They shall not be forgotten. Thank you!
Before I start this post, I would like to wish everyone a great Remembrance Day! Don’t forget to buy a poppy and support our Royal Canadian Legion. Also, if you have the time, why not visit a senior’s home and allow a war vet to tell you their stories. I haven’t done it in years but I remember loving for them to tell me their war stories. It put a smile on both our faces. You can also buy a war vet a coffee or simply walk up to them and say thanks! You may not approve of war but these guys risked their lives fighting for your freedom. Many sacrificed their lives for that same cause. Let’s make sure they will not be forgotten. Now, let’s begin this week’s post.
For the past six years, I have worked for the Canadian Coast Guard. My job entails installing new electronics technology on our fleet of ships to ensure that they have the right tools to effectively perform their duties. To be able to do my job, I am required to attend periodic training at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, NS. Now, the training at the College is great but, after hours, there isn’t much to do in Sydney, especially for someone like me who isn’t really into the party scene. So, for the first four years of my career, I have been pretty much bored while at the College. About two years ago, I started Geocaching and now, I have something to do in the after-hours while in Sydney. This is the first of a three-part series that will highlight two areas of Sydney that I had the opportunity to geocache in as well as a drive I took to geocache at a very famous fortress. Even though, this post isn’t about Newfoundland caches, it is about caches close to North Sydney, a spot many Newfoundlanders arrive at every summer.
You can see North Sydney and the Newfoundland ferries from here. (click to enlarge)
The first blogpost in this series is on an historic area that is located a few kilometers from the Canadian Coast Guard College. On a Sunday, I left the College and walked 3.5 km to Hospital Road in Edwardsville, home of Point Edward and the very old Point Edward Battery. Part of the way down the road, my journey started as I ventured off the road and headed down a trail towards the beach. The first three caches are simply placed along the trail and have no real historical significance. They are:
Upon arriving at the beach and the fourth cache, I noticed that I could see two of the Newfoundland – Nova Scotia ferries across the water in North Sydney
Heading down towards the point. (click to enlarge)
The fourth cache,
Point Edward 2 of 2 (end of trail) (GC27802) placed by
Papillon-1 is located along the beach and looks out Sydney Harbour. It was easy to see why a battery, placed here, was important to protecting the harbour. Instead of backtracking out the trail and finding the trail to the other six caches, I decided to take a stroll down the beach.
Having a wonderful walk down the beach. (click to enlarge)
I must say, there is nothing more relaxing than a quiet stroll along the beach. This beach is a rocky beach and, from the looks of all the erosion, it might only be passable in spots during low tide.
There is a lot of beach erosion here. (click to enlarge)
There was also a bit of garbage littering the beach. Perhaps a CITO caching day is needed for this area. There is also a lot of trees along the bank that are leaning over very precariously, so keep your eyes peeled in case one decides to fall. Injuries always ruin the experience.
This bunker was initially built during the late 1700s. This one is not safe to be around. (click to enlarge)
As you continue down the beach, you will see a strange-looking structure. This is one of the two battery positions belonging to the Point Edward battery. The Point Edward Battery was initially constructed in 1793 after war broke out between England and France. It was used in conjunction with other batteries located around Sydney Harbour to protect the harbour from a French attack. Over the years, it would fall into disarray, be built back up for each of the World Wars, and then fall back into its current state of disarray once again. The floor of this one is crumbled and is not safe to be in. Luckily, the cache,
What Is This Doing Here? (GC1C83Q) by
fascache is located behind it and not in it. Once you get this cache, you must now find the trail that leads to it and use it instead of the beach.
This is the second bunker which is at the point. It is in much better shape. (click to enlarge)
Walking down the trail a few hundred meters, you come to a second battery position. This time, the structure is in much better shape. The floor, however, is showing signs of cracking and a couple of pieces have fallen out. If you want to enter, tread carefully and don’t fall through the hole. The cache that is located here is called
Ethel goes to WAR (GCPDHW) and was placed by
MineRP. The cache is located behind the structure, in the woods. There is evidence in the woods that some sort of house was here, probably some living quarters for the men who manned the gun battery.
This used to be a barracks. All is left is the foundation. (click to enlarge)
As you head back out this new trail, you will pass some sort of concrete pillar, marking the start of the battery. Continuing on, you come to a fork in the road. If you take a right, you will head down another trail towards the beach again. As you approach
Habitant (GC1C8J3) by
fascache, you will notice a foundation. That is all that is left of the military barracks that used to be located here. There are also some rusty items amongst the trees that were probably left over from one of the times this battery was manned. The cache is well-hidden so keep your eyes sharp.
As was with the first three caches on this trail system, the last three caches have no historical significance. That doesn’t mean that they are not worth finding. Two of the three are well hidden and took me a bit of time to find. The last cache in the area actually took me 30 minutes to find, but that was only because I didn’t follow my gut. The last three caches are:
Altogether, I walked about 12km to get these caches, including the walk to abnd from the College. It took me about 4.5 hours to complete. Being a big war buff, I thoroughly enjoyed these caches. It would have been better if the cache owners had put more of the history in their cache descriptions. I did, however, have fun looking everything up on the Internet afterwards.
How about you? Do you like finding caches that have an historical significance? Are you a military buff? If so, please let us know! We would loved to read your comments! Once again, have a great Remembrance Day! They will never be forgotton.
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