LAKE DISTRICT - FLOODS

[+THE SMILEYS]

Following recent floods many of our Lakes caches will be inaccessible for a while - we will get around them all when conditions improve, in the meanwhile we would appreciate feedback on any that require urgent attention. It is indeed a sorry sight and Geocaching aside hopefully the conditions in the Lake District will improve and the area recover very soon.

[+chizu]

Good luck to you all down there - we've really enjoyed all the Lake District caches we've done. I guess George Hodgson will be out of action for a while !!!

[Deceangi]

On any which have to be Disabled, please post a note stating "Flood Damage". That way everyone looking at the caches will know the exact situation. As I'm guessing it's not going to involve a quick fix, due to the infrastructure damage to the region.

 

Deci

[+third-degree-witch]

Ive enjoyed many caches in the lakes,May it safely return to its former beauty very soon.

[+HazelS]

Yes.... I hope the Lakes will soon be restored to it's former glory...

and I hope that all is well with The Smileys...

 

I have enjoyed plenty of your caches over the years, especially while I was with my ex, my sis in law lived in Ulverston, and made for a great caching base!

 

Please do give us updates on how things up there progress.... thinking of you all xxx

[+GAZ]

Luckily my own caches are on high ground, but there are a couple of local(ish) ones to me that I have yet to nab.....guess where they are.....correct.....near rivers!

 

They will wait......more important things to do.

 

Gaz

[+MBFace]

I think an event like this really shows up why 'holiday caches' are disallowed. Although The Smileys don't live in the Lakes they have always been extremely proactive about maintaining their caches and, even before their posting, I had already thought about helping them out by checking on those near to us once things start returning to normal. These are definitely the ones we will look out for rather than the 'liked the view from where we were staying so we placed a cache here and we will up here every so often' type.

 

We returned yesterday after a week's holiday - we stopped off overnight due to uncertainty about which bridges on our route home were open. If we'd been here we would have got off lightly with a bit of disruption to phones and the water supply plus some panic buying of bread and milk however back at work today the effects were all too obvious. The guy I travelled in with knew the dead policeman and his children well and hopes to be at his funeral. Colleagues from Cockermouth and Seaton were absent. Others had needed to take diversions to get in. Another colleague's daughter had been interviewed on the television - she is back living with mum and dad having been flooded out of her house near the condemned bridge in Workington. There but for the grace of God ...

 

MBF

Edited November 23, 2009 by MBFace

[Deceangi]

I won't break confidentiality, but The Smileys have a very solid Maintenance Plan

 

Deci

[+MBFace]

I won't break confidentiality, but The Smileys have a very solid Maintenance Plan

 

Deci

 

If this has been interpreted as a criticism of The Smileys it wasn't intended. As I said they have always been proactive with maintenance and, on a personal note, very supportive when one of us was under the weather. My concern is the other cachers who just fancy leaving a cache behind after their holidays.

 

MBF

[Deceangi]

I won't break confidentiality, but The Smileys have a very solid Maintenance Plan

 

Deci

 

If this has been interpreted as a criticism of The Smileys it wasn't intended. As I said they have always been proactive with maintenance and, on a personal note, very supportive when one of us was under the weather. My concern is the other cachers who just fancy leaving a cache behind after their holidays.

 

MBF

 

Nope just a case of I've always enjoyed Reviewing their caches, and swapping emails with them

 

Deci

[+peterduck]

Following recent floods many of our Lakes caches will be inaccessible for a while - we will get around them all when conditions improve, in the meanwhile we would appreciate feedback on any that require urgent attention. It is indeed a sorry sight and Geocaching aside hopefully the conditions in the Lake District will improve and the area recover very soon.

Hope things soon get better there, though living over here in the States I have great interest in the Lakes, usually check everyday with the web cams.

 

Hope to get over there next year and look for caches and visit all the places I love

[+GAZ]

Strangely enough, I nabbed a Smileys cache today, on the shores of Ullswater......it was out in the open, in the "debris-line" that the floods had left, thankfully un-damaged. I re-hid it further up the bank away from the water, as the original location looked to be where the water was......according to Google Earth!

[+THE SMILEYS]

Strangely enough, I nabbed a Smileys cache today, on the shores of Ullswater......it was out in the open, in the "debris-line" that the floods had left, thankfully un-damaged. I re-hid it further up the bank away from the water, as the original location looked to be where the water was......according to Google Earth!

