Devils Punchbowl EarthCache
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This well known steep-sided valley is located on the outskirts of Hindhead. Access to the Devil's Punch Bowl can be gained from the parking area on the eastbound carriageway or alternatively from Hindhead via the public footpath network.
Once you have found one of my Earthcaches, you can discover TB3Y3CB.
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The published coordinates are for the parking.
Geological Interest
This site is one of the most scenically spectacular areas in the western part of the Weald and its form owes much to the underlying geology. The Devil’s Punch Bowl forms the head of the steep-sided Highcomb Valley. Down the valley the Hythe Beds give way to the harder and more calcareous Bargate Beds where a steep-sided gorge has developed. The sandstones of the Hythe Beds give rise to free-draining, acidic soils which support the characteristic heathland, gorse, bracken and woodland vegetation of the area.
Local legend has it that the Devil lived at the 'Devil's Jumps', three small hills near to Churt. He would often torment Thor, the God of Thunder, who lived at nearby Thor's Lie (Thursley), by jumping from hill to hill. Thor would try to strike the Devil with thunder and lightning and once the Devil retaliated by scooping a handful of earth and hurling it at Thor. The depression that remained is the Devil's Punch Bowl.
It is thought that it became known as a 'Punch Bowl' from the way the mist lies in the bowl and appears to flow over the rim as if it were boiling over. Until the 1930s, the bowl was inhabited by 'broom squires', who made brooms from the surrounding birch trees. The slopes of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a large natural amphitheatre, are covered with heath, small streams and areas of woodland.
To claim this cache please email me the answers to the following questions:
1) This natural amphitheatre is the largest feature in England formed by what process? This process can still be seen occurring around the bottom of the bowl.
2) Estimate the width of the bowl at its largest point.
You must also take a photo of the punch bowl with you GPSr in the foreground and upload this to your log.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gel sbyybjvat gur sbbgcngu gb gur bofreingvba cyngsbez ba gur bgure fvqr, naq hfr lbhe TCFe gb pnyphyngr gur fgenvtug yvar qvfgnapr.