Geocaching Adventures in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire

A bit of a novelty this one. Around about Boxing Day I was invited out to join John, Gail and Morven for a spot of Geocaching. We were heading to Lochwinnoch I was informed and would start from there. I've been out geocaching before with the same family group and while I enjoyed hunting for little boxes with a GPS as it involved exploring the area around Loch Lomondside, in good weather, it wasn't that extreme or dangerous a pursuit as Morven, their daughter, was younger at the time. Flash forward a few years and she is now a teenager so mum Gail, the driving force behind Geocaching trips, has stepped up a few levels.

I didn't know this of course and turned up expecting a sedate walk around the loch, feeding the swans and other wildlife. I should have been suspicious when a climbing rope and pairs of welly boots went into the car. Our first stop was a nondescript layby surrounded by woods in the middle of nowhere. The type where you would only pull in to have an unexpected pee stop, or if you'd burst a tyre. It had no redeeming features except a very steep and slippery slope leading down into the bowels of a V shaped, debris filled ravine.
Down this we shuffled, hanging onto anything nearby for dear life while our feet slid away from us on a muddy carpet of soil, old wet leaves and dead vegetation.
As it had been raining heavily for a week beforehand, a landslide was only averted by a sizable number of spindly trees in the ravine although everyone of these sorry specimens seemed to break off in your hand as soon as you touched it. Naturally, it was pouring with rain when we set off so a bit of dangerous ground added a touch of spice to the proceedings and took our mind off the downpour.

 Their wee dog 'chalky' seemed as puzzled as I was by this turn of events although he was a seasoned geocaching veteran by now. Geocaching incidentally, is a popular international pursuit that involves finding hidden waterproof  boxes using GPS coordinates and a trail of clues leading  from one to the other. It seems to be quite an addictive sport for some people.

This is John at the entrance to a flooded tunnel at the bottom of the ravine. With all the rain there was a fair volume of water rushing through it
 'Maybe it's through there? I joked, laughing at the absurdity of where we were in a deluge.
'You're good at this game.' Gail informed me, leading the way with a torch 'Now you see why we've got our wellies on.'
Unfortunately for poor Bobby I didn't have any wellies with me, only hillwalking boots, and my poor feet were soon soaking way past the ankles wading into the depths of the tunnel. Boy was that water cold! I also hoped no rats had urinated in it.

It was a fairly long tunnel and quite atmospheric. I was informed by Gail that the person who had set this challenge was well known in geocaching circles as he had a fondness for tunnels, caves, gorges, ravines and anything adventurous. Gail was now right into extreme geocaching it seemed.

The big surprise for me was this excellent depiction of Tink in the tunnel captured with my trusty flash. You could tell the person who put this up here had a skilful eye and hand as every line has a purpose to it and a few neat strokes perfectly capture a lifelike facial expression. More Wilma Flintstone that Tinkerbell mind you but like more recent former Disney employees she's rebranded herself here for the modern age. Personally, I think her new, dressed down, casual attire look is a winner!
Every artist likes a blank canvas to work on, even if its underground.
Incidentally Tink here has lasted well as a leading female icon, far better than most of her contemporaries as she was conceived way back in 1904 by JMB. Like Louise Brooks her style and attitude has never dated and she remains as relevant and influential as ever. Both could be sweet and generous yet evil tempered, petulant, feisty and vindictive if you ever crossed them. Don't believe me? Well... think of how many films you've seen with a Tinkerbell character in it or how many A list  actresses have queued up to play that role. It must be more than any other female character in films.
Even her name is copyright which is why I've not put a space in the middle as I don't want to be sued by Disney.

Morven reaching the far end of the tunnel, torch in hand.

It was very impressive in this subterranean defile and there was evidence of an old railway viaduct and a couple of ancient stone bridges spanning the ravine. Everything was sponge like though and dripping wet, with some serious triffid  growth and fungal protrusions. If it wasn't a geocaching trail you would never venture down here in a million years.

An example of a spongy fungal eruption. Like a slime tree.

After a good hunt around in this soggy ravine the first clue was discovered. This was then read and replaced before we retraced our steps back through the waterlogged tunnel.

We then ended up here, following the trail into a much larger and more open river gorge in deepest Inverclyde/Renfrewshire. A slippery walk along a disused and heavily overgrown right of way took us to a spot where several small waterfalls entered the main one.

 Very scenic and again a place you would never dream of exploring.

Several clues were here for the taking in this sizable area. I thought I knew Renfrewshire and Inverclyde fairly well but this was terra incognita for me.

A beautiful and unexpected day out which was very adventurous into the bargain as I love tunnels, caves and  steep sided river gorges anyway. Extreme geocaching rocks man! Here was me thinking it was just going to be a ramble.

 Thanks to John, Gail and Morven for inviting me along. I had a great time and there's not many occasions I've uttered those words setting off in the pouring rain.

As this video shows geocaching can be as hard or as easy as you wish it to be. Here a keen young team combine to hide a box with an obvious penalty clause for the unlucky.


That top one just looks like a good laugh but this next video, although I don't know that much about the sport, must rate high as one of the most evil placements of a box ever. If a Geocacher is inventive and prolific they can soon attract a group of admirers that like the challenge of their audacity.Well worth a look.