The village of Stanton Fitzwarren is sign-posted off the main A361
Swindon to Highworth road. The park entrance can be found 500
metres before the village, on the left-hand side. Please park in
the public car park at N51°36.285', W01°44.681'.
This cache was placed during filming for the BBC Points West
programme. The programme visited two caches near Bath,
Tog Hill (South Glocs) and
Bristol Panorama, and then came back to Stanton Park to place
this cache. The cache started with numerous BBC goodies for
exchange by visitors including autographed photographs of
presenters.
Further information about BBC Points West is available on
this web site.
In 2003 a large area within Stanton Country Park, mainly the
woodlands and lake, was designated as a Local Nature Reserve. The
LNR encompasses a wide range of habitats including the woodland, a
lake, recently restored ponds and a number of hedgerows.
There are remnants of ancient woodland within its boundaries and
the site even boosts a giant redwood, which is a reminder of when
the park was planted up by its original private landowners. Most of
the woodland consists of mature oak, with hazel and ash being very
common. Much of the woodland area is damp and supports an
exceptional range of fungi (almost 500 species in total).
Roe deer are often seen, together with many woodland bird
species, including the lesser-spotted woodpecker. The main lake,
restored ponds, ditches and streams all provide habitats for a vast
range of animals and plants, including amphibians, beetles and
dragonflies. Reed beds around the lake edge are home to summer
visitors such as warblers and bunting. The lake is also home to a
myriad of waterfowl such as swans, ducks, grebes and
kingfisher.
When on the final approach to the cache, please beware of the
old Well, fenced off near the field gate. The cache is not in it or
near it. Although it is fenced off, please be careful with children
and dogs.
More information about Stanton Park and the associated Nature
reserve are available on
this web site. Thanks to the Swindon Ranger Service for
permission to place this cache. Please note that the Park has
limited opening hours (on the Winter day when this cache was
placed, the car park was closed at 4.30pm).
Please check out the Geocaching
Association of Great Britain for further information about
Geocaching in the UK.
***A note from Chris, the new maintainer of this cache:***
Thank you very much, Wombles, for maintaining this site for so
long. I have taken it over as it is within easy driving distance
from home so I hope to be able to do it justice by keeping it safe.
I don't know for certain exactly where the original was sited so I
have put it where I think it should be and left every other aspect
of the cache as in the original. If you disagree with its location
or want help finding this cache then please don't hesitate to get
in touch.
As a little hint, don't be too reliant on your GPS once you get
close, especially when the trees are in leaf; use the additional
hint below, which I would say in this case is pretty much essential
for a successful find. That said, the quoted co-ordinates are
accurate; you just need to let your GPS settle in one place for a
few minutes to get an accurate fix, even in full leaf cover.
Good luck and happy caching!
