2012 Family Trail
The Stover 2012 Family Trail consists of 20 questions with directions to find 12 ink stamps along the route, hidden in tree trunk letterboxes. Print the stamp images onto the stamp sheet provided. Each stamp is of an animal found in the Park. Stamps are not suitable for unsupervised use by children under 3 years old.
Please leave the stamps in the boxes and close the ink pads for others to use. Thank you.
The trail is easy to follow and is themed to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Olympics. It is ¾ mile long and should take approximately an hour to follow.
The answers can be found in the last tree trunk letterbox (No. 12) for you to check. For comparison, a child’s average walking speed is 3mph / 5kmh.
Questions Directions :
Start at the wooden Ted Hughes Poetry Trail Book outside the entrance to the Visitor Centre. Keeping the car park on your right, and the picnic area on your left, follow the Poetry Trail route past the ‘The Wren’ poetry post to the ‘The Warm and the Cold’ poetry post. Look out for the first tree trunk letterbox at the edge of the trees to the left.
Q1. Ink Stamp 1 This insect flies approximately 6000 miles / 10,000km from North Africa to Britain in the summer. It can be seen in the Park and can fly at speeds of up to 30mph.
Is it a…….?
a) Painted Lady butterfly
b) Locust
c) Ladybird
Q2. Fleas are another type of insect and are the champions for the high jump and long jump from the standing start. A common flea can jump 33cm lengthways – 220 times his body size. If a man jumped 220 times his body length he would cover 385m !
However the world long jump record for men is only…..?
a) 8.75 metres
b) 8.95 metres
c) 9.05 metres
Keep ‘The Warm and the Cold’ poetry post on your right and follow the path away from the car park. When you reach the next junction turn left towards the lake.
Q3. The conifer trees on your left were planted around the time of the Queen’s Coronation.
What year was this ?
a) 1950
b) 1952
c) 1954
Turn right just after the ‘An Otter’ poetry post and cross the wooden boardwalk. Look for the second tree trunk letterbox underneath a big oak tree on the right.
Q4. Ink Stamp 2 This mammal sleeps during the day, is active after dark and is often known
as ‘Old Brock’.
Is it a……?
a) Badger
b) Fox
c) Otter
Continue along the lakeside path.
Q5. Look out for swallows and swifts feeding over the lake. In the Spring they flew 7000 miles (11,000km) from South Africa to Stover. Older swallows can fly this distance in five weeks, flying up to 200 miles in one day. Swallows generally fly at 17 – 22 mph although their top speed can be……?
a) 28mph
b) 35 mph
c) 40mph
A distant relative called the Spine-tailed swift from Australia is the fastest flying bird in the world. It can travel at the same speed as an intercity 225 train at 106mph !
Q6. The Peregrine Falcon can dive through the air to catch its prey at even faster speeds. It can reach a speed of …..?
a) 125 mph
b) 195 mph
c) 217 mph
Turn right onto the Aerial Walkway. Continue to the end overlooking the bird feeder where you can find the next tree trunk letterbox.
Q7. Ink Stamp 3 This woodland bird sleeps during the day and feeds on mice, voles and other prey at night.
Is it a……?
a) Woodpecker
b) Nuthatch
c) Tawny Owl
Walk back down the Aerial Walkway and turn right onto the lakeside path. Look for the next tree trunk letterbox near to the ‘To Paint a Water Lily’ poetry post under the big beech tree.
Q8. Ink Stamp 4 This animal lives in the lake and can breathe underwater.
Is it a…..?
a) Fish
b) Otter
c) Frog
Q9. Look out for Stover’s resident Mute Swan. Mute Swans stay in Britain all year round. Their relative, the Whooper Swan, sometimes fly at more than 8,230 m (27,000 feet) when they are migrating from the Arctic Circle.
