Geocaching- Spice up your walks!

What is geocaching?

Geocaching is an outdoor activity which combines orienteering with treasure hunting and puzzle solving- essentially you use a GPS signal (in most cases the geocaching phone app) to locate a ‘box’ or other such container which along with containing a logbook to document who has found it, may also contain ‘treasure’ aka trinkets and other such items that you can swap or replace with your own.

It is a more developed form of ‘letterboxing’ which was and remains to be a common outdoor activity originating on Dartmoor national park in 1854 when a gentleman named James Perrott hid a jar at an isolated location at Cranmere Pool where other visitors could leave their visiting cards. It then developed further across Dartmoor and eventually developed into geocaching. Letterboxing differs slightly from geocaches they may not be registered to a GPS signal and usually contain a stamp and ink for visitors to stamp their own notebooks with, rather than physical ‘treasures’.

Getting started with Geocaching:

It is relatively easy to get started, all you need to do is download the app or join the website and it will take you through how to find them, different types etc. before you can select a specific location and start navigating to them. Lots of geocaches have been placed in trails or specific walks so you can find them all along the route of your walk.

Note: There is a premium version of the app which costs £24.99 a year- I did pay for this version however, it is possible to locate caches with the free version.

What to take with you:

I recommend taking a pen/pencil, notebook (particularly if you are interested in letterboxing), and something to ‘trade’ with- this could include marbles, trading cards, small toys, small stationery items. Keep in mind most geocaches are the size of a small Tupperware box and you don’t know what is already inside them so think small!

Basic rules and guidance:

• Respect the surrounding areas and wildlife, don’t leave anything that may cause harm.
• Once you have finished with a cache put it back exactly or as close as possible to where you found it!
• Only include items that are same and acceptable- don’t place any food or drink that may ruin the cache or cause damage to the surrounding environment.
• Be careful where you walk, make sure to stick to public land, and check before visiting areas for livestock, or if they are within a practice firing range (unlikely but still possible particularly up on Dartmoor)

Final notes:

Have fun! Geocaching is a great activity for everyone to get involved with whether adult, child, family, pets anyone can get involved in finding and locating geocaches- there are even features on the app which allow you to filter geocaches by accessibility, terrain, and difficulty!