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Saturday 10 January 2015

Ghost village, Imber

I have been eyeing up one cache in particular for years but only just got round to finding it. It's called Ghost Village and is a very old virtual cache in rural Wiltshire. The problem is you can't find it whenever you feel like it, you have to wait until it is accessible. The village is in the middle of a military training ground but it granted public access at peak times of the year such as Christmas, Easter and the during a bit of the summer. The thing about this village however is the appearance of the buildings. You wouldn't want to live here - the buildings have no glass in the windows and are mere shells of homes build for training. There was a real village here once but everyone had to vacate during World War 2 so the military to train here but the villagers were never allowed back, even after the war. It has been used by the military ever since. There are plenty of warnings not to stay off the main road because there's a risk of death due to unexploded military debris nearby! Anyone caught straying is liable for prosecution.




The village has a church too, St Giles', where another cache can be claimed. The church is not open most of the time for obvious reasons but it does have the occasional service. When the village is open to the public, visitors can have a look around the church, have some food and drink, explore the history and try bell-ringing. More information about the village and the church are on the cache pages and at websites such as www.imberchurch.org.uk/ and www.public-interest.co.uk/imber/ For an interesting trip out which is a little unusual, why not pay a visit to Imber village if you're in the area?