Thomas West Bonus Station (Cumbria) Multi-cache

These stations have been taken from the maps of Peter Crosthwaite, "Admiral of Keswick Regatta, who keeps the Museum of Keswick, & is Guide, Pilot, Geographer & Hydrographer to the Nobility and Gentry, who make the Tour of the Lakes". His own words. Published originally in 1783, five years after Thomas West first published the first ever guide to the Lake District. The popularity of book and maps was due to war in Europe and improvements in roads. Turnpikes (toll roads) started to appear around then making horse and coach travel easier.

Both the maps and the book were in print for many years. Eleventh edition of West's book was reprinted in 1821, additions made to Crosthwaite's maps in 1809. Copies of both are in Windermere library. West's guide was reprinted in 2008 by Cumbria University.

Bonus cache station is:-

You have 4 clues of words.

1. 1. Lose the words with less than 6 letters.
2. 2. Arrange the remaining words in alphabetic order.
3. 3. Call the first letter of first word A1, second letter of first word A2, etc. First letter of second word B1, first letter of third word C1 and first letter of fourth word D1, and so on. E.g. The seventh letter of fourth word is D7.
4. 4. Now assign a numerical value to each letter of each word, based on its position in English alphabet. First letter of English alphabet is a=1 to z=26.
5. 5. Substitute values for code letter-numerals to reveal final location.

   When you get there the actual station would have been on top of outcrop adjacent.

   Final cache location
   N 54 33.(A1)(B1)(C6-C8) W 02 56.(D1+D2)(B4)(A1+B5)

   I have enjoyed researching and surveying Thomas West's stations, and from the logs, others have enjoyed finding them.

   I was trying to recollect what put me onto this quest to document all 21 + 2 bonus stations. Thomas West was first mentioned by canoeing guide book writer, Stuart Miller talking at Kendal Brewery for a Cumbria Canoeists talk March 2006. Stuart said Thomas West was the first guide book writer for the Lake District. This intrigued me. I found the book in reference only section of Windermere library. Stations are described but no maps, still no wiser of locations. This was followed soon after, by a meeting about Windermere on Water caches, (see my other caches) and a knowledgeable person at LDNPA was mentioned. This soon to retire LDNPA employee put me on to Peter Crosthwaite's 1790's maps. These unlocked the locations.

   Both the book and maps are in Windermere library, Waymarked. With the maps the rest was straight forward. Whilst studying the maps, I noticed Crosthwaite marked 2 West stations on Ullswater, possibly by a later editor, as West died soon after first publication, which would give a total of 23 stations, not 21 as commonly written about. Thus there are 2 bonus caches. This one and Dunmallard.

   Crosthwaite suggests his own stations sometimes close to West's stations, sometimes on different lakes. Look out for Peter Crosthwaite's stations, perhaps another year.

   All the Thomas West caches are.
   

   1. GCVVGF Thomas West Bassenthwaite Lake Stations (Cumbria)
      
   2. GCWAW0 Thomas West Bonus Station (Cumbria)
      
   3. GCVTDK Thomas West Brant Fell station (Cumbria)
      
   4. GCWZY0 Thomas West Coniston Water Stations (Cumbria)
      
   5. GCVZYX Thomas West Derwentwater stations (Cumbria)
      
   6. GCWVCW Thomas West Dunmallard station (Cumbria)
      
   7. GCVPHG Thomas West Rawlinson Nab Station (Cumbria)
      
   8. GCVPGK Thomas West Windermere on Water Station (Cumbria)
      

   Things to remove from a cache and not to swap in the first instance. Food stuff, sweets, batteries, coins, plasters (Band-Aid) anything in a sachet, anything liquid, marker pens.