Google Maps Scavenger Hunt!

[Venari]

My guess is this. Looks a bit like a castle to me.

V.

I hope this is right, I've got a belter of a treasure hunt for y'all.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

My guess is this. Looks a bit like a castle to me.

It is a castle, but that is Richard Garriot's latest creation (Britania Manor: Part 2 if you will) which I spoke about and linked to Google Maps with in post #327.

This looks to be the biggest construction site in the area. Is this it?

BINGO!

You really have to see it in person to truly appreciate the scope of the project. To give you some ideas though, if you look closely at the pic you'll see a very large tower crane (here is a closer in view - the shadow of the vertical part of the crane is easy to spot, the crane itself is yellow):

Kodosky first rented this monster 250' crane back in early 2000 and after spending close to $500,000 in rental fees he decided to just buy the crane, but of course he still has had to pay the operational fees for the last six years until he took it down and sold it about six months ago. Now he is using a slightly more economical 100' crane, which I suspect he will need for another couple years.

One of the reasons for needing these large industrial cranes, besides the great size of the 'home' (tallest point is about 80' above the lowest point of the structure), is that a large part of the construction included several dozen massive blocks of limestone and granite, nearly the size of a pick-up truck. If you look closely at the pic you can see some of these blocks located in the lower left corner. You can see how they compare in size to all the crew's trucks parked along the road leading to the entrance as well as those parked on the site itself.

The house is designed to look somewhat like a castle one might find described in a Tolkien book, but with some nods to Monty Python's take on Camelot. What really sets this home apart though are its wonderful series of fountains, pools and waterfalls, as well as a man made river that runs along the eastern side of the home between the main structure and 8-car garage and guest house area.

It also has an astonishing maze of under ground hidden tunnels that can take you to just about every area in the complex, as well as some cleverly hidden rooms. Also these are not the crouch down and cramped style tunnels; the ceiling is often 8' or higher and 6' wide. I'd estimate that there are about 10,000 sqft of tunnels, perhaps more. One of the tunnel entrances is really cleverly hidden, as it is located behind the mid level waterfall between the upper and mid level pools. You either swim under or through the waterfall to find the entrance.

Like his partners at National Instruments, Kodosky is also an amateur astronomer, and so he also built a 70' tower to house a million dollar telescope. From the tower you have an amazing 360 degree view over Austin. 👍

I helped him design his home theater system which is how I became more intimently involved with the project. I have some nice shots of the complex including some of the tunnels, if anyone is interested.

 

[Eric.]

Please do, D-N! That place sounds ****ing amazing.

 

[TheCracker]

I helped him design his home theater system which is how I became more intimently involved with the project. I have some nice shots of the complex including some of the tunnels, if anyone is interested.

Certainly 👍 - How far from completion is the house?


I guess it's my go...

Next: Find me a stretch of motorway/freeway where the opposing lanes have split in the middle to accommodate a stubborn resident.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Ebiggs & Cracker check your PM in-box.

How far from completion is the house?

I'd guess at least two more years, but of course with a house like that I'm sure there will be work going on for many more years after that.

That satellite pic looks like it was taken in 2002 based on how far along the construction is. Is there a way of finding out when a satellite image was taken?

Next: Find me a stretch of motorway/freeway where the opposing lanes have split in the middle to accommodate a stubborn resident.

That sounds like its going to be a tough find, but will make for a funny pic! 👍

 

[TheCracker]

I'll give you a clue, it's within 30-40 miles of my location.

 

[Famine]

I'll give you a clue, it's within 30-40 miles of my location.

I so badly want to post it, 'cos I know exactly where it is

 

[TheCracker]

Feel free to

 

[Venari]

Well, thinking laterally, there's a pretty stubborn resident running through London - the Thames. This is the south entry/exit to the QEII bridge and Canterbury way (th tunnel under the Thames) on the eastern side of London on the famed M25 traffic jam, er, motorway.

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=51.456066,0.247278&spn=0.009212,0.021801&t=k&z=16&om=1

And the north end:

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=51.470714,0.26357&spn=0.002302,0.00545&t=k&z=18&om=1

and an overview of the bridge:

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=51.46489,0.258522&spn=0.018421,0.043602&t=k&z=15&om=1

V.

 

[Famine]

This is the one TheCracker had in mind:

 

[TheCracker]

Famine posted what i had in mind - but Venari's post fits the description perfectly well too. 👍

It's the Dartford Tunnel & Bridge right?

Venari's go.

 

[Sting]

Oh man Famine, I know that place. Been past it, but I can't for the life of me remember where it is, or why I went past it.

 

[TheCracker]

Oh man Famine, I know that place. Been past it, but I can't for the life of me remember where it is, or why I went past it.

