Description
Many strangers to the Twin Towns will undoubtedly pass through here
without any awareness of the Drumboe Woods existing, which is a
great pity, it being one of our 'special' places. Little can
surpass the natural beauty of this peaceful setting, disturbed only
by birdsong and the rippling of the River Finn - a true haven of
Nature.
As well as being a quiet place where people can ramble at leasure
and get their thoughts together - with only the trees, plants and
birdlife as company - the Drumboe Woods also provide a home for
many small animals; field mice, foxes, stoats, rabbits
squirrels...and of course, badgers.
One of the simplest - and greatest - pleasures in life, and one of
the few to come free, is to watch the effects on wild flowers and
plant life as the seasons change. The undergrowth is bursting with
new life, as Lesser Celandine, Bluebells, Wood Anemones and
Primroses form a profusion of colour - the harshness of Winter
forgotten.
Back in the year 2000, our Twin Towns Environmental Group took part
in a Bat Survey in Drumboe Woods. Bats are a protected species in
Ireland and are part of our natural heritage. We have apparently
seven types of bat - and here in Drumboe the survey found three of
those types.
Drumboe Woods can be accessed either by taking the Riverside road,
running past Jackson's Hotel, Ballybofey, and crossing the
footbridge over the Finn; or by walking along Drumboe Avenue,
Stranorlar, where the woods can be seen immediately ahead.
Getting there
Travelling from
Lifford...... Enter the town of Stranorlar, just before the
bridge and chapel there is a turn right for Drumboe avenue,
Coordinates shown. Enter the avenue and proceed to the
location.
From Ballybofey....... cross the bridge, pass the chapel
& turn left into Drumboe avenue, coordinates for junction
given. Proceed to the location.
Cache
This is a three stage
multi-cache, it is a relatively simple puzzle and easily solvable
by anyone. The coordinates take you to the entrance, be aware that
it not the 1st entrance but the entrance nearest the graveyard.
There you will find the first clue to solving the puzzle, it will
take you to a location where there is a sign with the co-ordinates
to the cache itself. The final cache is a 1 litre tab container
with a geocache label attached. It contains the usual items, the
log book/pencils/sharpener/first to find prize/and some trade
items, please trade up or items of equal value, this cache is also
the home and the starting point of the travel bug TB4HT31
who's mission is to travel Europe, lets help him if we can!. This
area can contain a high concentration of muggles, it is used as a
jogging and training area both in summer and winter, the cache is
therefore located elsewhere (close nearby). A previous cache in
this area was extensively and persistently muggled, therefore this
is an attempt to have a cache at this site that is harder to
muggle. The cache is hidden in a natural structure, hidden so not
to look anyway out of place....... please place it back exactly as
you found it, covering it up in a way that it can't be easily seen
and muggled, this area will be visited frequently by the general
public. The photograph is a "spoiler" and the cache wont be
difficult to find. The encrypted hint will lead you easily to the
cache. The spoiler picture shows the location of the inscribed
co-ordinates at stage 2 of this puzzle. The 2nd spoiler picture
shows the general area of the cache. Please do not attempt to
retrieve if muggles are in the area.
Cache clues/decoding
| A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
| 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
|
| N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
| 14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
At the coordinates given above you will be at the entrance to
the park/woods. As you enter into the parking area there is a rock
inscribed with a poem. This poem contains a word, the word is one
of the 4 seasons of the year, using the code
above you can decipher the coordinates by placing the letters of
said word alongside the numbers, this will take you to stage 2 of
the puzzle.
N
54-48.ABC Where
A= 5th
Digit / Where B= 2nd - 3rd digit
/ Where C= 2nd - 4th digit
W 007-47.DEF Where D= 1st - 3rd digit
/ Where E= 6th - 3rd digit
/ Where F= 4th - 5th
digit
When you decipher this clue, drive along the road past the
graveyard, opposite the direction you arrived from (ie. away from
the town) and in a short drive you will reach the parking
area/entrance at stage 2. The 2nd stage has a parking
area/entrance within walking distance to the cache .... the
coordinates required to find the cache are inscribed on a sign
at this parking area/entrance. (See spoiler pic HERE)