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the Degree Confluence Project
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United Kingdom : England

1.1 km (0.7 miles) W of Barkway, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Approx. altitude: 142 m (465 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 52°S 180°

Accuracy: 5 m (16 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: On the exact spot #3: Accuracy #4: Can't go this way #5: Fancy a rest? #6: Too common nowadays

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  52°N 0° (visit #3)  

#1: A common sight - mobile phone mast

(visited by Gordon Spence)

28-Dec-2001 -- I had planned to go up to Scotland to go to one of the points not yet visited but the weather has intervened. As you go further North you encounter gale force winds coming down from the Arctic, Scotland has 10 inches of snow in some places and some of the main routes North are closed due to big lorries being blown over!

So, not to be deterred I cast my eye around and find another point considerably closer to home, that again has no accuracy figure attached.

I planned my route with the road atlas and figured on about an hours drive, followed by half that again walking...I found the small back road and drove on until I went past 0.00.00.0 after another half mile I found a public footpath.

After walking it for about 500 yards it became apparent that it curved completely in the wrong direction. Back to the car and back track along the road, I thought I had spotted a Public Bridleway - like a footpath but vehicles are allowed along it - just under a mile back.

Sure enough there was, I pulled the car in and managed to drive about 400 yards before discretion took over and I parked up. By this time, the track was already down to single car width with large puddles of water about four inches deep....

I started following the bridleway and found a promising path, unfortunately it had been designated as an area of special wildlife interest, so under the guidelines of the project I had to find another route!

At this point luckily the bridleway split so I followed the other leg, the next thing I found was what is fast becoming a blight on the English landscape - the abandoned car. They are driven around by joy-riders and then simply abandoned when they run out of fuel. Now bear in mind that this one is over half a mile from the nearest paved road, down a track more suitable for horses...if anyone is interested in reclaiming it or removing it, it is at 51D 59M 52.5S / 0D 0M 0.4S W

What I found next was a pleasant surprise and proves that there are still some people around who care for the countryside, a simple wooden seat. A further few hundred yards down the track and across two fields (one of which was of course waterlogged! - see previous reports) and a small brook and I was at the field.

As was previously noted, the field was planted with a winter crop, but this time I was luckier than the previous visitor, the tractor tracks lined up exactly with the line of longitude!

A brief 50 yard walk into the field and I was exactly at the spot. I took the location shot facing N-E where you can see a mobile phone mast and in the bottom left corner the tractor track. I quickly folowed with the positioning picture and the accuracy picture.

On to the next one....


 All pictures
#1: A common sight - mobile phone mast
#2: On the exact spot
#3: Accuracy
#4: Can't go this way
#5: Fancy a rest?
#6: Too common nowadays
ALL: All pictures on one page