Armed with a new GPS I decided it was time to see what this geocaching business was all about. I was surprised how many potential caches were available in a place such as Salisbury - and they're all well used too.

I planned a mini route where I could find four basic caches. The good thing about locating them around the area in which you live is that you end up exploring places that you just wouldn't normally go to. My first target took me along a boardwalk next to the river just 10 minutes out of the city centre itself. As the metres counted down I found myself getting excited about the prospect of what I might find.

0 metres. I was on top of it. Of course now the real trick is to find what you're looking for without a) alerting other members of the public (known to fellow geocachers as "muggles") and b) making yourself look like a complete lunatic.

I had to wait and pretend to be admiring the river until the coast was clear, and as soon as it was I was crawling around in the dirt. One reach under the boardwalk and there it was.. a simple tupperware container filled with all manner of bits and pieces. The idea with a lot of these caches is that you can take something out of it provided you leave something behind that is of equal or more value. I didn't have anything with me but I signed the logbook and stealthily returned the cache to it's hidden location.

The next cache was more easily spotted, and again I was surprised how accurate the GPSr was. As soon as it read 0 metres I was right on it. Again it took a bi of acting so I didn't appear suspicious to passing pensioners...

Sadly that was the end of my triumphant geocaching introduction as I didn't find either of the next two caches; the third requires a different time of day with far fewer people around and the fourth I just have no idea, couldn't find it at all! After a peek on the website I noticed that particular cache hasn't been found recently so perhaps one of thes pesky muggles has stolen it!

Nonetheless a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours wandering in new spots of my old town and invoking the inner child. I've already uploaded a couple for when the family visit - we'll see what they make of crawling around on the floor looking like a nutcase!