It's the M62 between Leeds/Bradford and Manchester. The farm is not far from Saddleworth Moor.

You can see the split in this wider shot:

 

[Pupik]

This is the one TheCracker had in mind:

And they built him two nice little overpasses to get to his home. The taxpayers must have been thrilled.

In the US, they just bend the road, one way or the other. About 15 years ago, we had a 100-year-old farmer outside of Ocala who refused to budge during the final stages of a highway widening, and the state finally gave in; creating a gentle ess-bend in I-75. Other times, the Department of Transportation visits the homeowners, and strikes them in the kneecaps.

Edit: The last part may not be true.

 

[TheCracker]

And they built him two nice little overpasses to get to his home. The taxpayers must have been thrilled.

In the US, they just bend the road, one way or the other. About 15 years ago, we had a 100-year-old farmer outside of Ocala who refused to budge during the final stages of a highway widening, and the state finally gave in; creating a gentle ess-bend in I-75. Other times, the Department of Transportation visits the homeowners, and strikes them in the kneecaps.

Edit: The last part may not be true.

You can't really see from the pix posted but the farm is on a the side of a steep hill side. After further investigation it would seem that the farm owner didn't refuse to move - it's just that the hill side is so step that it required the carriageways to be staggered.

 

[Venari]

Yep, it's the Dartford crossing.

Cool.

Alrighty then, bearing in mind in what country I live and why we all originally visited this site, this is going to be quite a specific treasure hunt.

Your starter:
Q1. Where is this? (And bonus point, why is it so special?)

You don't need to look carefully, but you do need to think about what the different parts of what you're looking at might be. That should give you some good clues and then the internet will help you out.

Now if you get that (or if you've a shrewd idea what it is, even if you can't tell me where) then in similar (newer, rounder and flatter) places in the UK you should be able to find these:

Q2. Four Lotus Sevens or replicas parked within 20ft of each other.
Q3. The words 'Ducati' and 'Aprilia' within ~100m/300ft of each other.
Q4. A Supermarine Spitfire.

Guess away, first person with all 4 gets a little prize.

Venari.

 

[TheCracker]

I'm not entirely sure i understand what we are ment to be searching for

...but here's your Spitfire - at Donnington Park (well, a scale model of)



*Edit* - sorry. miss read it

Heres Q3:

Brands Hatch paddock (i posted it a couple of pages back )




I was thinking that the first one might be the worlds first purpose built race circuit, Brooklands - but i can't find the area of the shot you posted.

 

[daan]

[stab in the dark]
Is that the woodshed they made Tyrrells in?
[stab in the dark]

 

[Diego440]

or some TVR facility? You brits are always looking for TVR things

 

[Venari]

The Cracker gets Q3 and Q4 right, and is very, very close for Q1. Does it look like this motor racing venue goes around in a circle?...

And Q2 must be close if you got Q3 and Q4!

daan, nice try: but these sheds have no walls...

And -Diego- I have seen TVRs there... but certainly not exclusively.

Venari.

 

[TheCracker]

If Q1 isn't Brooklands then it must be Shelsley Walsh

 

[Venari]

It is indeed Shelsley Walsh. Shelsley is a fantastic little place, the oldest motorsport venue in the world still in continuous use - 102 years and still going strong.

TheCracker, you may as well take it over. The Caterfield 7s I had in mind are all congregated at the pit exit of Silverstone, Northamptonshire. Check it out, they look quite funky from above. There are a bunch of Elises on the circuit (or maybe only one) and something going on which looks like a photography setup - very difficult to tell.

The link was, of course, motorsport venues. The clues for Shelsley were there to see - tyremarks over a white line = starting point, but no grid? Paddock sheds immediately next to the line, but no obvious circuit? Thus, a sprint track or hillclimb.

V.

 

[TheCracker]

My Google Earth isn't working at the moment for some reason so i'm having to use Google Maps, which is as clunky as hell.

Find me: a WW2 German airport terminal not in Europe

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Find me: a WW2 German airport terminal not in Europe

I imagine they built a few in North Africa... but can't say I would even know where they would be located or if they would still be standing.

 

[TheCracker]

Think a bit closer to home [/clue]

 

[agent kri]

Is Jersey a part of Europe?

 

[Famine]

Is Jersey a part of Europe?

Yes - it's a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom.

 

[TheCracker]

Think 'film'.

 

[Famine]

Hmm. Technically, all land airside of passport control is International, rather than that which the airport it built upon. So most or most terminal buildings are outside Europe...

 

[UnoMOTO]

Rise ye dead thread

Anyone up for finding a blimp, airship or hot air balloon?