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Original poster

Any geocachers out there?

28 replies

RaspberryCoulis · 02/01/2021 12:29

Recently discovered the fun to be had with geocaching. Just notched up my 100th find yesterday, and have hidden a couple of caches of my own.

Found a very cool one yesterday, disguised as a snail.

OP posts:
teawomen · 02/01/2021 12:29

Omg been doing it for over a year not sporadically my 8 year old will walk for miles searching so much fun.

Original poster
RaspberryCoulis · 02/01/2021 12:36

We're just off now to hide a few magnetic nanos that DS got in his stocking from Santa!

OP posts:
Hippywannabe · 02/01/2021 12:40

We love it. One of our earliest was one that was a bolt in a fence and another tied to a bit of fishing line inside a bollard.

Original poster
RaspberryCoulis · 02/01/2021 12:44

I like the ones which are like a flat mgnetic access panel - very unobtrusive but once you see it, you know instantly what it is.

OP posts:
Firepitnights · 02/01/2021 12:45

There’s an amazing set at the Bryntirion Inn in North Wales. The landlord is really in to geocaching and has set various trails around there. One trail has about 50!! But his best ones are at his pub and the road behind it - absolutely brilliant!!!

fairydustandpixies · 02/01/2021 12:45

Me too!! I love geocaching! The funniest ones are the ones hidden by a busy road so you look like an absolute nutcase rummaging about!

Hippywannabe · 02/01/2021 12:54

That looks fab @Firepitnights. We have friends in Llanfair Caerillion (eek spelling). We will definitely be giving those a go when travel is allowed again.

cloudchaos · 02/01/2021 12:55

Yes! We've been doing it on and off for years. I find it's a great way to encourage the kids to go for a walk when we can also look for "treasure" !

strawberry2017 · 02/01/2021 13:01

My dad loves geocaching!

Mysterian · 02/01/2021 14:34

Yup. I'm up to 350. Not done it for a couple of years now, but aiming to get back into it once you know what is over.

starlingsintheslipstream · 02/01/2021 14:45

I love it but haven't been for ages - a mixture of lockdown and the kids getting older. I'm on 501. It's funny that we started doing it as a cheap way to get out with a young family but are still at it years later when the kids are well past it!

I couldn't believe it when I first found a magnetic nano. This exquisite container with an immaculate rolled up log inside! One of my favourites was the other extreme - a huge ammo can. Such fun!

jellybe · 02/01/2021 14:46

We love this! It is so much fun and the kids don't whinge at all if they know we are on a hunt. Makes family walks so much better.

Original poster
RaspberryCoulis · 02/01/2021 14:52

We're sticking to city centre caches in the winter - we had a bad experience in November in very wet, damp, soggy and cold woods. Not fun.

DH and I found a nano in one of the busiest streets in Glasgow yesterday morning - usually Buchanan Street is heaving but yesterday at about 10.30am it was easy to retrieve the cache. We also have a couple of travel tokens out there, exploring the world.

OP posts:
Shadow01 · 02/01/2021 16:06

Yep I used to cache a lot for many years but it’s fallen by the wayside slightly the last year or so.
I enjoy the walks and finding the caches but hated the logging afterwards, I stopped after 2000 or so.

Veterinari · 02/01/2021 16:09

Are there specific geocaching apps that you'd recommend?

I started a while ago but haven't done any for ages now

CharlieSays13 · 02/01/2021 16:10

I've just been reading up about geocaching,kids are great at going out for a walk but are starting to weary of it and the weather isn't helping. They need some encouragement. I'm a complete novice, what do we need to know to fall in love with it?

SoupDragon · 02/01/2021 16:10

@Veterinari

Are there specific geocaching apps that you'd recommend?

I started a while ago but haven't done any for ages now

Start with the free official app I think.

I prefer Cachly (iPhone only) and C:geo is popular amongst Android users.

SoupDragon · 02/01/2021 16:13

what do we need to know to fall in love with it?

Start with easy ones! They all have a Difficulty rating (and a terrain rating).

As a basic member you can only see some caches as some are set to be premium members only - if you enjoy it it's worth paying for premium. I think you might be able to pay a month at a time but I'm not sure.

Stick to "traditional" caches only as these are found at the location given. Other kinds need to you find information at locations to turn into numbers for coordinates. These can be tricky for a new cacher (my first attempt placed the cach just off the coast or Norway 😂)

Not all caches are a plain box - read previous logs for hints.

SoupDragon · 02/01/2021 16:15

I've been caching for over 10 years - funnily enough through a recommendation on MN.

Summerstorms · 02/01/2021 16:19

As a child I used to go letterboxing, which was basically no tech geocaching

superking · 02/01/2021 16:19

We have just started this week and so far it has been brilliant - after being reluctantly dragged out on many walks this year my DC (7 & 4) are now scrabbling to get out of the door! It's made the prospect of school closures a bit less daunting, hopefully at least getting them out for some exercise won't be a battle every day. So easy to get started - just download the app.

Original poster
RaspberryCoulis · 02/01/2021 16:34

We just use the Geocaching app. Free to download, but if you want access to premium caches it's £20 a year to have an account. You can have the same account on multiple devices though, we have the same account on three phones.

95% at least of the caches near by are traditional ones, I'm not keen on the puzzle ones or multiple stage ones. In urban areas the caches tend to be smaller, just enough room for a coil of paper to sign your name or initials. In areas more off hte beaten track, the caches are often a bit bigger - as big as a tupperware lunchbox.

It's really easy to get started - just remember the golden rules of always putting it back where you found it. Another good hint is to look online at the "last found" date, if there's a cache which hasn't been found for months, or there's a long list of people saying they tried to find it and couldn't, there's every possibility that it's not there any more. (Muggled, as geocachers will say).

OP posts:
HiveQueen · 02/01/2021 16:45

We’ve been caching for years. I could go on and on about the benefits. It’s an amazing way to discover places you wouldn’t have been to otherwise. We’ve made great friends and met many different people due to caching. We’ve picked caches up in different countries, wherever we’ve been on holiday. We even went to a meet in Canada when we were on holiday there and got some great tips on good caches to find. My favourite is still Cathedral Cavern in the Lake District. We’d never have gone there if if hadn’t been for geocaching.

The kids are a bit older now and have tired of it so we don’t go out as often as we’d like. My husband and I are now getting used to spending time going for walks caching without them.

ilovetomatoes · 02/01/2021 16:59

Definitely going to try this!