CC31 Cwm Big View (EVW1) Traditional Geocache
Write and Mane: Retrieved cache in line with planned run down of our owned caches. Cache was still serviceable, but getting to the cache has become increasingly problematic and quality of FP has deteriorated since Ebbw Valley Way ceased to be promoted. Ferns were originally a minor irritant, but have now become a serious challenge, so the cache needed to go anyway.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is the thirty-first of a series, the “Caerphilly Collection”, that will explore the whole Borough Council area. This cache, in a medium sized plastic lunch box, is also the first of a subset along the Ebbw Valley Walk. Expect a minimum 2 mile walk on little used field paths that may be wet and muddy, with about 120’ of ascent. The last 30 yards are across rough sloping ground that may be overgrown. The cache location offers views across the Ebbw Valley and up Cwm Big.
The Caerphilly Collection is distinguished with a unique CC number and is made up of 50 caches. The caches vary in difficulty and type and usually have other “C” word connections – castle, cheese, coal, canal, etc. There may even be Cryptic Clues for Clever Clogs! The current Caerphilly unitary authority grew out of the former Rhymney Valley and Islwyn Councils and stretches from the outskirts of Cardiff and Newport in the south to the Brecon Beacons, north of Rhymney. Despite a past dominated by coal and heavy industry, it has a diverse history and varied and dramatic scenery. We hope you will enjoy exploring it with us.
Towards the end of the Collection is CC48 The Accumulator, the location of which is given in coded form. The translation details of the code are distributed around the whole Collection, but only about a third of the caches will contain a piece of the code, which is on the back of the Log Book. To do the Accumulator, you will need to keep a note of each piece of code that you find. Unless you are very lucky, you will need to find the majority of the Collection in order to do the Accumulator. The Accumulator cache is hidden in an area of difficult terrain and demanding navigation, with a 5,4½ rating.
CC31 is also in a subset of the main series following the Ebbw Valley Walk (EVW). This 16-mile long distance path links Festival Park, Ebbw Vale, with the Sirhowy Valley Country Park at Black Vein. Caches in this subset are on the southern two thirds of the route that fall within the Caerphilly area. Much of the EVW follows contouring paths high on the western side of the Ebbw Valley, which provide spectacular views of the main valley and the adjacent countryside - but there are also some steep ascents/descents!
This cache is close to the boundary between Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent and a 1/25000 map (and the ability to use it) will be necessary to find a route to it. Be warned that, while this part of EVW can be followed, many of the other rights of way shown on the OS map in the area are impassable. The Trailhead Waypoint below is the most reliable starting point on rights of way: follow the track to signposted EVW heading north. Since, we are encouraging exploration of the long distance path, we would suggest extending the walk northwards, where there is a spectacular section above the village of Cwm. One of the uploaded images gives a glimpse of the locality through which the Blaenau Gwent section of the EVW passes. The cache could be tackled in a circular walk from Pen-y-fan Pond (convenient also for CC30 and the Earthcache), utilising the track over Mynydd Pen-y-fan (with its cache), which offers views to its better-known namesake in the Brecon Beacons. Such a four cache circular walk would be about 5 miles with some 500 feet of ascent – and CC might stand for combined caching … using a convenient circuit!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fcbvyre vzntr naq Fgbx Oybx