User:MagicIan

About Me

40 / m / 52,1

Hi, I'm Ian, and contrary to my username I have yet to discover anything magical about myself!

I started Geohashing in late 2009, and hope to do many more in the future.

I live near Norwich, England (right here 52.646387,1.411553 in fact!) and hope Geohashing will help me discover some nice bit of countryside around Norfolk, and hopefully some friendly fellow-geohashers at the same time. If it gets me doing more exercise in the process then it's all good. That's not been the case so far - I need to get my arse in gear in that respect.

I have access to car, motorbike, bicycle(s) and kayak(s) so I'm hoping to use them all at some point in the future to achieve a variety of ribbons, as well as using public transport and my own legs!

About 1/3 of my home graticule is water (North Sea or the Broads) so if I can find someone with a boat then that will increase my range of possible hashes; otherwise I will attempt to make a hash or two around the rest of the UK if they aren't too far out of the way on my weekend travels.

I don't currently have a GPS device, so I use the satellite view on Google Maps to identify the hashpoint. It's generally good enough to get within a few meters and that is sufficient for my personal satisfaction (especially if it's in the middle of a field and there are no barriers in the way). Similarly, I try to take photos at the hashpoint but more for my own reference than to 'prove' to anyone else that I was in a particular place on a particular day.

My Geohashes

I've completed 9 successful geohashes in 4 graticules, with one failure. So far, most have been done by car, with 1 achieved by bicycle.

A map of my various Geohashes can be seen here:

• Friday 27-11-2009, 52.805965° 1.252814° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

My first Geohash! Not very adventurous as I took the car and only had to walk a few meters off the road to a field near Aylsham. No fences to climb over, no people to tell I was "from the internet", no velociraptors. A bit of a disappointment really. Made note to get there under my own steam and try and meet up with fellow-geohashers next time...

MagicIan earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (52, 1) geohash on 2009-11-27.

• Monday 08-03-2010, 52.611723° 1.355975° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

A bit of gap since my last one, this one just required a short detour in the car on the way home from work. There were a couple of signs telling me to keep out, but that didn't stop me as there was nobody else around. The hashpoint required a short walk in the middle of the sewage works so the smell was pretty nasty, but there was a surprisingly pleasant view which made up for it.

• Wednesday 24-03-2010, 52.585326° 1.354230° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

I am really lame at this. Another one that didn't really involve much effort and I didn't make it to the hashpoint. It was on private land and there was a big gate which suggested I probably shouldn't trespass. At least I got to know my way around this part of Norfolk a bit better.

MagicIan earned the No trespassing consolation prize by almost reaching the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-03-24.

• Sunday 28-03-2010, 52.762632° 1.176329° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

Hooray - a proper hash at last. It required a fair old cycle, most of which was on the Marriott Way north of Norwich. It's a converted railway track and part of National Cycle Route #1 from Hull to Harwich. I had a thoroughly pleasant ride in the sunshine, but with cool temperatures. The hashpoint itself was in the middle of a field and not too hard to find. Given it was a weekend, I hung around for a bit to see if anyone else would turn up (especially the clocks went forward that night) and played some patience in the meantime, but when I started to get cold it was time to move on. I took an alternative route back which was great as I discovered some really nice places on the way.

MagicIan earned the Bicycle geohash achievement by cycling 34km to the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-03-28.

• Tuesday 30-03-2010, 52.627771° 1.291378° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

Finally a hash that wasn't in the middle of nowhere. In fact, better than this, it was probably one of the busiest places in the whole graticule - The Forum in the centre of Norwich. The Forum (http://www.theforumnorfolk.com/) is home to several organisations and is a focus for a wide range of learning and cultural activities in the centre of Norwich. It houses learning organisations, café, restaurant and takeaway facilities, as well as the state of the art Norfolk & Norwich Millennium Library. Again, I went on a detour after work and hung around the hashpoint from around 17:30-18:00. I sat upstairs in the library reading a magazine, with an XKCD sign on the glass panel in front of me, hoping someone else would see it. I left it there with an explanation on the back after I left. I'd like to think the librarian didn't just throw it in the bin at the end of the day...

• Wednesday 31-03-2010, 52.509096° 1.137942° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

Two in a row!! ...and I'm on a roll - 4 hashes in 8 days. The hashpoint wasn't too far from work, and even better it was on a road so a chance to achieve the Speed Racer ribbon. It was quite a lazy hash to achieve as there was very little chance of meeting anyone else in the process, yet I quite enjoyed it as it allowed me to investigate some more bits of countryside that I hadn't seen before. Even better, the roads to the Speed Racer hash were great driving roads which made it all the better to achieve it. I stopped just short of the point to take a photo at the farm, waited until the road was clear and then accelerated up to the national speed limit (60mph on the country road), taking a photo as close as I could, and then braked and pulled into a gateway to the field in order to take a photo of me and my noble steed for the achievement.

