.

The pancake has a very long history and featured in cookery books as far back as 1439. The tradition of tossing or flipping them is almost as old. In the UK pancake races often form a part of the Shrove Tuesday celebrations.

Every year a famous pancake race takes place at Olney in Buckinghamshire. According to tradition, in 1445 a woman of Olney heard the shriving bell while she was making pancakes and ran to the church in her apron, still clutching her frying pan. The Olney pancake race is now world famous. Competitors have to be local housewives and they must wear an apron and a hat or scarf. Each contestant has a frying pan containing a hot pancake. She must toss it three times during the race. The first woman to complete the course at the church door has to serve her pancake to the shriven bell ringer and be kissed by him to be declared the winner.

How will you have your pancakes? In our house it will be with lemon juice and sugar.

News & New Caches 174

It is so good to see some new caches appearing. Clueless_Goose has been very busy with 3 new Church Micros on Anglesey and a new series of 20 caches following the old Bryngwyn slate railway.

GCB3BGF Church Micro 15348…Heneglwys by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5
GCB3BG7 Church Micro 15347…Coedana by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T1.5
GCB3B9E Church Micro 15346…Llannerch-y-Medd by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3/T2

BST – Bryngwyn Slate Trail

A series of 15 caches following the trackbed of the former North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways ‘Bryngwyn Branch’ – now a community owned footpath. The railway once served the slate quarries surrounding Moel Tryfan, as well as passengers from Rhostryfan and Bryngwyn Stations. The line carried slate and passengers down to Caernarfon and beyond, but closed with the decline of the slate industry in the early 20th century. The rails were lifted during the 1940s for the war effort, though some interesting features still remain en route.

For the full experience you can step off the WHR train at Tryfan Junction, complete the series, and return for the journey back. By car, parking is easiest at Rhostryfan former station, allowing you to split the series into two halves. It is also possible to park on the verge at Tryfan Junction or up by the Drumhead right at the other end of the line.

The walk to Bryngwyn is easy-going with only a gentle (undetectable) uphill gradient. The permissive footpath along the trackbed ends abruptly at Bryngwyn Farm, where the final cache (15) is hidden, but if desired, you can roughly follow the remaining trackbed along lanes and the old Bryngwyn Incline to the ‘Drumhead’, where the railway once diverged into several private tramways serving the individual slate quarries. There are three SideTracked caches along the track, plus two additional bonus caches for those willing to follow the trackbed all the way from the end of the footpath to the Drumhead. All in all that’s 20 caches, some simple, others more challenging…


GCB34XH REALLY SideTracked – Bryngwyn by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5
GCB3CGP REALLY SideTracked – Rhostryfan by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5
GCB3F5A REALLY SideTracked – Tryfan Junction by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3.5/T1.5
GCB3CED BST 1 – Rhaeadru by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T2.5
GCB3EME BST 2 – Twnel by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3/T2
GCB3F98 BST 3 – Mwsogl by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3.5/T2
GCB3ETN BST 4 – Giât by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2
GCB3F9E BST 5 – Golygfa Llanddwyn by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2
GCB3F9K BST 6 – Iorwg by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3.5/T2.5
GCB3F9V BST 7 – Pentref by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2.5/T1.5
GCB3CGG BST 8 – Giât Moch by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2.5/T2
GCB3FB3 BST 9 – Ffens by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3/T2
GCB3CG8 BST 10 – Steil by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3.5/T2
GCB3CG3 BST 11 – Onnen by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2.5/T3.5
GCB3CFT BST 12 – Pry Copyn by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3/T3
GCB3FBA BST 13 – Gwely by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2
GCB3CFH BST 14 – Postyn by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2
GCB3CFB BST 15 – Arwyddbost by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3.5/T1.5
GCB3CEY BST +1 – Inclên Bryngwyn by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2.5
GCB353C BST +2 – Y ‘Drumhead’ by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2.5/T2

Event
GCB3F98 Pi Day Party by 9 Usual Suspects
When: Saturday 15th March, 2025
Where: Plas Gwernoer, Nantlle LL54 6BB
Time: 3.14pm to 5.14pm or when the last person leaves

This event is part of 9 Usual Suspect 10th anniversary celebrations, 10 years ago ‘A Slice of Pie’ was one of our first events.

Join us for a P, P & P! The plan is to have as many different types of pie as possible for us all to sample, I think we can do better than our first attempt. There will also be a new Mystery Cache appearing very close to this event enabling us all to get the Pi Day souvenir. See below:

Pi Day 2025 Souvenir

Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi), observed on March 14th because the date (3/14) corresponds to the first three significant digits of π (3.14). The tradition began in the United States and has since gained worldwide recognition.

To earn earn the Pi Day souvenir find and log any Mystery Cache between Friday 14th March and Sunday 16th March. All non-Premium Mystery Caches are open to everyone throughout the weekend on the Geocaching® app from 11:00:00 UTC on Friday 14th March until 10:00:00 UTC on Monday 17th March, 2025.

Llangollen Canal Boat Trip

We have booked a day boat for Saturday 17th May. Cost is £20 per person, to book a place we need a £10 deposit. We have a few spare places, if you would like to join us please contact us asap.

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.

Any questions? Contact us.