There is treasure in the Surrey Hills.
The hobby of ‘geocaching’ involves objects, hidden around towns and the countryside, which can be found using their coordinates and cryptic clues.
The craze began in 2000 when changes in global positioning system (GPS) technology meant navigation was possible with a far greater degree of accuracy.
A series of 11 geocaches have been secreted around Guildford, along a 39-mile walking route designed by keen walker Richard Fox.
“A geocache is a hidden treasure which you locate using GPS technology so you either have a separate GPS device or nowadays they are on smart phones,” he said.
“Go into the compass setting and then within that you can pick up the coordinates - the map reference to locate where this treasure might be. These will put you within a matter of yards. Then you hunt around in the bushes or under the trees to find it.”
At each location is a container with a pencil and a notepad on which to leave a message for other geocachers.
“I think it’s a very big thing worldwide and the idea was to encourage more families outdoors,” said Mr Fox. “I encouraged both my children to go out for big country walks and they are both very keen walkers now. This is another way to get the whole family out.
"It’s one thing that is easy to take for granted in this country - a fantastic network of public footpaths. In other countries that’s not the case at all and your ability to walk the countryside is limited.”
The 11 geocaches left by Mr Fox can be found along the 39-mile Fox Way around Guildford. The walk is split into seven sections, through Worplesdon, Ripley, Clandon, Shere, Bramley, Godalming, and Wanborough.
The route was designed by Mr Fox, a partner at The Learning Corporation, and was last year recognised by the Ordnance Survey, and included in the institution’s Landranger and Explorer maps.
Each geocache is within half an hour walk of a car park.
Geocaching is a successor to ‘letterboxing’ which became popular in the 19th century, encompassing orienteering and puzzle-solving.