I didn't know about this place until very recently. I had always
wondered where the little turning at the roundabout linking the
A113 and the B175 went to. So, one day curiosity got the better of
me, and this cache series is the result.
There are a number of dwellings dotted around here. Prior to the
coming of the M25 this must have been like something from a
forgotten era. Now, there is the inevitable hum of the motorway in
the background.
There are many deer in the woods, the O and I were frequently
observed whilst setting the caches.
Collect a letter / value from each cache in the series to enable
you to find the large bonus cache.
It's about a three mile walk if you do all the caches at one
go.
I've tried to set them so that you get drawn around the paths in
a logical order, but feel free to do them as you will.
You might want to click through onto this Link
Curtis Mill on
Streetmap.co.uk to help you understand the lay out of the
area better before you go. If you depend on in car Sat Nav, it
might have kittens getting you here, so make sure you watch
where it is planning to take you: you must approach from the
roundabout of the A113/B175 at Passingford Bridge
I would advise wellies if it has been wet and you're going to
tackle the entire series.
For the naturalists amongst you: Curtismill Green is an area of
unimproved grassland and scrub about five miles west of Brentwood
on soils derived from London Clay and Chalky Boulder Clay. There
are patches of valley gravel and alluvium locally. It is a small,
separate relic of the ancient Forest of Waltham, of which Epping
Forest is the largest surviving fragment. The varying soil
conditions give rise to both damp and dry grassland containing
several species which are uncommon, decreasing or unusual in the
county. The dry grassland communities are dominated by Rough
Meadow-grass Poa trivialis, Yorkshire Fog Holcus lanatus, Red
Fescue Festuca rubra, Meadow Foxtail Alopecurus pratensis and
Crested Dog's-tail Cynosurus cristatus. Marshy or wet hollows have
Tufted Hair-grass Deschampsia cespitosa, Marsh Foxtail Alopecurus
geniculatus, Rushes Juncus subuliflorus, J. inflexus, J. bufonius,
Common Spike-rush Eleocharis palustris spp. palustris and Plicate
Sweet-grass Glyceria plicata. Notable species in the grassland
include Orange Foxtail Alopecurus aequalis, Lesser Spearwort
Ranunculus flammula, Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor, Pepper
Saxifrage Silaum silaus, Sneezewort Achillea ptarmica and Betony
Stachys officinalis. Strawberry Clover Trifolium fragiferum also
occurs, a plant found more usually in Essex on the coast.
Additional habitats are provided by areas of oak and hawthorn scrub
and several ponds.