I don’t think of these as the best caches close to home, just the ones that spring to mind when reflecting on my caching trips.  There are plenty of good caches in Ilkley to go at.

John of Gaunts Castle  GCQPCF

The first part can be tricky, but the final is not a problem. I have been to the area several time and never seen a soul.  It is atmospheric in all weather conditions and as you would expect plenty of mud after rain.  Exploring the ruins and soaking up the views is great fun, even if you DNF the micro!.    

Farnhill Moor  GCKM9H

After a short stiff climb through birch woods and heather you are rewarded with a terrific vista.  The countryside to the rear of the cache is well worth further exploration and contains at least one further cache.  A recent log calls it ‘Rio in Yorkshire’, try it for yourself.

Pylon Tops  GCNWWR

This one is archived, but the link takes you to the old page.  What sticks in my mind about doing this one is the walk through the hamlet of Ryecroft.  On a sunny day it seems to be a step back in time, except that the children’s toys are made of brightly coloured plastic, and we all know that in the past everything was in black and white

Listen to the View  GCRJQG

A great ‘does what it says on the tin’ cache.  I like caches that don’t look too promising when you park up, but after a short walk it feels like someone is sharing a secret place with you; like you have fought your way to the back of the wardrobe and this time you found…... 

Butter Cloughs and Garlic  GCVTA6

An early morning sunlit walk through a dew laden meadow, soaks your trainers right through…  This cache inspired me to set my own.  I think it was the setters first, it’s a good location and hidden so that a cacher would find it quite easily but casual passers by will not.  So that is the model I tried for when setting my caches, I don’t always get it right.

The Bingley Winkle  GCP992

This little chap kept me going for quite some time!  Even when I was looking at it I decided it was not worth further tactile investigation.  I did it before Titus Teaser, was a bit cache wiser before I tackled that one.

A Moravian Walk  GC2486

I picked this one out when researching another cache for this list and felt it had to be included.  The actual location is a fascinating piece of history and the task to claim it is quite unusual.  Well worth a trip to Pudsey.

Bad Cache  GC10HH2
Being a part of the team that cracked this one was great fun.  The great thing about the cache is that being a hyper intelligent demon Googler won’t help at all.