MagicIan earned the Speed racer achievement by passing through the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-03-31 at 60 mph.

MagicIan earned the Consecutive geohash achievement by reaching 2 consecutive hash points starting on 2010-03-30.

• Sunday 20-06-2010, 52.667024° -1.19297° (Birmingham, United Kingdom):
• Sunday 20-06-2010, 52.667024° -0.19297° (Northampton, United Kingdom):
• Sunday 20-06-2010, 52.667024° 0.192969° (Cambridge, United Kingdom):
• Sunday 20-06-2010, 52.667024° 1.192969° (Norwich, United Kingdom):

Four in a day!!

MagicIan earned the Multihash Achievement by reaching 4 hash points on 2010-06-20. It's an Ultra Hash.

MagicIan achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Birmingham, United Kingdom and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

MagicIan achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Northampton, United Kingdom and 2 of the surrounding graticules.

MagicIan achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Cambridge, United Kingdom and 2 of the surrounding graticules.

MagicIan achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in Norwich, United Kingdom and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

1. This was the first of MagicIan's 4-in-a-row geohashes on this day... He parked in Anstey and walked around to the cemetery. He did a lap of the cemetery trying to find a way out into the field beyond, but with no luck. But luck changed when it turned out there was a public footpath in the field next door. He followed it downhill until he found some tractor wheeltracks to follow into the field in order not to disturb the crops that were growing. Then it was just a case of turning uphill again when in the right line. Another few meters and he judged that to be accurate to a few meters on the satellite view. On the way back, he made some markers for any future geohashers to follow, and said hello to a couple of people who happened to be enjoying the countryside. He also picked up some rubbish that was lying on the footpath and around the cemetery and in doing so achieved the Geotrash Geohash

MagicIan earned the GeoTrash Geohash Achievement by cleaning up the (52, -1) geohash on 2010-06-20.

2. This was the second of MagicIan's 4-in-a-row geohashes on this day... He parked up on Low Road and walked in a circuit down Mill Drove until he found a place to enter the field where he could reach the hashpoint without damaging any crops in the field. On the way back, he left a marker to show any future geohashers where to go before completing the circuit. When he got back to his car, there was a police dog van parked next to it. As he approached, he was getting worried that someone might've thought he was trespassing, but the van was empty and so he drove away quickly before the police came back and asked any questions! Again, he picked up some rubbish on the way back to the car, which qualified him for a Geotrash ribbon.

MagicIan earned the GeoTrash Geohash Achievement by cleaning up the (52, -0) geohash on 2010-06-20.

MagicIan earned the Police Geohash Achievement by very nearly meeting some police dogs while attempting the 2010-06-20/52,-0 (52, -0) geohash on date 2010-06-20.

3. This was the third of MagicIan's 4-in-a-row geohashes on this day... He parked up on Broad End Road and went for a wander to see where he could gain access to the field. He found a big spikey metal gate on Sparrowgate Road and decided that meant he wasn't meant to go through. But it also had a conveniently placed foothold half way up which persuaded him to go for it anyway. So over the gate, around the corner into a field of long grass. Cut across the field to get onto what is clearly somebody's property. He probably shouldn't be here. But can't quit now - run around an electrified fence and to a hedgerow. The hashpoint is the other side, but can't he make it through, so keeps going til he finds a gap. It's full of nettles but he tramples them out of the way down and up the other side of the ditch into the orchard. The hardest bit is over and he just needs to go down and across the rows of trees. Just as he gets to the hashpoint and checks the map, he sees a figure in the distance. That's it - no waiting around - he legs it back the way he came and only stops to take photos at the edge of the orchard before jumping back across the ditch and jogging back through the field of long grass. Phew - that was close!

4. This was the fourth (and easiest) of MagicIan's 4-in-a-row geohashes on this day... He parked up in a layby on Ringland Lane right next to the field, and then walked along the edge of the field until he got level with the hashpoint, before cutting at the last minute, taking large strides to minimise damage of crops in the field. Again, he picked up some rubbish on the way back to the car, which qualified him for a Geotrash ribbon.

MagicIan earned the GeoTrash Geohash Achievement by cleaning up the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-06-20.