Captain Oates Geocache Memorial

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The following is Kit Perkins' piece on walking here, which was on our longlist for our 2011 Travel Writing Competition. Thank you, Kit, for bringing this walk to our attention!

Oates So Sinful?

Throughout history, scandal has plagued most families of the 'Great and Good'. Captain Oates and his family were not immune to such gossip and intrigue.

Capt. Lawrence Oates, member of the ill-fated Scott Expedition to the Antarctic, is most famous for his brave act of altruism. Stricken with frostbite and feeling he was holding his fellow explorers back, Oates was said to have left the tent on the eve of his 32nd birthday, telling his fellow explorers, "I am just going outside, and may be some time" before venturing out into the icy wilderness. Oates never returned, his body never found.

Oates already had difficulty walking due to old war wounds in his legs, but gangrene and serious frostbite made the arduous journey agonising, which could well have motivated Oates' suicide. But over the years, doubts have been cast on this heroic tale of altruism. Rumours emerged that Oates disliked Scott intensely, questioning his leadership skills and singing the praises of his rival Amundsen. This led to theories that someone on the expedition killed Oates and hid the body, increasing the chances of the others' survival. This would have been in vain as the rest of the men died a few days later. Is it possible that Scott made up the whole story, so history would remember Oates in a good light? It is hard story for many to swallow, as the Scott expedition is always viewed as a great tragedy, a series of misfortunes culminating in the ultimate act of altruism.

But these theories are fuelled by Scott's reputation as a poor leader and reports of how he treated his men badly. Letters from Lawrence Oates' mother stated how her son could not possibly have killed himself. It must be remembered, these are words from a mother at a time when suicide would have been seen as a great sin in religious communities.

There were reports, too, of a 20 year-old Lawrence Oates getting an 11 year-old pregnant. The baby, said to have been born in Ireland, was brought up in an orphanage in the South of England.

So, what really happened that fateful night in Antarctica? Walkers will soon be able to make up their own minds, through a series of geocache puzzles on a walk around Meanwood in Leeds.

Geocache Memorial to Captain Lawrence Oates

17 March 1880 ? 16 March 1912

For the 100th anniversary of Oates' birth and death on 17 March 2012, I will be collaborating with other geocachers in the area to set up a series of puzzle geocaches, incorporating a beautiful walk through woods and parkland and a small section of the Dales Way.

Park in the car park opposite Meanwood C of E School off Green Lane. The Oates Family home once stood on this area, now part of Meanwood Park, a suburban area of Leeds. Here is where we begin our journey, the site of a new memorial to Captain Lawrence Oates. For many years, there was just a pile of masonry to show for it, strangely beautiful moss-covered gatepost capstones. You may also spot masonry from the Oates Family home nearby, fascinating, ornate pieces far too large to move.

From the carpark, follow the tarmac path, west to the beck and over the bridge. Giant abandoned millstones languish in the beck.

Directly after crossing the bridge, turn right and follow the beck upstream. Depending on tree cover, about 100m on your left, you will see a monument to Lt. Col. Edwin Kitson Clark, Engineer, Archaeologist, and the next owner of Meanwoodside, after the Oates Family left.

Continue to follow the beck upstream and after about 500m you will come to a picturesque duck pond and waterfall behind it. There is a feeding platform in the middle - bring plenty of food for the ducks!

Cross the beck over an ancient stone hump-backed footbridge (great for playing pooh sticks.) Turn left at the end of the bridge and follow the beck edge to a couple of steps that lead up through an archway in the wall. Turn left, and you'll find a fascinating building opposite the houses on Hustlers Row, The windows have been made from antique bottles, found on middens around Yorkshire. The effect is quite beautiful.

Cross the wooden footbridge to the left of this building and then turn right. Continue to follow the beck about 100m upstream. Climb the steps to the left, leading to a narrow path with the main beck to your right and a narrow drainage stream directly to your left.

Follow this path for few hundred metres. On the far side of the beck, look out for what's left of a pair of old iron gates covered in moss, which wouldn't look out of place in a Hammer Horror film.

Ignore the bridge to the left heading uphill, but continue until you come to a bridge to the right, over a high weir. Turn right, and follow the track back, south through the woods.

Here in the Hollies, one J.R.R. Tolkien was said to have walked the beech woods and craggy rocks, most likely providing inspiration for the landscape in his trilogy Lord of The Rings. Tolkien lived in neighbouring West Park around 1925 when he spent five years as Professor of English Language at the University of Leeds.

A small detour up the hill, and you'll find the ground suddenly drops into an overgrown quarry. Looking down from the top, you can just make out the outline of what's left of an old anti-aircraft battery from World War 2. The beech trees have grown up around the area, and huge rocks are almost begging to be climbed.

Return to the main path and continue to follow the stream back. You will come to Meanwood play park, recently refurbished, with a great climbing wall and castle slide. It even has a grass-covered Hobbit hole (a nod to Tolkien, perhaps?!)

Upon leaving the carpark and driving back up Green Road, you'll see Waitrose on the right. Just before this on the left, is another monument to Capt. Oates. Here was the site of the Lawrence Oates School, closed down in 1992.

What is Geocaching?

Geocaching, or treasure hunting using satellite navigation, is a great pastime for walkers and families. Children will walk for miles in the hope of finding treasure, often found inside an airtight container hidden somewhere in a hole in a tree, or a pile of rocks. Geocachers sign the paper log to prove they've found it, and you can swap a toy you may find in the box.

The quality of toys vary enormously, from cheap cracker toys to £10 gift vouchers, found by one lucky Yorkshire geocacher recently! Geocoins can be collectables, but travel bugs must be passed on from cache to cache as they make their way around the world. I made a yin and yang travel bug where one half was placed in a cache in Sydney, the other in the UK. One day it is hoped they will be reunited so the geocacher will be able to read the complete poem I wrote across the back.