Firth of Forth

There seem to be a lot of ex-military involved in geocaching - perhaps because they are au fait with navigation techniques and like the outdoors? I've tried to work out why geocaching appeals to some and not at all to others. I think that if you enjoy puzzles, and get a thrill from hunting and finding something, then it is those personality characteristics which will make you a fan of geocaching. No prizes for guessing what my profession is!

That's good news Snaik! You have been very busy cache setting lately! I've never heard of the Cateran trail - where is it?

I enjoyed Irthing Footbridge and Cragg Lough They are both very close to the wall.

TartanT has clearly been busy in Minnesota, has smashed through the century barrier, and is already well on his way to the two hundred mark. Well done!!

I think that a big thank you is in order to Flyfishermanbob for organising caches along the West Highland Way. My determination to walk this route has now increased considerably! How about the Southern Upland Way, the Lairig Ghru, the Great Glen Way and St Cuthbert's Way now??? I've just discovered that there is a long distance walk called the Rob Roy Way too. Too many places to go, too little time to see them!

Wow! I've just checked out your 'credentials': 2028 caches in a year!! How do you fit in any work at all?? Even better than our own UK record holder Seasider.

The best thing is watching someone who has just heard about geocaching and seeing the interest being ignited. A work colleague of mine recently asked about it, so I showed her the website. I could tell that she was an addict in the making and I fully expect her to be out this weekend trying to find a cache even though she does not (yet) own a GPSr. She commented "Who doesn't love a treasure hunt?". But there are always others who shake their heads in disbelief, as another work colleague had done.

Hey Bob Well Done! You'll be looking forward to the next hundred, Im sure. And I believe that thanks are also in order for organising caches along the West Highland Way. Ive been meaning to do that walk for a while, and was very jealous of a colleague who managed it during the Easter holidays. I'll be there sometime, and now there is an added incentive.

I was told about it by a friend from the West of Scotland. I think that I am now much more addicted than he is. I didn't have a GPSr, so I spent six months finding caches with only a map and the clues. However, seeing some GPS units at the first Scottish Cache Bash last year prompted me to buy one. Its much more fun now, as well as easier (sometimes!). I was already a keen walker, so geocaching has complemented that hobby nicely. My teenage offspring consider it an odd pursuit, but can sometimes be persuaded to accompany me.

If I'm not mistaken, there appear to have been a lot of newcomers to the East coast/Edinburgh caches in the last month or so. Hopefully, they will all get the bug and start thinking about placing caches of their own during the summer. I imagine that Spior will be over to seek them, but we haven't seen FFB over this way yet.

The paltry few caches in Glasgow are on my to do list next week, when work takes me through there. Always good to be able to charge someone else for the miles, or at least make them tax deductible.

I can only echo Haggis Hunter's comments. Going up Ben Nevis in April isn't about geocaching, its about mountaineering and anyone with any sense or experience of climbing mountains in Scotland will know that you must always take warm and waterproof clothing, proper walking boots and all the other usual equipment for conditions that can quickly turn fatal. You guys were very lucky. Do you not read the papers? Every year people die on mountains in Scotland, even experienced walkers. Those more experienced and better equipped climbers must have been shaking their heads in dismay at the folly of Sassenachs. I don't think its up to the cache setter to warn of these facts. If you know you are going to climb 4000 feet, anyone ought to know that conditions can be very different on top compared to below.

This seems to happen a lot when people new to caching start to play. It took me a while to work out what to do with TBs. - it isnt immediately obvious. I wonder if the main geocaching page should somehow make the 'rules' about TBs clearer.

And congratulations from me too. Looks like a heavy caching holiday in England helped to get you to the ton. Well done and bet you're looking forward to the next hundred.

A TB has gone missing from a cache. I emailed a cacher who had recently visited the cache to ask whether they might have it. I received a delivery failure message. This means that there is no way of contacting this person. Do they not have to have a valid email address in order to be registered?

As others have already said, it is absolutely ridiculous to suppose that the Victorian mailbox cache page would provide useful information to a terrorist. What about the many other websites that provide ordnance survey information, positions of ancient monuments etc etc? What concerns me more is how to stop myself from examining every postbox that I pass. With a count of 14 Victorian postboxes to my name, I have developed a passion for them, especially the hexagonal pillar boxes. I think that I will always keep a lookout for these, even if they cannot be logged anymore. PS Mady - I believe that yours was Edwardian - a rarity in itself. I've looked at so many of these now and Victorian ones are always either pillar boxes or built into a stone wall or other stone feature. Did you know that there is even a museum displaying examples of all British postboxes?

The idea really is only to remove and log a TB if you are going to move it onto another cache. If you visit a TB 'hotel' for example, you can take a TB or two, but you don't log all of the TBs in the cache. If it's your own cache, and a TB is languishing for several months, then I think it would generally be acceptable to remove it and log it if you can help it on its way. Does this clear up any confusion?

I'm surprised that you haven't had any interest north of the border. There are plenty of active geocachers around in Scotland. However, it might help if we knew more about what a cache exchange is all about, and what it would involve. Thanks Firth of Forth

The difficulty for you would seem that you may not necessarily know exactly how the cache has been placed. I have come across a set of caches that appear to have a hole specifically cut out for them, as the holes are just the right size for the caches and the caches are placed below the level surface of the ground. There is no way of knowing this from the cache webpage, only from having visited the cache itself.

Wow! Congratulations. And lots more to add to your list when you are up for the Scottish cache bash in not too long a time.

OK, I have just realised that I missed the boat congratulating Highland Nick in a previous thread. Anyway, congrats again.

While we're on the subject of congratulations, we have to help Highland Nick celebrate his century as well, which I think he achieved a few weeks ago in London. Congratulations! Not an easy task when you live in an area surrounded by mountains.

Have already sent you my congratulations Spioradsaor, but might as well make it public too! The amazing thing is that he has managed to clock up over 100 caches in only a few months since discovering the 'sport' in September 2003. It won't be long at this rate that he overtakes our other two Scottish heros Pooter and Silver Fox. Even more hours of daylight too soon to come. Cheers Firth of Forth

Thanks for all the congratulations everyone - and yes, Pharisee, it's a lot easier and a lot more fun with a GPS. I've already made a start on my next 100.

Congratulations evilrooster! Get that baby harness/backpack thing (so long since I used one I cant remember what its called) out so that minigeocacher no2 can join in with her older brother in the treasure hunt. Wonder if you and little cacheseekers will make it to the second scottish cache bash in May?