This is 'geocaching' and it's a craze catching on fast across all age groups. It has a growing number of members in North East Wales and Chester and today one of them, Chas Sumner, explains why he's caught the geocaching bug.


It's pitch black, the wind is howling through the trees but at least the rain has finally stopped. I'm in a wood on the fringe of Flintshire with two of my friends, and with only two torches between us we are bizarrely trying to find a plastic tupperware box concealed somewhere in the trees.

We've already found one container by following a trail of luminous eyes cleverly located at regular intervals along the paths through the forest, and on our way back to the car it seemed a good idea to try to find another one of these boxes.

We know there is one out there somewhere and once again we check our handheld GPS systems to try to narrow down the area. Finally there is a shout from nearby, Paul has found something.

We shine our torches down to reveal a plastic box which contains an assortment of toys and puzzles together with a logbook and pen. We exchange a couple of objects, sign the logbook and return the box to a hiding place for the next person to find. It's a cross between orienteering and treasure hunting, it's called "geocaching" and all three of us are hooked.

Two days later and I'm standing on a railway station in Anglesey. This time I know I'm looking for a very small metal container and my GPS is telling me it's hidden somewhere on the platform near the passenger shelter. There is only one other person near me and he's more interested in the trains than in me but I try to avoid drawing attention to myself as I check the area for anything magnetic on the seat and shelter.

I feel like a Cold War spy but I can't find anything. I recheck my GPS which seems to suggest I should be looking further to the left. There is a gate out to a footpath. Surely it can't be hidden there? Then it makes sense. The small metal canister has been cleverly attached to the weight on the gate and with a quick sleight of hand it's soon in my grasp. It's a good job I brought a pen because the container is too small for any writing implements and I sign the log as evidence that I have found the geocache and tick another one off my list.

Geocaching has been in existence since 2000 when the first cache was hidden in Portland, Oregon, in the USA, but it has taken off in recent years with the increasing sales of GPS's. The basic idea of geocaching is to locate a hidden container (ranging in size from small canisters to large ammo boxes). The geocaches are rated according to terrain and difficulty so you can chose one to your liking and all caches contain a log book to sign. In addition the containers contain "treasure" with the idea that you swap an item in the geocache with something of your own. On return to base, the find is logged on the geocaching website which can be found at www.geocaching.co.uk

The expansion of geocaching has been phenomenal and there are now nearly half a million caches worldwide in countries as diverse as China, Finland, Costa Rica and Namibia. There are even a handful of caches hidden in Iraq. In fact, wherever you go in the world you can just about guarantee that you will only be a short distance from a geocache.

The UK is at the forefront of the hobby with more than 23,000 located around the country and more than 5,000 teams participating in the activity. With geocaches ranging from complex puzzles down to straightforward drive-bys there is plenty of variety for everyone and there are also regular events held throughout the country where fellow geocachers can meet up to share experiences and ideas.

Hazel Sweeney from Bromborough has arranged a number of successful events in the Chester area and has more than 1,000 geocache finds to her name. She said: "I do it for the fresh air and exercise but there is also a big social side to geocaching with camping events practically every weekend in the summer months, and some of my best friends are now fellow geocachers."

Fellow geocachers Mike and Gail Curtis, from Axton, known to the geocaching community as Team Marzipan, have hidden more than 100 geocaches themselves and agree the hobby is very family oriented. Mike said: "Our caching has taken us to parts of the country we have never visited before and places we would not normally visit, including sites abroad. We have experienced all weathers and conditions but mostly had great fun and plenty of exercise for us and our dog."

Recent converts to geocaching are Ian and Carol Bewley, with their 12- year-old daughter Samantha. Ian, who is from Penyffordd, was introduced to the pastime by a work colleague and the family caches under the name of the Bilberrythree.

Ian said: "I was told about geocaching at the start of the year and my wife, daughter and I decided to try to see if we could find a few in North-East Flintshire. We borrowed my work colleague's GPS and had no problem in finding four caches. It proved to be great fun, especially for our daughter, and since then we have bought our own GPS. Even our new puppy has enjoyed the walks which have taken us to places we would never have gone to had it not been for the geocache hidden there."

So what do you need to become a geocacher? A sense of adventure helps but the key requirement is a handheld GPS. These range in price from £50 to £450 for a top of the range model. Then all you need to do is register on the website (where you can find an excellent getting started guide and a wealth of information), search for the nearest geocache to your home, input the co-ordinates into your GPS and away you go. Have fun.