However, they are not the highest flying – Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture from Africa is the highest flying bird recorded at ……?
a) 9,278 metres
b) 10,278 metres
c) 11,278 metres
Go over the bridge and turn left. Walk behind the ‘Historic Landscape’ interpretation board and look for the next tree trunk letterbox by the granite picnic benches and willow domes.
Q10. Ink Stamp 5 This insect appears in the spring. It feeds on cuckoo flower.
Is it a …..?
a) Bumble bee
b) Orange-tip butterfly
c) Daddy longlegs
Q11. Size for size, ants are even stronger than gorillas. If humans were as strong as ants, a man would be able to lift three family cars above his head (3 tonnes). If you were as strong as an ant, how many of these granite blocks would you be able to lift at once ?
a) 2
b) 4
c) 6
Continue around the lake keeping it on your left, and look for the next tree trunk letterbox at the edge of the rhododendron bushes on the right, before you reach the pond.
Q12. Ink Stamp 6 Stover’s most familiar bird is often noted for its tameness.
Is it a …….?
a) Robin
b) Heron
c) Swan
Walk past the pond on the right and then turn right just before the next small bridge. Walk straight on past the cormorant sculpture and dragonfly sculpture to find the dragonfly bench, and search for the next letterbox nearby.
Q13. Ink Stamp 7 This is the fastest insect in the world, flying at up to 18 mph (29kph).
Is it a…..?
a) Moth
b) Bluebottle fly
c) Dragonfly
Carry on and cross the small bridge on your left. Look out for a toad sculpture where you’ll find the next tree trunk letterbox.
Q14. Ink Stamp 8 This animal is an amphibian and can live in water and on land.
Is it a …..?
a) Toad
b) Newt
c) Salamander
Keeping the ‘Toad’ poetry post and sculpture on your left, and the rhododendron ‘hedge’ on your right, follow the track to find the squirrel sculpture. You will pass two other animal sculptures and poetry posts before arriving at the squirrel sculpture. The tree trunk letterbox is nearby.
Q15. Ink Stamp 9 This animal can climb up and down trees at 20 mph.
Is it a……?
a) Cat
b) Squirrel
c) Bear
Now walk back to the track and retrace your steps slightly to find the mythical beast sculpture in the rhododendron ‘hedge,’ and then look for the tree trunk letterbox.
Mythical beast
Q16. Ink Stamp 10 The female of this animal is called a vixen.
Is it a ……?
a) Fox
b) Badger
c) Otter
Continue along the track keeping the squirrel sculpture on your left and the mythical beast sculpture on your right. Cross over a wooden boardwalk, past the children’s ‘Otter’ poetry post, and turn right to rejoin the lake path. Do not cross the big bridge, but bear right and look for ‘The Kingfisher’ poetry post and bench. The tree trunk letterbox is close by.
Q17. Ink Stamp 11 This river bird is often seen as a flash of blue and orange. Its eyes are specially adapted to see underwater to catch its prey. Tom Daley has to wear goggles when diving!!
Is it a……?
a) Cormorant
b) Heron
c) Kingfisher
Q18. Humans diving for pearls can hold their breath for 2 minutes or more and dive to 15m (49ft). The three water birds above all hold their breath when diving in water. Otters live in rivers and lakes too and can hold their breath even longer.
How long can an otter hold its breath……?
a) 4 minute
b) 5 minutes
c) 6 minutes
Turn around and trace your steps back to the big bridge. Turn right to cross the bridge and go straight on following the path round to the left so that you have water on both sides. Just after the next bridge you will find the last tree trunk letterbox on the right.
Q19. Ink Stamp 12 This bird is usually found at the seaside.
Is it a …….?
a) Seagull
b) Shelduck
c) Cormorant
Q20. Have a look at the ducks around the feeding bay. Ducks are among the fastest birds in level flight. The mallard achieves a top recorded speed of………?
a) 20 mph
b) 40mph
c) 65 mph
Well done – you have finished the trail.
The answers can be found in the last tree trunk letterbox.
5