The Harcourt
Arboretum is part of the University of Oxford Botanic
Gardens. Please note that opening times are restricted
(details
here) and that dogs are not allowed other than the
car park. Why not bring the family and a picnic and make a day
of it? It’s a wonderful place to stroll around for a few
hours.
The locations below are listed in no
particular order, and can be visited in any order. This is the sort
of place where aimless wandering is the norm, but you may prefer to
sort them into a logical sequence. You might cross and re-cross
your path frequently, each time approaching from a new angle and
noticing different things. There is something of interest at
all times of year, but in late spring early summer the
rhododendrons and azaleas are particularly spectacular.
To find the cache, you will need to visit the
locations listed. At
each you need to obtain various words or phrases. Each letter of
each answer then has to be crossed off in the grid below. The
letters remaining are then converted into numbers to give the
coordinates for the final cache.
Location 1– NOT AVAILABLE (grid modified so
Location 1 is not required)
What two words appear next to Compton,
Marcham and St Hughes? (7+6 letters)
Location 2– near N51° 41.035 W01°
12.054
Who retired after 32 years service to
the arboretum? (total of 11 letters)
Location 3– near N51° 40.966 W01°
12.222
At what intervals are Quercus robur planted? (spell out
the number and unit - total of 12 letters)
Location 4– near N51° 40.993 W01°
11.957
Taxus baccata is the source of what, used to treat
types of what? (5+6 letters)
Location 5– near N51° 40.940 W01°
11.903
A particularly fine specimen of what?
(5+3 letters)
Location 6- near N51° 40.974 W01°
12.032
What is the stated colour in the name of
this cultivated smooth-leaved variety? (6 letters)
Location 7- near N51° 40.827 W01°
11.938
Apart from picking it up, what else
might squirrels do to an acorn? (5 letters)
Location 8- near N51° 40.926 W01°
12.108
Name the two types of insect pictured
and named in the small panels (8+9 letters)
Location 9- near N51° 40.927 W01°
12.023
Pick the what? (5 letters)
Location 10- near N51° 40.856 W01°
11.810
The coppice has been planted using what?
(total of 16 letters)
You should now be left with six letters
in the grid. Each of these needs to be converted to a number in the
time honoured way, a=1, b=2, c=3 etc. In the case of double digit
numbers, ignore the leading digit. You should now have six numbers.
Are you still with me?
These can now be converted to the co-ords
for the location of the cache. Call the lowest number u and then
sequentially up to the highest which will be z (zero counts
low).
So your
final destination is N 51° 40.zvx W 01°
11.ywu