There's a global game going on that you may not have ever known about, with thousands of hidden hide and seek containers placed all over England as part of the ‘geocaching’ phenomenon. Watch a TikTok video revealing just how many you might find near you here:
Billed by Geocaching.com as the 'world's largest treasure hunt', geocaching is a recreational activity that involves using a Global Positioning System (GPS) to hide and find containers – or caches.
After registering online, users look for the coordinates of specific caches, which come in all shapes and sizes and range from 'large reusable containers' to 'micro canisters the size of your fingernail'. Once found, they then sign the log and put it back where they found it so that the next geocacher can discover it.
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To help spread the word about the unusual pastime, TikToker Josh Hull (@hullsome) recently posted a video to reveal just how many there are in England.
The post was a response to a comment from another user, who said they didn't think they had geocaching in England.
Hull wrote: “Did you spot any caches hidden near you? Download the Geocaching map and see for yourself, adventure is right around the corner!”
In the clip, he explained: “You might be surprised to learn that England has thousands of caches.”
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Hull then opened up the geo-caching map to show if there were any ‘caches near you’, continuing: “We’ll look at Liverpool first, and as you can see there are caches hidden all over.
“Now we’ll check out the city of Leeds, and there are even more hidden there.”
He showed further caches in Hull, Derby and Birmingham before moving on to London.
“Last but certainly not least, England’s capital city London has thousands of hidden caches.”
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According to National Geographic, the hobby first started in Oregon in 2000 - when it was known as ‘geostashing’ - after being set up by a group of people who were interested in technology and geography.
Its website explains that there are a number of treasures people can expect to find inside the containers, although 'valuable' items and food are prohibited.
It says: "After registering online, geocachers look for coordinates (the longitude and latitude) of caches.
"Caches have two or three parts: a waterproof container, a logbook to list the people who visit the cache, and sometimes a low-cost trinket or geocoin. (Geocoins are metal medallions made by individual geocachers or organizations. Like other cache items, geocoins are not worth much money.)
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"Common materials found inside caches might include foreign currency, keychains, ornaments, or booklets. Valuable objects, food, or other items that could be easily damaged are not allowed in geocaching."
There are thought to be around two million geocaches out there to find, so you'd better get a move on...
Topics: TikTok, Technology, UK News
Jess Hardiman