Geocache maintenance walk

Had a battle with brambles, nettles and hawthorn here to get to the cache to check it. At the cache I dropped my bag and all my logs in their little bags cascaded down the bank away from me. No fun retrieving them! Did a bit of cursing. Glad I chose wellies to help protect me some from the stingers and stabbers.
I walked 4 miles (checking 12 of the 25 caches but it felt more - must be getting old! It didn't help that people had not put a lot of them back where they found them and obviously, when a cache is not where you placed it, you are going to have to search awhile to find it. Grrrr.
Maintaining the caches at this time of year is hard due to all the growth around hides, so while I may have looked daft in wellies on a sunny day, it made perfect sense. Those nettles and thorns get through your pants, gloves and top though so unless I wear something like an astronaut's kit I cannot avoid them altogether. 
At the start of this walk there was a new bench and I was very sad to read the inscription on it (extra photo). I had many a chat with Malcolm on my trips here. He lived in the end one of 2 semis near the gates - I think it is known as The Lodge. The bench is directly opposite where he lived. He was a retired gamekeeper for Lord Derby and this, The Old Coach Road runs through Lord Derby's estate. He was allowed to stay there after retirement. I will miss my chats with him.