Geocaching around Baddesley Common

Following our last visit a few weeks ago to Baddesley Ensor we decided to return last weekend and do some more Geocaching in the area. Baddesley Common is located adjacent to the village of Baddesley Ensor and for centuries was the site of a colliery and to this day there is still evidence of the mining activities around the common.

Geocaching around Baddesley Common

On arriving at the common we saw two stone benches and a bird bath, each one was beautifully carved giving evidence of the mining history for the area.

Baddesley Common stone bench

Baddesley Common still has a huge amount of evidence from its industrial past and it is a shame to see quite a lot of it being consumed by nature and neglected. This was the main entrance to the colliery, now sealed up with a concrete slab. It is such a shame that the tunnel is not maintained and maybe opened for special guided tours.

Baddesley Colliery entrance

I managed to get a photograph through the small opening within the doorway and it looks beautiful inside with the red brick archway of the tunnel. It is a shame this has to be hidden away behind a concrete slab.

Baddesley Colliery entrance tunnel

Next to the old entrance to Baddesley Colliery we found one of our first Geocaches on the common. Quite fittingly the location was marked by an old rusty Miners lamp.

Baddesley Common miners lamp

Further along we discovered this beautiful bridge that was built to pass over the Baddesley colliery railway. We stopped for quite a long time here whilst having a picnic.

Baddesley Colliery railway bridge

I spent quite some time admiring the workmanship that had gone into the brickwork of the bridge. A fantastic relic of our industrial past and it is quite sad to see it being left to ruin.

Baddesley Colliery railway bridge brickwork

We had a great day walking around Baddesley Common and look forward to returning one day. The common is only 15 minutes away from where we live and I don’t think we would have ever visited it if it wasn’t for Geocaching.

Mick

Geocaching at Coombe Abbey Country Park

Coombe Abbey Country Park is located near Coventry and is a very popular destination for families and dog walkers. The country park offers over 500 acres of woodland walks, picnic areas, gardens, lakes and bird watching. I have been visiting the park for a number of years with my children and often visited the park when I was young.

Coombe Abbey Country Park Lake

We decided to visit Coombe Abbey this weekend and whilst we were I had a look at what Geocaches were in the area. There are actually two Geocaches located in the park itself; not very impressive really due to the size of the park and how popular it is. We set off looking for the first one and I decided to take a more direct route to its location. I led my family off the beaten path and through the trees only to find that we soon having to jump over water filled ditches as my GPS signal bounced all over the place. We got there in the end though and laughed because if we had only followed the path around it would have led us straight to it. But still, we had lots of fun. The cache is located somewhere in this picture (thankfully it was not in one of those trees that have been chopped down).

Geocaching at Coombe Abbey Country Park

We have taken many photographs within Coombe Abbey County Park over the years and today I decided to take a few of the trees within the park. This photograph is of our favourite tree; just look at that lovely face on the tree trunk!

A tree with a face

And here is the same tree after we had given it some arms...

A tree with a face and arms

As with most Geocaching trips, the second cache led us to a part of the park that we haven’t really visited before; the cache was located near to these lovely tree stumps with butterflies carved onto the stumps.

Butterfly carving on a tree stump

And also this tree stump that was covered with fungi...

Tree stump fungi

So that was our Geocaching trip to Coombe Abbey Country Park; a good day out within the park but it is probably in need of a few more caches to keep us busy.

Mick