Welcome to the Esto Perpetua geocache trail, a series of geocaches in the grounds of The Kinneil Estate. The trail is in two parts ‘Basic’ and ‘Experienced' - to provide some entry-level geocaches for new cachers (typically using free/basic membership of the Groundspeak Geocaching app), and some more challenging/complicated caches for experienced cachers who have paid membership of the app.
With Basic membership, cachers are able to see the first 6 caches and those with Premium (paid) membership can see the whole series of 19. The basic caches are more straightforward and intended to provide an introduction to geocaching or a little more experience for cachers starting-out. They should appeal to younger cachers in particular. There is a little challenge at the end for the basic caches, in the form of two Bonus Caches.
The Experienced part of the series consists of a few slightly more challenging caches, including a puzzle cache.
These caches are placed with the approval and support of Falkirk Community Trust and The Friends of Kinneil organization. My thanks to both for supporting local geocaching.
New To Geocaching?
If you are just starting out in geocaching then you can reach out to other more experienced cachers via the app's 'Message' feature for general guidance or help with a particular cache. There are a variety of meet and greet events held in the Events calendar shown on the app's 'Quick Links' on the landing page, and some are targeted at welcoming new cachers - such as the nearby Muiravonside Event each August (pandemics permitting). There are also Facebook Groups for Geocaching in Scotland and even a Scottish Geocachers Whatsapp Group.
Esto Perpetua?
The Esto Perpetua series is themed mostly around Kinneil’s Roman History. However I couldn’t exclude some cache description content on the other eras Kinneil is notable for – the 16th Century when players in the complicated struggle for the crown of Scotland under Mary Queen of Scots used to live at Kinneil House, and also the early Industrial Revolution era when Kinneil was one of the cradles of modern industrialisation. The founder of the famous Carron Ironworks lived in Kinneil House, and the motto of that foundry was 'Esto Perpetua' - which is latin for 'Let It Exist Forever', which may have been inspired by the Kinneil House's view of The Antonine Wall's remains, 1700 years after it's creation.
So step back in time with me as we find out more about Kinneil’s history, through the journal of one of its real former residents – the youthful Marcus Caelius Flavius Proculus - who archaelogists have shown to have been a Tribune in one of 4 Roman legions stationed along the Antonine Wall at different periods in its 20 year history. As a Tribune, Marcus Caelius would probably have come from a noble family and been well educated, almost certainly using the rank of Tribune as a political stepping stone toward a high-ranking government role. By around 150 AD, when Marcus Caelius was probably stationed here, the Wall was the most northerly point in the Roman Empire. Beyond the Wall were a collection of several different tribes which the Romans called ‘Caledonians’, known to be fiercely warlike and prone to attacking the Roman soldiers stationed on the Wall. However that conflict sits alongside ongoing trade between the two groups.
Bonus Caches?
These are caches that can only be found by finding other caches first, that's because these other caches include a clue to the location of the bonus cache, and often that can mean needing to visit a few caches first to collect the required clue-parts. The 'Basic' part of the series (caches 1-4) has clues to two Bonus Caches as shown below:
Esto Perpetua 5 - First Bonus Cache - Gold - clues can be found in caches 1, 2, 3, and 4
Esto Perpetua 6 - Second Bonus Cache - Bronze - clues can be found in caches 1,2, and 4 Now Archived
The First Bonus Cache is somewhere in the Kinneil House Estate, however the Second Bonus Cache is within 2 miles of the published coordinates, and might be best reached by car or bike.
Parking for The Series
The Kinneil Estate has an abundance of parking, but generally nearest to the Eastern and Central caches in this series. The Eastern parking spot can be found at: N 56° 00.515 W 003° 37.642. The Central parking area is at N 56° 00.359 W 003° 38.005. Both are added as waypoints on this first cache.
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ESTO PERPETUA 1 - TRIBUNE'S JOURNAL
Cache 1 in the Esto Perpetua series is at the coordinates published on this cache page, but the cache page also includes some clue parts to find 2 bonus caches hidden somewhere else. If you collect all the clue parts scattered through the basic traditional caches in this series you will have the info needed to find both the bonus caches.
Clue Parts for First Bonus Cache (Research Puzzle)
Inside the cache container for Cache 1, is a word. If you can figure out what it means then write it down and which cache you found it in. Do this for caches 1,2,3, and 4 in the series, then take a look at the cache page for the First Bonus cache (Esto Perpetua 5) here: GC8XEA1 and see if you can figure out the little puzzle, using the words you've found.
Clue Parts for Second Bonus Cache (Research & Diagram Puzzle)
Read the Journal of Tribune Marcus Caelius shown below, and then the text and diagram beneath it to find the clues.
The Caledonians’ secret message speaks about “slaughtering the boar’” and Marcus Caelius believes it is a cryptic reference to their planned attack on one of the Legions stationed along the Antonine Wall. But which one?!? – there are three Legions spread across the 26 forts along the wall. To figure that out and help Marcus Caelius avert disaster, you will have to find out more about the emblems of the Legions stationed on the Antonine Wall, from the picture below. Connect the Legion names to their emblems – a Capricornus (mythical half-goat/half-fish creature), a Bull and a Boar. You may have to do a quick bit of investigation online, so get those smartphones working if you are trying to solve this one while making your way round the series. Or you could even visit a local library to get the answer - ask the Librarian for some help on books about Roman Legions in Britain, and most history books will have an index at the back to help you find something in particular.
When you have the answer keep a note of it in the order it appears in the pictures below – so if you think the answers are :
Twentieth Valeria Victrix (A) =Boar Second Augustan=Capricornus(B) Sixth Victrix(C)=Bull.
You should record your answers like this:
A=3 B=1 C=2
You’ll need to put all the answers in order into the answer checker on the cache page for the Second Bonus Cache - Esto Perpetua 6 - (GC8ZPYX) along with other answers you gather through caches 1,2 and 4 in the series.
Safety Note - Cache is located at a hawthorn tree so watch out for spikes!