estate explorers pack - Fastly · 2020-06-09 · Estate Explorers There’s so much more to see at Chirk beyond the castle walls. Use this guide to become an Estate Explorer! This

Chirk Castle Estate Explorers

There’s so much more to see at Chirk beyond the castle walls.

Use this guide to become an Estate Explorer!

This map will help you find your way around.

Map Key:

- Kitchen garden (activities on page 2 and 3)

- Grass slope in front of the castle (activity on page 4)

to - Discovery trail (page 6 and 7)

Kitchen Garden Feeding the castle

What was a kitchen garden for?

All the food eaten at the castle had to come from near by. Animals

such as sheep and pigs would be kept for meat. Cows provided

dairy products and chickens provided eggs.

All the vegetables and fruit would be grown nearby in a kitchen

garden like this one.

The Lords and nobles ate well. Most meals contained meat and a

variety of vegetables.

The servants and peasants had a much simpler diet. bread, porridge

and pottage( vegetable stew) washed down by beer. Meat was only

eaten on special occasions such as Christmas.

Vegetables were not thought to be healthy in the Middle Ages. The

root vegetables were considered only fit for the common folk and

were not eaten by the wealthy.

Can you find the

ingredients for pottage?

Onion

Parsnips

Leeks

Cabbage

Herbs—parsley,

rosemary and thyme

Carrots

Turnips

Do you recognise any of the

vegetables or fruit growing

in the garden?

Draw them on the plate

Number

on the map

Rosemary

Blue-purple flowers and

long narrow leaves, dark

green on top and silver

underneath

Sage

Aromatic silver-grey

leaves about 8cm long

and 1.2cm wide

Chives

Long thin hollow leaves

with clumps of mauve

flowers

Basil

Bright green foliage

with spicy clove-like

aroma

Balm (lemon balm)

Strong lemon scent with

crinkly leaves, shaped

like mint leaves

Was used to cure diseases

of the brain, heart, lungs,

kidneys and bladder

Dried leaves were used to

cure headaches and colds

Can be made into a tea

which is used to bring

down high temperatures

Also used as a tonic for the

stomach and to help

digestion.

Used for: coughs,

breathing problems.

Used for: sprains, fractures,

paralysis, skin problems.

Used for:

almost anything! Especially

preventing the plague,

chest problems, dressing

wounds, eye problems,

and as a painkiller.

Can you find these

herbs in the kitchen

garden or the formal

garden?

Match the description

of the herb to it’s

picture

Herbs

Name Pulse at start

of the attack

Pulse at end of

attack

Time of 1st

attack

Time of 2nd

attack

Foot soldiers must be fit to stage an attack on the castle. Start at the bottom of the grassy

slope in front of the castle.

1. Take your pulse

2. Run up to the top of the hill whilst your partner times you

3. Take your pulse at the top of the hill.

4. Record your results in the table below

How to check your pulse

Gently place 2 fingers of your other hand on

the artery in your wrist or neck.

Do not use your thumb, because it has its

own pulse that you may feel.

Count the beats for 30 seconds, and then

double the result to get the number of

beats per minute

Attacking the castle Number

on the map

Go into the woodland and find a tree

Do a bark rubbing

of your tree onto

the trunk

Collect leaves to

decorate your tree

How many hugs does it take to go round the trunk of your tree?

Match the creatures

to the part of the

tree they live in

Measure the age of your tree

All you have to do is measure 1.5m up the tree and then measure the circumference. Divide the

circumference by Pi (3.141) and the final number is the age of the tree

Measure the height of your tree

Start to walk away from the tree, every few steps take a look back through your legs. Stop when the

entire tree is within your view. Measure the distance from your feet back to the base of the tree…the

distance is the height of the tree!

How old is your tree?

How tall is your tree?

Trees

Can you spot the octagonal

dovecote is on your right? It was

built in the 18th century.

What do you think lived here?

______________________________

Discovery trail Use the map on the front cover to find

your way around the estate

Numbers on the map to

Start

Take the path to heading off right into the trees, walk down the path

and through the gate into the field beyond

Go back to the main path, walk up the hill

towards the castle and then take the path

on your right with the sign that says

woodland walk

Find the bird hide and take a few minutes to stop and see if you can see any birds.

Try and be as quiet as possible so you don’t scare them away.

Write the types of birds that you saw here:

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Can you spot the remains of Offa’s Dyke? It was a massive defensive

earthwork that was constructed around 785 by King Offa of Mercia

separating what are now England and Wales. Originally it measured 8m

from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the bank.

What do you think Offa’s Dyke was for?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Offa’s Dyke

Start at Home Farm

This plinth used to support Hercules,

one of a pair of statues made in the

1720s to stand at the main gates. He was

moved Into the woods 50 years later and

in 1987 he was moved by helicopter to

the Lime Avenue in the gardens.

The other statue, Mars has never been

found. What do you think he might have

looked like? Draw him standing on his

plinth.

Once you get out from under the cover of the trees, keep your eyes

peeled for buzzards. They are the most common British bird of prey but

150 years ago they were very rare.

You might see them soaring overhead. What do you think they might be

looking for?__________________________________________________

Can you spot the ancient sweet chestnut? These trees were

introduced to Britain 2000 years ago by the romans who used

the nuts to make porridge! This tree probably dates from the

time of Henry VIII. If the tree was planted in 1530, how old is it?

_________________________________

Make your way down the path to the far end of the woodland to

point number 6 on the map

Continue round the path into Deershed wood to point number

7 on the map

You have reached the furthest point on the map!

Either continue on the path to do a circular walk

or turn and walk back the way you came…. End

Goldfinch                      Chaffinch                     Blue  t                       Robin      

Pied wagtail               Blackbird                       Starling                       Buzzard 

Magpie 

Chirk Castle

Spotter Sheet

Squirrel  White Park Ca le  Rabbit 

Pheasant  

Welsh Black Mountain                    

Sheep Wild Ponies (Stormy and Sandy) 

Be careful 

as the wild 

ponies may 

bite!