Charles Forrester explores the Geocaching phenomenon which has come to Morden
Glancing discreetly over my shoulder to check there was nobody around, I peeked into the bushes before diving in.
Brushing through the 10-foot high shrubs I came to the base of a large poplar tree. After looking at it from a couple of angles, I finally found it.
A 5″x10″ box, covered in black electrical tape, was wedged in between one of the boughs of the tree.
Upon opening the box I discovered a treasure trove. A toy dinosaur, some colouring pencils and a Reindeer key ring kept a small pink notebook company.
I filled in my details, left a comment and brushed my way out of the bushes as carefully as possible, hoping not come face-to-face with a policeman or even worse a Rottweiler.
What sounds like something from a spy novel or a drug deal is actually an online orienteering game which has found its way to Morden.
Geocaching, an American concept, sees people place caches, before noting down the GPS co-ordinates and putting them on geocaching.com.
Caches can be made of lunch boxes, film canisters or even buckets. Cache-hunters receive email bulletins about new caches in their area, and can also search for caches anywhere in the world before planning a trip.
Finding a cache can be done through using the GPS co-ordinates in conjunction with an iPhone or handheld receiver, or by using the clues.
Of the almost 53,000 geocaches in the UK there are currently 955 in London, with 60 in Merton. Richmond Park and Kew Gardens are also popular spots for geocachers.
Geocaching was turned into a hobby after the US government, which controls the GPS system, announced in 2000 that it would make highly accurate positioning data available to the public.
Previously, accurate positioning using the satellites had been reserved for military purposes, and civilian GPS receivers were not accurate enough to navigate by.
The first cache was planted in Oregon on May 3 2000 by computer consultant Dave Ulmer, and held a video tape, books and a slingshot.
My search for a cache last weekend was also my first. Having moved to the area recently, I thought geocaching would help me to find my way around some of the green spaces in the area, as well as get into a new hobby.
Not owning a GPS is not necessarily a problem. For some easier caches, like the one I found, a clue and description can pretty much solve it for you. Googlemaps is also helpful in giving an approximate location.
A handheld GPS is also easy enough to buy on the internet, with prices ranging from £20 to £350 depending on the features.
Geocaching is not without its controversies, with a number of caches in America being destroyed by bomb-disposal teams or cache-hunters being stopped by police after suspicious activity was reported.
The Geocaching Association of Great Britain maintains a database of landowner agreements, detailing blanket agreements by landowners on the placing and seeking of caches on their properties.
At present there are 59 agreements allowing geocaching to take place without hindrance, and 12 blanket bans by landowners, which can be found at http://www.gagb.co.uk/gagb/glad/index.php .
As for the cache I found? Well, it’s one of two in the sprawling Morden Hall Park. See if you can find it too!
