Dead Branch - North Pier Traditional Cache
Claxons: This was one of the first pair of caches we placed over 10 years ago but nowadays folk seem to have more frustration than fun trying to find it, so I have removed it.
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(micro)
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This is another cache on the path following the route of the railway branch-line which once ran from Cambus Junction via Menstrie to a terminus in Alva. This one is at the bridge over the River Devon. The path is now tarmac & the cache can be accessed from either the Menstrie or the Cambus end, or from the NCN 76 at the west end of Tullibody. It is suitable for wheelchairs & buggies but the last couple of metres are off-path. We are keeping the T2 because that was how it was before tarmac.
The railway line opened on 3rd June 1863. In 1864 it was absorbed by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway Company and carried passengers until November 1954. The remnant of Menstrie station can be seen to the East of the Tullibody road. Freight traffic to Alva ceased in 1964 but, despite Beeching's closures, the spur going to the Menstrie factory continued in use bringing molasses used for the manufacture of yeast. The line fell into disuse during the mid-1980s when road transport took over. The land was eventually bought by Clackmannanshire Council for inclusion in the public path network and the rails and sleepers were removed in March 2011. This is where the railway crossed the River Devon. When the cache was first placed, the bridge was closed but in April 2012 it re-opened as part of the cycleway between Menstrie and Cambus. The cache is on the North side and although at first it could not be reached from the South there is no longer a problem. Access to the path from the Menstrie side is from just North of the old railway bridge on the Tullibody Road with limited parking. Another access place, with parking, is at the end of Lipney N56 08.935 W003 50.888. A third option, not wheelchair friendly, is to park opposite the end of Cedar Grove at N56 08.790 W003 51.200 from where a path leads around the field on the west of the old railway. Children need supervision as the river is close. Do not attempt the cache if the surrounding fields are flooded, which happens about once a year. The cache is a 35mm film canister. Please be careful not to damage the protecting greenery. * * Congratulations to Scottiedogz for their FTF & thanks for enjoying our wee part of Scotland. * *
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jrfg Arhx, (gung zrnaf pbeare), urnqurvtug, abg va cynva fvtug - hfr svatref va boivbhf cynpr.