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Geocaching is a high-tech hobby, which allows members of the public to discover new and interesting places by using a GPS (Global Positioning System) device to look for a hidden item. A kind of treasure hunt, if you like. It has become so popular since its humble beginnings in 2000 that there are�around 675,430 (as of October 2008) geocaching sites across the world.

History of Geocaching

To understand geocaching, we need to look at its history...

It all began back in 2000 when the US military released information on the accuracy of their navigation satellite systems. Their satellites were accurate to within one or two feet of the specified destination.

BBC Points West Geocache

One American decided to test this out. On 3rd May 2000 Dave Ulmer buried a five gallon plastic bucket in Viola, Oregon (this was the first recorded geocache). Inside the bucket he placed a DVD, two CD Roms, a cassette recorder, a 'George of the Jungle' VHS tape, a book, four one dollar bills, a slingshot handle, a can of beans and a log book.

Dave then posted the co-ordinates of his bucket on the internet. By 6th May 2000 the bucket had been logged by Mike Teague from Vancouver in Washington. Mike took the money and left some cigarettes, a cassette tape and a pen.

The original bucket was damaged and is no longer around, however in 2003 a plaque to the original geocache was placed on the site. In keeping with geocaching tradition, there is still a logbook to sign at the location, as well as an ammo can for trade items.

The basics

The basics of geocaching haven't changed. A cache is, at its simplest, a plastic container, which contains a log book and a few items to swap. The size of caches can vary in size, from a two litre plastic lunchbox to a camera film canister (or something even smaller). The cache is hidden and co-ordinates are published on:

To find the objects, you must register with a geocaching website. It's free and once you've registered you potentially have access to geocaches across the world. Enter the object's co-ordinates into a GPS device and off you go. When you find the cache, you enter your details in the logbook. Usually (if the container is big enough) one item is taken from the geocache and another object is added.

The Castle Combe cache

Each cache is rated for difficulty and terrain. A one-star difficulty cache should be pretty easy to find on your first visit and is easy to get to with disabled access. Whereas a five-star geocache may need a few more visits to fid the cache and in terrain terms and you may need climbing or specialist equipment!

Once you've mastered the basic geocache, you can move on to more ambitious finds, such as the mystery or puzzle cache or the multi-cache. A mystery cache can require a puzzle to be solved in order find the coordinates of the cache. Whereas a multi-cache involves two or more locations. Once you find the first geocache, this will then lead you to your next location and so on.

Anyone can plant a geocache, but it's not recommended to plant one straightaway. You should wait until you have found around 10 or 15 first. That way, you know the perfect places to hide them.

One of the most important things to remember is that caches should only be found by those looking for them, we don't want the general public tripping over them.

Like most things, there are rules when it comes to planting a cache:

• You can’t place a cache more than 50 miles from your home address
• The cache must be authorised by�the administrators of the geocaching website�
• The landowner's permission must be sought before planting a cache

My first geocache search

When I met geocaching veteran Robin Stride, I had no idea what to expect. He's been involved since 2003, "I found out about it by accident. It was one of the Look North programmes that did a small feature on it. At that time there were about 100 in the UK.

"I happened to have a GPS device in the cupboard and didn't know what to do with it. I plumbed in the coordinates, which was in the middle of a forest about five miles away. I went to find it and got hooked ever since."

For my first excursion we headed for Ripley Castle. When we got there, I followed the small arrow on the GPS device.

Robin Stride

As we walked down the bridleway behind the castle, I wondered how members of the general public react when they see geocachers searching through bushes.�

Robin explained, "You’ve got to be very careful. Some people I have introduced to it, if I came across them at the location. Other people you've got to be very careful with. In life there are people who won’t enjoy the sport.

"I found things around here that I never knew existed. There are things right on your doorstep that you don’t even know about. I still find them now."

Walking further on, I notice that I am only 12 feet away from the site. After rummaging around in a pile of stones, we came to the conclusion that the cache must've been stolen. But then, we spot it. It's been moved.

I open the box carefully to reveal a logbook, pencil, key rings and a variety of items to swap.

We put the box back where we had found it and made our way back to the car.

Lisa Crawford