A Child's Christmas in Wales (or thereabouts!) LbNA #51752 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | wandaandpete  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Dec 19, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Holland |
| County: | Worcester |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | burning feet |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Jan 12, 2016 |
| Status: | FFFaFFFFaaa |
| Last edited: | Nov 20, 2020 |
338. A Child's Christmas in Wales (or thereabouts!)
A sweet little winter wonderland loop around an old mining area in south central MA.
Ever since we got this stamp from Ellen of the Travelers 4 after last season's O Letterbox Tree, we've been waiting to have a chance to drive through Wales to transplant it to what we thought might be an appropriate spot around there. Well, the opportunity finally came on a snowy December day as we were driving home to RI from Keene, NH via routes 32 and 19. However, it turns out that the spot we were thinking of is actually closer to Holland than Wales, but - hey - that's close enough, right?
Anyway, the easiest way for most folks to get there would probably be to take exit 1 off I-84 just north of the CT border, follow route 15 south (west) for 1.5 miles, and then turn right onto Leadmine Road for just under a mile to a small parking area on the left for this quaint little reservation that was once a graphite mine. Nipmuck Indians got "black lead" from it for years before Governor Winthrop's son took over around the mid 1600's, and others continued limited mining here through the 1800's. It is most likely a pretty area at any time of year, but winter makes it even more special, as you might find out almost immediately after you start walking the yellow blazed trail west and see a tunnel off to the right with many lovely "ice candles" glistening on the ground just inside the opening!
A couple of minutes walk further along brings the more traditional collection of icicles of all shapes and sizes hanging off the chipped rocks on the right. Continue walking amidst the laurel as the yellow blazed trail loops clockwise, crossing a small stream and eventually bearing right again to climb the backside ridge of the mine area. Near the top of the "first landing", sight between two good-sized trees for a little knee-high "cave" in the right-hand section of the first large rock formation. In the left-hand side of the "cave", behind a few carefully placed rocks, find a camo-taped pill container with one of T-1's old Christmas stamps!
Continue the way you were going to shortly reach the top of the ridge, then head gently downhill and turn left to get back to the small parking area. The whole loop only takes about 15 or 20 minutes, but you may wish to leave some extra time for further exploring. Hope you enjoy this lovely little preserve in a less-traveled part of New England!
A sweet little winter wonderland loop around an old mining area in south central MA.
Ever since we got this stamp from Ellen of the Travelers 4 after last season's O Letterbox Tree, we've been waiting to have a chance to drive through Wales to transplant it to what we thought might be an appropriate spot around there. Well, the opportunity finally came on a snowy December day as we were driving home to RI from Keene, NH via routes 32 and 19. However, it turns out that the spot we were thinking of is actually closer to Holland than Wales, but - hey - that's close enough, right?
Anyway, the easiest way for most folks to get there would probably be to take exit 1 off I-84 just north of the CT border, follow route 15 south (west) for 1.5 miles, and then turn right onto Leadmine Road for just under a mile to a small parking area on the left for this quaint little reservation that was once a graphite mine. Nipmuck Indians got "black lead" from it for years before Governor Winthrop's son took over around the mid 1600's, and others continued limited mining here through the 1800's. It is most likely a pretty area at any time of year, but winter makes it even more special, as you might find out almost immediately after you start walking the yellow blazed trail west and see a tunnel off to the right with many lovely "ice candles" glistening on the ground just inside the opening!
A couple of minutes walk further along brings the more traditional collection of icicles of all shapes and sizes hanging off the chipped rocks on the right. Continue walking amidst the laurel as the yellow blazed trail loops clockwise, crossing a small stream and eventually bearing right again to climb the backside ridge of the mine area. Near the top of the "first landing", sight between two good-sized trees for a little knee-high "cave" in the right-hand section of the first large rock formation. In the left-hand side of the "cave", behind a few carefully placed rocks, find a camo-taped pill container with one of T-1's old Christmas stamps!
Continue the way you were going to shortly reach the top of the ridge, then head gently downhill and turn left to get back to the small parking area. The whole loop only takes about 15 or 20 minutes, but you may wish to leave some extra time for further exploring. Hope you enjoy this lovely little preserve in a less-traveled part of New England!