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After my foray into Harlow during the past couple of weeks ago, I noticed that there was a large figure of eight series right on the West Essex border. The River Lee & Stort Navigation forms the border between Hertfordshire and Essex and this long series, Roydon Wander, follows it.
However, my day started at dawn in Little Parndon, north of Harlow not at a cache but at a letter box. I'd gone looking for one recently for the LBSG but the information that I'd gleaned raised another problem with their records. This time I was on the track of another missing box and I found it. The CM20 2 that nothing was known about turned out to be a rather fine G6R type "B" Wall Box. Another mystery solved but nothing to do with geocaching.😀
Whilst in Little Parndon, I found five trads including a CM and two near the splendid Pardon Mill and Lock. I was then off to Roydon to start the long walk. First, though, I found the tricky cache at Roydon Lock. As the Wander started near the station, I had to park some way off before I could get going. 🙁
The walk took about four hours and was mainly on the straight about for a sharp incline later on n the walk. When I walked down the Lee and Stort, there were many fine narrow boats, mostly moored but many were working their way up and down the Navigation. The caches were mainly 1.5/1.5 with a couple reaching 3/1.5 so caching was easy, little more than a route march. At the end of the series, I crossed over into Hertfordshire, picking up one cache - Old River Stort and back into the safety of Essex.😀
After completing the route and devouring my lunch, I drove down to Dobbs Weir and walked down a bit of the River Lee series, which actually starts in Limehouse Basin in the heart of the East End. At the cache at the Dobbs Weir Lock, I met another cacher Cere who was working at the nearby power station for the day and who was picking up a couple of caches before driving back to Gatwick.👋
I had the opportunity to look over Don't Tell Nano, a 1/4.5 trad on the side of a road bridge over the Lee. The cache page says that the cache can be seen from the tow path but I couldn't so I didn't want to risk falling into the canal if the cache was missing so Imleft it for another day. 🤔
42 Traditionals
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