The terrain near Horton justifies a rating of 3 for the section.
Only one of the caches along this stretch has been placed slightly off the marked Monarch Way path, others are on the marked Way. Part of the route is uneven and muddy when wet. The terrain in the vicinity of #24 is very steep. Other than that it is an easy walk. There are a number of kissing gates and stiles to negotiate which makes this wheelchair and buggy unfriendly. There is also livestock in some of the fields so dogs should be kept under control.
Monarch Way is the 610 mile route used by King Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651 when he was pursued over a 6 week period on foot and horseback by the Parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell. Charles first travelled north from Worcester, where he famously hid in the oak tree at Boscobel. He then travelled south through the Cotswolds and the Mendips to the South Coast at Charmouth, and finally along the South Downs to Shoreham from where he made his escape to France.
Man has occupied the land around Sodbury for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of occupation dates back to the Neolithic burial chamber found on the high ground at Grickstone Farm, just off the A46. In the early part of the twelfth century William Crassus decided to build a New Town on his lands which was the start of the planned town of Chipping (Market) Sodbury. Markets and fairs famous for wool, cloth, sheep, cheese, cattle and general farm produce were held right up to 1954 when the regular market was closed. The twice a year “Sodbury Mop” is a remaining link with the old agricultural fairs held around Lady Day and Michaelmas Day.
Horton is a small village nestling on a hill overlooking Little Sodbury and, in the distance, Chipping Sodbury. Horton Court (NT) located adjacent to St James the Elder Church was built by the Bishop of Bath and Wells (William Knight) who acted as a delegate to the Pope for Henry VIII when he was trying to divorce Catherine of Aragon. It is a Tudor manor house, although the oldest part dates from Norman times.
William Tyndale (noted for translating the New Testament into English) was chaplain to Little Sodbury manor.
This cache has also been added to the Little Bridges series of caches, as it makes a nice addition.
You are looking for a small screw top container
The Little Bridges series was started by Stanthews in 2009 to highlight small footbridges in remote parts of Wiltshire. Since then the series has been expanded by others all over the country and starting to spread fast, Damian from Winter Foxes has created and updates a list of cachers who has found 10 or more little bridges and can be found here, if you would like to add to the series, please contact Stan here and he will give you a number for your bridge, to qualify, the bridge must be a foot bridge too small for vehicles, please make sure your title exactly matches “Little Bridges # xx then name” including spaces so it will get picked up and added to Damian’s list.