Down the Smoke – Geocaching in The Big City
London is a big city. Well, it’s the biggest in the UK. It’s also quite close to where I live, and as a result I’ve been caching down the smoke on a number of occasions.
London has been host to a number of events, especially the London Calling ones, but also I’ve had a number of days where I’ve just been there for a day of caching in urban conditions rather than going to the countryside.
This tactic is particularly useful in the winter, because in London you can find loads without getting your shoes dirty. But then equally, it’s good in the summer too, when you can have a nice long day at it.
Since the advent of the Adventure Labs concept, London has become much more friendly and productive for geocaching, which is no bad thing. The problem with “proper” geocaches is that you have to search for them, and in much of London that can make you look suspicious.
Caching down the smoke obviously has some downsides. Physical caches tend to be quite widely spread and don’t form neat loops you can walk in. Adventure Labs tend to be intermingled and some of the series in London are spread quite far apart. That can mean a proportionately large amount of walking compared to the countryside. Being urban, most of the physical caches are also tiny and/or attached to quite dirty objects.
However, it’s a big place and despite all the visits here I’ve barely scratched the surface. I’ve really only been to the West End a few times. I’ve not spread outside the city centre much at all.
