IT shan’t be taking to the open ocean any time soon, but that’s okay for Stover Lake is a large enough body of water for Daphne, the country park’s brand new boat, to contend with.

The Friends of Stover Country Park, a registered charity that supports members and guest of the popular park, have recently raised funds to purchase the boat for Stover’s rangers.

Having such transport enables the team to carry out essential maintainence as well as allowing them to conduct their routine activities.

The boat has been named ‘Daphne’, after Daphne Watts, who has been chairman of the Friends for decades; it is dedicated to the memory of her husband, William Watts, who was a volunteer at Stover for many years.

A replacement boat was warmly received by the Stover team, as their previous vessel required an extra passenger just to bail the water out and keep it afloat!

But there is no chance of this with Daphne.

One can only hope cries of ‘Daphne is stuck again’, made popular by a gang of meddling kids and a dog, aren’t heard by the rangers!

Friends of Stover Country Park trustee, Emily Farrell, said: ‘We have been fund rasing for about a year to purchase the boat.

‘What we try to do is raise funds for practical things that the rangers need, in this case a new boat as the last one had a hole in it.

‘And alongside that we are supporting the wider lottery funding bid at Stover Park.

‘The rangers have to be able to get out to the little island on the lake to maintain it and that sort of thing.’