This earthcache is located at the base of the Cherhill Downs, and provides an amazing view of both the Cherhill White Horse and the Lansdowne Monument.
There is a great walk up to the horse, which also passes Oldbury Castle, going on to the Lansdowne Monument (where a local multi-cache sits).
The White Horse is the third oldest white horse in the UK, dating from the late 18th century. Its original size was 165 feet (50 m) by 220 feet (67 m) but has been replaced gradually and the size has possibly changed. The most recent restoration was carried out in 2002 as the horse was looking very dull and quite overgrown. The restoration involved recutting the horse into the hillside and importing new chalk, which was compacted and pushed into the hill.
The most obvious reason for this location is because of the high chalk content of the Cherhill Downs, and this is why the earthcache is here. There are suprisingly few chalky areas in britain and even less places you can actually see the chalk. These downs have no chalk quarries as the chalk isn't of a very good quality. There are Chilmark stone quarries nearby though.
The eye of the horse was originally made from upturned glass bottles, and the reflection of the sun from the eye could be seen much further away than the horse itself. However - upkeep of these bottles became too difficult due to people taking them or smashing them. The eye is now made of a concrete base with embedded stones.
In 2005 the horse was covered in black stripes as a publicity stunt by a local car dealership to make it look more like a panda. This was to launch a car of the same name. The horse however looked far more like a zebra than a panda, and the stripes were taken away quite quickly
Chalk is a form of limestone, a sedimentary rock created by coccoliths (minature calcium-rich "scales") falling to the bottom of the sea from a type of algae that is a member of a group of single-celled organisms called coccolithophorids. These are then squashed over many millions of years (approx. 90 million) by the sheer weight of the sea and the weight of other minerals on top of it. Then, as the plates in the earth slowly move, the chalk is pushed up into ridges. This is what has created the hills you see around you.
The main threats to the horse are rain, more specifically acid rain, and roots. Acid rain simply dissolves the chalk, slowly giving off carbon dioxide as it gradually dissapears. This is because chalk is mainly made of calcium. Roots, obviously, push through the chalk - breaking it apart and blurring the lines of the horse significantly. The horse is expected to be able to last only 20 years before it needs to be restored again. It is estimated that around 4 tons of chalk are lost from the horse each year through erosion and tourism.
To log this cache as found you must submit a photo of you/your GPS with the horse in the background.
You must then answer these questions about the site and send them to me through my profile:
QUESTIONS:
1. According to the sign, how much chalk was imported to fill the white horse, in tons? Why do you think it was imported here rather than taken from the downs?
2. If the chalk erodes at 4 tons per year, approximatey how many tons of chalk are left in the horse this year?
3. According to the sign, what types of plants like to grow specifically in the chalky soil here, making this a SSSI?
Unfortunately without the photo(s) and answers I cannot allow logs of this earthcache.
Thanks to the National Trust for allowing this earthcache
Happy caching!