Troglodytes delight Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A circular walk from Ashover.
The cache is situated on the hillside south west of the village of Ashover with views towards the village and ashover rock. Takes under two hours.
Ashover is situated in the beautiful Amber Valley and nestles snugly in richly picturesque countryside almost in the centre of a vast bowl of land, with wooded slopes and rocky hills rising all around, and with narrow lanes leading like strands of a spiders web from the village centre in all directions.
The grit stone hills which surround the village must also have contributed to its independent character, for they isolated the village to such an extent that it was late in the eighteenth century before the first wheeled vehicles penetrated this part of the Amber Valley.
In Saxon times when England was divided into Hundreds, "Eastover" meaning "˜Ash-tree slope' was, along with most of the County to the east of the River Derwent, in the Hundred of Scarsdale. The earliest surviving reference to `Esseover' comes in the Domesday Book of 1086-7 when it is credited with a church, a priest and a mill, which together were worth a grand total of thirty shillings!
The present All Saints Parish Church was erected between 1350 and 1419 incorporating some of the earlier fabric, notably the south doorway, built in 1275 by Margery Reresby. Thomas Babington who died in 1518 built the tower and the graceful spire which at 128ft has been a familiar landmark in the valley for 600 years. He also gave the rood screen beneath which lies his tomb complete with alabaster effigies of the Knight and his Lady which Pevsner thought `the best of its date in Derbyshire'
Park in the car park at the community centre /parish hall walk down past the church and turn Left at junction follow the road for about five hundred metres(take care as there is no pavement for a while) take the bridleway on your right opposite leonard wheatcroft cottage and follow the path down and along the river Amber till you reach a farm and track,( be aware of mountain bikers ) turn right up this track for 500 metres, the cache is situated left on the hillside where the rock out crop is, the last 50 metres are very steep and uneven ground so be careful, aim for the big tree.
The caves are old lead mining operations dating back hundreds of years
Make sure to shout at the entrance as ugg the cave man does not like surprises , he may even show himself if your lucky.
Angle back down to the track and follow the track to the junction of paths at the cattle grid follow path right along coffin lane,note the wall, and take the bridleway right, down to the river over the bridge and back up to the road, emerging out at the side of the pub , retrace your steps back to the car park .
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Onpx bs pnir