Mount Stewart
Mount Stewart is home to the Londonderry family. The award winning gardens have an unrivalled collection of rare and unusual plants. They are famous, in particular, for their huge rhododendron trees, which flower spectacularly in early summer. The garden covers 40 hectares and was largely created by Edith, Lady Londonderry, wife of the 7th Marquess, in the 1920s.
Walk through the woodland to the Temple of the Winds, which has a good vantage-point over the Lough. There are still red squirrels in the woods. If you are lucky, you may see tree creepers and buzzards that nest in the woodland. Other garden and woodland birds are common here including, spotted flycatchers and warblers.
The Old Gas Works
The Old Works generated gas for the Mount Stewart estate. Coal came into the Gas Works by boat and the gas was piped into the house, to fire the ovens and provide the lighting. There is a viewing platform from where you can see across the Lough.
There is an information board there giving details of the various landmarks in view, and of the wonderful species of birds you can look out for.
The coordinates given are for the starting point and carpark area for the Mount Stewart Gasworks cache is there, too.
To locate the cache you will need to replace the letters with the numbers and information you will collect at the starting point.
54 32.ABC
005 35.DEF
A = How many birds heads are there in a row?
B = Divide the wading birds by the wildfowl
C = Over how may marine animal and plant species have been found, Then divide by 1000?
D = How many 'Look out for' photos are there?
E = How many birds feed at 10cm or deeper?
F = Find the approximate year the Mount Stewart Gasworks were built, then:
Subtract 50
Divide the result by 200
There is ample parking at Mount Stewart Gasworks, with a large green area suitable for picnicing.
This cache is best searched for in daylight as there are a few tall trees, the ruin of the Mount Stewart Gasworks, and no artifical lighting.
Mount Stewart and the Temple of the Winds, and the Mount Stewart Gasworks are all National Trust probperties, and this cache has been placed with the kind permission of the National Trust Warden.
This cache is a small tablock container in a camouflaged bag. It contains a log, a pencil and several swapsies. There is also a FTF badge. It is the starting point for Big Brenda Travel Bug.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.
