| Thu 7 May 2015 in 53,-2: 53.5728423, -2.7119334 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox |
Location
In Appley Bridge, an area within the Wigan borough. The geohash is located inside a field, towards its upper edge. The field is next to a residential area. Houses surround the geohash to the north and east with some trees present in-between. To the west are train tracks and to the south is what appears to be a private farmhouse.
Participants
Plans
The plan was to take a train from Wigan Wallgate station to Appley Bridge station, covering most of the distance. From there I would walk through residential streets and through the field's adjacent dirt trail. I wasn't sure what I'd do at this point. I was hopeful that I'd find a public route going past the geohash. Alternatively I hoped the field was public, or that I could get permission from the landowner to enter it.
Expedition
This was my second geohasing attempt and the first to end in failure. I took the train from Wallgate to Appley Bridge as planned. Of note, the train went immediately past the geohash and I observed that the field was free of animals (possibly supporting my right to enter it.) I'd never been to Appley Bridge before and found the place to be very hilly and twisty. However I managed to navigate towards the streets closest to the geohash using my phone's GPS. I located the dirt trail which lied adjacent to the field but found a closed gate in my way along with and a sign that claimed the area was private. Not to be defeated I visited several other nearby streets hoping to find an entrance. I walked upto the train tracks and tried to walk alongside them (there was a metal fence in-between me and the tracks), however the trees became too thick to continue. Regardless I would have ended up in many people's back gardens before I reached the field. After traveling up and down nearby streets for twenty minutes I admitted defeat and returned to the fence. I knew there was a farmhouse down the trail but I could not walk down to ask the landowner's permission without trespassing. I gathered some nearby twigs and spelt out 'xkcd' as a marker. Although certain areas of nearby streets were technically closer to the geohash, I counted the field as the last reasonable point it was possible to reach. I snapped a few pictures and returned home. There's always next time. Wigan doesn't get the geohash much, but it's been happening a little bit since I started this adventure.
Photos
Achievements
