Making the most of the Hottie from Lanzarote

As the Hottie from Lanzarote hit the country, bringing a very early spring with it, we headed out for some weekend caching in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. 

A quick scoot up the A14 in the little red bug and we arrived in the village of Over. 

I’d not been here for years so it was nice to finally return on a lovely sunny day for a bit of caching - the circular series ‘Over and Out’. 

Leaving the coats and hats in the car, we set off through the village to grab the first few caches before heading out across the fields on the country lanes. 

After a little divert to grab three caches on the Over to Willingham series, we were soon back on the circular picking up a puzzle cache. 

It was a miniature version of a familiar cache type, that required a bit of twisting this way and that, in order to get the log out. We actually obtained the log quite quickly but putting it back in took a while longer.

Other great caches soon followed including a cache in a plastic dog bone and a very sneaky container that looked like a stump of grass, which blended in well, tucked into an end of a wooden post. 

Another interesting cache that looked like a small grey stick, but had been made from plastic also blended in well to its surroundings, and a tiny frog hidden near the base of a fence proved tough to spot. 

As we approached the river, or huge drain is perhaps the proper way to describe it, we found the next clever cache. On one of the pillars carrying a large gravel conveyor belt across the drain, was a silver plate and underneath the log. 

Such a brilliant use of this type of cache, no muggle would ever know it wasn’t meant to be there. 
 

The walk back to the village, along the drain footpath, was an incredibly long one. Just one cache half way along to break up the walk. When we finally reached the end, I looked back and could barely spot the green conveyor belt bridge in the distance, we’d come that far.

The next cache, on the edge of the village, was a very realistic looking toadstool neatly placed beside an old fence post. After collecting it, we made the short walk back to the car, which was a pleasant one alongside the river/drain, with two more caches grabbed on route. 

Upon arrival at the car, we realised that we had just enough time before it got dark to pop across to Swavesey and pick up a few caches and dashes. These included another cache in the great Sidetracked series, a church micro and the brilliant East meets West, positioned on the Meridian line. 

Last but not least was the Constables Rood cache, located in a pretty hidden away garden on the edge of the village. 

The following day, the sun was out again and it felt more like May than February. Whilst the other half opted for a bike ride and picnic by the river with our niece and nephew, I decided on a little trip into the heart of Suffolk to do the brilliant Creeting Circular series. 

Set by Frenchboy on trails around the pretty village of Creeting St Peter, it was a mix of 16 traditionals, multis and letterboxes. I do enjoy a varied trail. 

The caches were nicely hidden, but not too tough and I even picked up a couple of TBs on route. 

On the way round I also collected a few extra caches. These included two church micros, and a bonus church micro cache...great idea, I’ve not seen one before. And the Village Sign cache.

After a sit down and a nice cool drink, I hit the road to grab a few local caches and dashes. They turned out to be located in some interesting spots. 

The first two were situated high up on the hill upon which Creeting St Mary church overlooked the pretty village below. It really was a beautiful church and it was great to grab two caches on either side of it. 

Next up another church micro near the site of the former church at Creeting St Olave. Located along a narrow track, I drove a fair way down, before deciding to park up and walk the final 200 metres to GZ. It was located on the information board, which told the former church’s interesting history. 

After a couple more caches and dashes including the Creeting St Mary Village Sign, I was in Needham Market. The quaint market town high street was littered with buildings of years gone by, including the stunning St John’s Church. It’s ornate towers and decorative brick work are a sight to be seen and it was great that caching had brought me to see it. 

The final cache of the day was another church micro, Christchurch. It was a swift find tucked into a sign and brought to a close another successful caching weekend.

This week we also placed a new cache, 'Boy's Grave' not far from home. I'd known about this strange little grave, at a crossroads not far from Kentford and Moulton, for many years having lived in or around the Newmarket area since the mid 80s. Hence it seemed an interesting spot to bring local cachers to and I'd found the perfect place for a 35mm cache not far away. No sooner had I submitted it for review, and it was published (thanks Churchwarden), and I was delighted to see a number of cachers visit soon after. 

Right, I’m off to do a bit of sunbathing...ok it’s perhaps not quite warm enough for that! But who knows what next week’s weather will bring...snow probably!