Geocaching on a winter walk

We usually spend a couple of days in Hampshire visiting my family during the Christmas holidays. While we’re there, I always like to have a couple of hours out and about, exploring somewhere nearby. This time, we decided to have a walk around Buriton village and see if we could find some geocaches.

 

Sophie holding a geocache covered in camouflage tape - "Geocaching on a winter walk"

 

Sophie is quite a good little walker although, like most children, sometimes she needs an incentive to get out for a walk and to help encourage her on. Geocaching is always a good way to make a walk more fun. Sophie enjoys going hunting for “treasure”, especially if there might be some caches with things to swap inside.

 

Sophie and Daddy feeding the ducks

 

We parked up by Buriton village pond and stopped to feed the ducks there before starting our walk. Thomas loves seeing the ducks. He grins and signs “duck” quite enthusiastically whenever he sees them now. It reminds me so much of his biggest sister. I think “duck” was one of Jessica’s first words both with speaking and signing.

 

Daddy holding Thomas's hand, watching Sophie feed the ducks

 

Once the ducks had been fed, we put Thomas in his carrier on my back, and headed off to start our geocache hunt. The carrier is definitely a necessity for most of our geocaching adventures. They nearly always involve going down very muddy footpaths that aren’t buggy friendly.

 

Thomas in his toddler carrier on my back

 

Sophie couldn’t resist the big puddle near the duck pond. Having Daddy join in too with splashing in the puddle was great fun.

 

Sophie and Daddy splashing in a big puddle

 

We headed down the lane and followed the footpath up some steps at the side of the road where we soon found the first geocache. There were some swappable items inside which made Sophie very happy. Having made her swap, we continued up the steps, through a gate and started to make our way across a field with sheep grazing nearby.

 

Sophie climbing up steps on the footpath

 

Halfway down the sheep field, it dawned on me that we were getting further and further away from the next geocache rather than nearer. Oops! We turned back and headed back along the footpath, this time going on the right direction!

 

Daddy and Sophie walking down one side of a field with sheep grazing on the other side

 

It was very muddy underfoot as we headed towards the next geocache and quite slippery in places. The tree where the next geocache was hidden was on a slope. Daddy helped Sophie carefully make her way down and around the tree where she soon spotted it. This one was a smaller cache with no room for swappables.

 

Sophie walking along a grassy footpath with Daddy up ahead of her

 

There was one more geocache a short distance further down the footpath that I thought we might find (the next one after it being quite a bit further on) but Sophie had had enough and was keen to head back to the car and go visit family.

 

We stopped at a bridge on the way back for a quick game of Poohsticks. Unfortunately the stream was moving a little too slowly for it to be a very successful game!

 

Daddy and Sophie playing Poohsticks on a wooden bridge over a stream

 

It was nice to have that bit of time outside,  before spending the rest of the day with family. Trying to catch up with everyone in a large family like mine can feel quite hectic at times, as much as I love it. Having outdoor time like this and space for just us always helps recharge our batteries again so we’re more able to enjoy the busier moments.

 

Country Kids linky

10 thoughts on “Geocaching on a winter walk

  1. Geocaching sounds like such a lovely way to get them out in the fresh air. I am terrible at it though! I’ve only tried it once and we couldn’t find anything at all. Well done Sophie for finding the geocaches and doing lots of walking 🙂
    Nat.x

    1. It took me a while to get the hang of it – I struggled the first couple of times and then I got better at working out the most likely places to hide them.

  2. I love geocaching with my 2 boys. There is an amazing one in Carding Mill, Shropshire that is hidden at the top of a waterfall. But I love the fact that you can also find them on my street at home.

    We have bought 2 and intend to track their journey across the world – once we can agree on the best place to start them off.

    1. Geocaching is so much fun. I love the sound of the one at Carding Mill, and yes it is great that you can find them in all sorts of places.

  3. What a lovely place to walk with or without the Geocache. Looks fun in winter with the puddle and scenery. Geocaching is something I regret not getting more into when mine were young #CountryKids

    1. It’s such great fun although it doesn’t sound like your son needs the additional motivation to get out for a walk from your posts! 🙂

  4. I’m really interested in doing this (we love a treasure hunt) but don’t really understand it! What do you need to do, is there an app? I’m a bit of a fossil when it comes to technology, help me out somebody! #CountryKids

    1. There is an app which shows you the locations of geocaches in your area. There is usually some information to give you an idea of the size of geocache you are looking for and often a hint to help you find it. Some are easier to find than others. The first couple took me a while to find but you do start to get an idea of where they’re most likely to be hidden after a while. Hope that helps!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.