Geocaching – making local walks interesting again

Have you tried geocaching yet?

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunt using GPS. The Geocaches (small containers) are hidden for the seekers (you) to find. The geocaches contain a ‘logbook’ and ‘treasure’. The concept has been around for years but it’s popularity has spiked over the past year with people wanting to try and spice up their local walks during lockdown.

I decided to give it a go with my Little Man, aged 3. It’s meant for all ages but I would definitely say a little older would be ideal as he hasn’t quite grasped the concept of sharing yet! Doesn’t put us off though, he’s got to learn somehow.

Download the app

Geocaching app
Geocaching app for iphone

I downloaded the app for free and we headed off in search of some local ‘caches. Little Man is obsessed with treasure hunts at the moment so this really did make our walk much more exciting. The thrill of actually finding one of the geocaches was more than I was expecting too!! Little Man loved finding the container, opening it and taking all the things out. He didn’t however understand that we had to then put it back for someone else to find. After a lot of explaining and a meltdown we logged we had found it and made a swift exit.

Next time I was more prepared having been and bought some ‘treasure’. We found the geocache, logged it and took a treasure from inside the box. Again after a lot of explaining and a meltdown we made a swift exit with me secretly leaving one of our bought treasures behind.

We have found quite a few in and around Skipton Woods but some we haven’t been able to locate. Little Man likes to look at the map and point us in the direction we are going. The navigational element of the app is great and also the handy hint button is a godsend!

I would certainly recommend you try it as it’s completely free and can be done anywhere. If you have tried it what did you think?

Geocache hiding in skipton woods
Geocache hiding in Skipton Woods
Contents of a geocache
The contents of a ‘cache
Hiding the geocache
Putting it back for someone else to find

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