WHEN Meeth farmers Peter and Gillian Cave took part in a national treasure hunt for a bit of light relief from the foot and mouth crisis they never dreamt they would end up with the reward worth £10,000.

But that is just what happened to the couple who responded to 'The Quest for the Golden Owl' launched by countryside magazine The Field in May.

A series of clues to the Golden Owl's whereabouts appeared in four issues of the magazine with its location pinpointed in the latest issue — there was a race to get there first but the winners were the Caves, who found the owl in a leafy tree bole at Killerton Estate in Exeter.

Mrs Cave said it had been an awful year — they had almost lost their pedigree herd of North Devon cattle to a contiguous foot and mouth cull in March and their farm was still under Form D restrictions.

'We are subscribers to The Field and my son and I had worked out the first set of three clues, so when the August issue fell onto our doorstep last week, my husband said let's do something crazy and go after the owl.'

The couple realised the owl was somewhere in the West Country and the clues referred to a city with a river widening towards the sea (The Exe) and with districts named after a 'good man though doubtful' (St Thomas and St David).

When the next clues referred to a property with 'national treasures', Mrs Cave was sure it was the National Trust's Killerton House.

'We got to Killerton early — Peter found the sycamore highlighted by the clues, shinned up and pulled out the owl.'

'It was a lovely surprise and we had great fun doing it. Had we hesitated we would not have found it because there was a treasure hunt club just an hour behind us.'

Modelled on a barn owl, The Golden Owl, valued at £10,000, is 15cm high and made of 18 carat gold with a white-gold head and Calmgorm eyes.

The couple have not yet decided what to do with the owl, which is now safely stored in the bank, but Mrs Cave said if they did sell it, the money would be used for conservation work on the farm.

The Field's editor Jonathon Young dreamt up the idea to give readers the excitement of a treasure hunt and draw attention to the plight of the barn owl.

The Caves will present a £3,000 cheque to the Barn Owl Trust on behalf of habitat management experts Strutt and Parker who helped organise the treasure hunt.