Lady Hill is a natural hillock that was once the site of the principal castle for the defence of Elgin. However, it was destroyed in 1308 during Scotland's wars of independence. Robert the Bruce ordered that the wooden stockade castle be destroyed to prevent it ever again being garrisoned by English forces. The stone-built castle chapel survived and remained in use until the 16th century before falling into ruin.
In 1839 an 80 foot high column was erected on Lady Hill in memory of the last Duke of Gordon. His statue on top stands a further 12 foot high.
The most common way up the hill is by the steps from the south side though there is now a buggy/wheelchair path from the west side where the suggested parking is.
The geocache position given above is for the “Toposcope” at the top of Lady Hill. Once there you will need to find answers to the following 6 questions in order to work out the actual cache location.
The cache is at N 57° 38.ABC W 003° 19.DEF
a) On the Toposcope the year given for Dr Grays Hospital is 181A
b) Look for Bin Hill on the Toposcope – it is 33B metres high
c). The number of air vents on the north face of the Duke of Gordon's column gives C
d) Pluscarden Abbey was built in 1xy0 - x+y gives you D
e) On the Toposcope the year given for Elgin Cathedral is 12E4
f) The number of public buildings in Elgin that you can see with clocks equals F
The cache is a small camouflaged plastic tub with space for Geocoins and small TBs. If you have solved the puzzle correctly it should take you to a footpath only a couple of minutes walk away.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.