 

This is exactly the kind of information/assistance we were hoping for, more than in fact - thanks Gaz for saving and relocating this one. We couldn't get onto the A592 at all on our last visit so it is extremely useful to know where and what is accessible.

 

Also thanks D for the clarification and to MBFace for the offer of help yet again, which is much appreciated. Although we are keeping our finger on the pulse via the media/friends & visits perhaps MBFace (and any other resident/visiting cachers) would like to provide updates on changing conditions – this would be very useful indeed. Needless to say we would like to express our concern for all residents in the affected areas – we have seen for ourselves what you are having to cope with.

[+MBFace]

For those of us not directly affected by the flooding getting about is the main issue. We're not used to traffic jams up here, especially during the winter! In addition to the collapsed bridges there are a number of others closed awaiting inspection including at least two of the four on the direct route to one of our caches less that 5 miles away. We've been relying on this website for information meanwhile idiots have been moving barriers and driving across at least two of the closed bridges including the condemned one in Workington.

 

We had hoped to get out and about this weekend but at present the other half of the team is threatening to come down with swine flu. It never rains but it pours !

 

MBF

[+niknrich]

We're coming up to the Lakes for New Year, so just wanted to add that we will bring a large maintenance kit and do what we can with any caches we find that are in need.

 

Our thoughts are with everyone up there, we hope you're back to normal life very soon.

[+Batvia]

I live in West Cumbria and the devastation here has been hard to witness. We are very lucky and escaped flooding, being left only with mild inconvenience, a broken bridge and an excess of mud. I've been wondering about all those poor geocaches swept out to sea or bobbing about on the lakes.

 

Smiley People, I am frequently in Ambleside and your cache at Galava Fort (GCYQGR) was the second one I did; such a fabulous location, too. Last time I was there Windermere still hadn't receded beyond the point where it lives, but I will keep an eye on levels and check it next week for you if it becomes accessible. I'll keep you informed.

[+THE SMILEYS]

We have been able to get right around the Lakes from Ullswater to Crummock, all roads open and most debris removed, a great job well done and the area looking pretty much the way it did before the floods. We know that there is much work still to be done such as dry stone walls, bridges, fences, paths etc. to be repaired and that the NT are working on specific projects to tackle this and are looking for volunteers to assist with this massive task – more information on this at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lakedistrictfloods.

 

The Tourist Board are encouraging visitors back to the area, their message is ‘open for business as usual’ although there were very few out and about yesterday.

 

We did a good cross section of caches and amazingly none of them are much the worse for wear, requiring only routine maintenance. Thanks for all feedback and offers of assistance with maintenance received to date, and to GAZ for the physical assistance.

[+maxkim]

Our cache at Cockermouth has survived, hope to sort the rest out asap. Cheers MaxKim.

[+MBFace]

Our cache at Cockermouth has survived, hope to sort the rest out asap. Cheers MaxKim.

 

Glad you used 'at' rather than 'in'. If that cache hadn't survived we would all be doomed to paraphrase Private Frazer . We're lucky in a way that there aren't any caches actually in Cockermouth - the only one with coordinates in the town is the starting point for a Smileys multi which isn't a physical box and has appeared in at least one of the flood videos.

 

Things are looking up in the West travel wise with more bridges being reopened and the work being done to reconnect Northside with the rest of Workington. Some of our pub quiz opponents braved the 18 mile each way detour from Seaton on Thursday night only to lose the match .

 

Of our own caches the two that we considered to be the most vulnerable have both been found in the last week. We went out to look at one today and, despite being very near a watercourse, it was still snug in its hiding place. There were definite signs of damage on our way to it including a wall demolished by the floodwater.

 

Now that the other team member's lurgy isn't swine flu (a worry because we've had a couple of cases in the office and one of my colleagues who has recently had a kidney transplant needs to avoid contact with it) we hope to be out and about cache checking next weekend.

 

MBF

[+GAZ]

Our cache at Cockermouth has survived, hope to sort the rest out asap. Cheers MaxKim.

 

Glad you used 'at' rather than 'in'. If that cache hadn't survived we would all be doomed to paraphrase Private Frazer . We're lucky in a way that there aren't any caches actually in Cockermouth - the only one with coordinates in the town is the starting point for a Smileys multi which isn't a physical box and has appeared in at least one of the flood videos.

 

 

MBF

 

I was just thinking that myself........if the water got that high, we would be, err, pardon the pun, err, up the creek without a paddle

 

And the answer to the puzzle has been shown a few times.......and I haven't had time to nab it yet!!