WARNING
THIS CACHE IS RATED 4.5 DIFFICULTY OUT OF 5 - IT IS NOT A BEGINNERS CACHE!
(If you have found less than 500 caches it might be worth coming back at a later date)
YOU MIGHT HAVE TO VISIT MORE THAN ONCE AND YOU MIGHT HAVE TO SEARCH LONGER THAN YOU THINK
- due to false finds we might ask you to prove the location -
It is there! The cache very rarely goes missing!
South Park has been an important green space in Darlington since the 17th century, when it was left to the people of the town by James Bellasses. In 1851 under the influence of the first park committee; which included members of the powerful Backhouse family and George Stephenson’s brother Joseph, the park became known as South Park.
South Park has a long and varied history with many of the Victorian monuments still in the park for a new generation to enjoy. Located near the North West entrance to the Park are two giant Redwoods or Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron giganteum ). These two trees were planted in March 1863 to commemorate the marriage of the future King Edward VII to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The only other Multi-stemmed Welligtonia is at Stratfield Saye House (the former home of the Duke of Wellington) in Hampshire and was planted by the 2nd Duchess of Wellington in memory of its namesake in 1857 after the Battle of Waterloo. The tree council believes that these trees are probably from the same seed as the ones at Stratfield, and place the trees at South Park in the top ten in Britain.
More on the Giant Redwood or Wellingtonia at this Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron
Darlington Borough Council have published the following Opening times at South Park
(Please note this can vary with the season)
They are currently:
Monday 00:01 23:59
Tuesday 00:01 23:59
Wednesday 00:01 23:59
Thursday 00:01 23:59
Friday 00:01 23:59
Saturday 00:01 23:59
Sunday 00:01 23:59
It would appear the Park is open virtually 24 hours (but I think Darlington Council might have made a mistake with the times?) The Park is best enjoyed on sunny afternoons. There are toilets and refreshments (including ice cream) available next to the Clock Tower at the newly restored Pavilion. You can even watch the bowls – depending on how old you are of course!
Have you read the bit in red?
In fact we feel if you find this cache you deserve a special souvenir
