Shadow of a Dowty

 This is the description of a geocache I found in Cheltenham today...


A magnetic mini-tube in one of Cheltenham’s best kept secret locations. How many people have lived in the town for years without knowing the existence of this lovely Regency lane hidden behind the houses?

Some stealth may be needed in seeking the cache as there are residential dwellings nearby, so this is designed to be a quick find. The cottage which overlooks the cache has a blue plaque commemorating Sir George Dowty.

George Dowty was an employee of the Gloster Aircraft Company in the 1920s, and lived in Malvern Road. He was a gifted aircraft engineer who designed an innovative landing wheel. When his employers failed to capitalise on his design, he resigned and began building the wheels himself. In 1931 he rented the upper floor of this old coach house and it became his first workshop. The business took off and soon had to move to bigger premises, eventually becoming an international firm and a major local employer.

But the lane is much older, and actually pre-dates all of the adjacent streets. It incorporates an old road formerly known as Lads Lane which once led to a fine mansion called Bays Hill House (or Fauconberg Lodge) which was where King George III stayed during his visit in 1788, kickstarting Cheltenham’s great spa water boom. Bays Hill House is long gone and its site is now occupied by Sidney Lodge in Overton Road. The King's Well, Cheltenham's original spa in Bayshill Road, was destroyed when the Ladies' College was built, so this lane is now the only surviving relic of this important part of the town’s history.


I love the back of the impressive terraced houses but even more so the much more humble dwellings on the right. Along past the geocache 3 new (or dramatically renovated) little terraced houses are very modern yet fit in perfectly. I do love it when geocaching takes me to interesting places I would otherwise never see.
Tomorrow is the last full day of my HF holiday in Bourton. There are still plenty of caches to find in Cheltenham so May return again.