Do what, John?
Ross, of ryo62 fame, released a new series. To we geocachers in the east of England that means one thing – a day of happy geocaching around an easy series with good hints, spot-on coordinates, and relatively little walking in between. This latest effort is the Moggy series, and it’s situated around the village of Steeple Morden at the bottom end of Cambridgeshire.
Ross very nicely arranged this one so it can be done from the large and free car park at Steeple Morden’s recreation ground / village hall. Lots of free, safe and off-road parking, which is rare for the villages round here.
Get on with it, man!
The area was very familiar to me, to be honest. I’ve been to this area several times over the years. This series is the latest to occupy the chunk of Ashwell Street between Ashwell and Litlington. That’s the area I was heading for on this day. The weather looked good and I had nothing better to do, so why not?
Beyond that, there’s not a lot to say. I walked initially south until I reached Ashwell Street, and then turned east. This stretch is a wide grassy bridleway and/or permissive byway. It alternates between hedges and trees.
At Litlington I sat and had a snack and drink for a while before heading back in. This stage of the Moggy took me slightly south across the fields and past the old quarry here. I bumped into Roch off of Pat&Roch somewhere here. She was going the other way round and chipping off a few more from the series.
Going was fast all the way round.
Time for a Disaster
When I’d legged it all the way back towards Ashwell and turned north back to the road into Steeple Morden I had a bit of a disaster. I’d spent all day walking over grass and generally soft earth, but here it was compressed gravel/hardcore. That’s the moment where the ring attaching the GPS to my belt loop decided enough was enough. It broke, allowing the GPS unit to fall a meter or so onto the ground. Of course, it landed screen down onto a sharp stone. The result was a smashed screen. The device was still functioning and I was able to finish the day, but I was a bit annoyed.
When I got back to the car I was ready for a drink or three, so I sat in the car for a while drinking some coke I’d left in the boot. it was way too hot, but needs must. Over the course of the day I’d found 58 geocaches, of which 54 were from the Moggy series.
Mopping Up
Back at home, the nice man at Garmin support told me that rather than changing the screen, they could mail me a refurbed device (new screen and new motherboard) for £100 if I sent the broken one back. A new screen was going to cost more than that, so I figured I was winning. It arrived a couple of days later. I invested in some heavy duty lanyards and thick metal keyring loops to try to ensure that never happens again.
As an added bonus, they didn’t need the battery from the old one, and the new one came with a battery, so I’ve gained one and now definitely have enough to last a full day on maximum brightness. Which is nice.
