SOG S6Friston Forest WestSat 12 April, 2025

Report

I hope all enjoyed the courses through Friston today. When planning them I wanted each course to be challenging at the appropriate level, but get all to experience different aspects of Friston Forest. The planning challenge was to find features in this highly runnable woodland that were varied and would make participants think. Therefore, some short and long legs with change of direction, without too many ‘distinctive tree’ control sites. The morning went smoothly in glorious weather and everything was tidied away by 1.30. Many thanks go to Chris for overseeing my planning, setting out the controls and being organiser on the day, Karen for providing the initial risk assessments, Steve for signing everything off and helping with parking along with Jill, Andy for securing the permit, Einar volunteering for the start, the SI team (Joe, Mike, Penny and Samantha), LittleDave, Sarah, Alan and Garry for control collecting and Forestry England for allowing the SOG at Friston.

RouteGadget

Is a web app for sharing and comparing orienteering routes. You can draw your own route or upload a GPS track from your watch. It also allows you to watch an animated replay with a simulated mass start.

Location Info

Nearest town: Seaford

• Postcode: *
• Lat,Lng:50.78112,0.15192
• Grid Ref: TQ518002
• Google Map
• Streetmap (OS 50k)
• Bing Map (OS 50k)
• OpenStreetMap

* Postcodes are not very precise in some areas, so don't rely on them for an exact location.

Directions / Parking

Route 12/12A/12X. Bus route 12 goes along A259 between Eastbourne and Brighton and stops at Exceat which is approx. 0.4miles south of Friston Forest West Car Park

From A27 between Brighton and Eastbourne turn South at Drusillas roundabout. Follow Alfriston Road, Litlington Road, The Street, Litlington Road, in total approx. 2.9 miles. Entrance to Friston Forest Car Park on the left. From A259 between Seaford and Eastbourne turn North at Exceat and follow Litlington Road approx. 0.4 miles. Please park as directed by marshals. Parking fees: 0 - 2 hours: £ 2.50 2 – 4 hours: £ 4.00 All day: £ 5.00 You can pay by card or RingGo, location 31023 or call 02030460063. No coin payment.

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Public Transport

Route 12/12A/12X. Bus route 12 goes along A259 between Eastbourne and Brighton and stops at Exceat which is approx. 0.4miles south of Friston Forest West Car Park.

Course Information

Blue 6km, 215m climb

Green 4.2km, 165m climb

Short green 3km, 75m climb

Orange 2.5km, 80m climb

Yellow 1.4km, 50m climb

Entry Details

Pre-entry via Racesignup.co.uk Newcomers are welcome and eligible for a free trial session - if you'd like to reserve a map or discuss the event please email our membership secretary.

BOF member fees: Seniors £6.50, Juniors £3.25, SO Juniors free.
Non member fees: Seniors £7.50, Juniors £3.25.

If shadowing a junior or going as a family group with one map and one dibber, just enter one junior.

'Dibber' hire:
Electronic punching (SI) chips are available to hire. SIAC (contactless): £2 (juniors £1), non-SIAC (not contactless) £1 (juniors £0.5)

Registration open

9:45 to 10:45

Start Times

10:00 to 11:00. Courses close at 12:30.

Map Details

Friston West, Scale 1:10.000 with 5m contours. Updated February 2024 by Chris Hooker

Terrain Description

Friston Forest covers an area of 795 hectares within the South Downs National Park. The forest is mainly a beech wood, with a variety of other species including ash, sycamore, Douglas Fir, Western red cedar, oak, Norway spruce, Corsican pine and Scots pine.

The name Friston initially appeared around 800 years ago with its name likely derived from the old English, ‘fyrs tun’, which means ‘land overgrown with furze of gorse’. The land was used for cultivation and a 4.5km subterranean adit was dug through the land by Welsh miners at the turn of the century. The Forestry Commission began planting the forest in 1926 removing the land from cultivation, preventing the leaching of fertilisers and agricultural chemicals into the water in the underlying adit. A pumping station was built at Friston in 1930 to supply Eastbourne with water from the adit. ‘Nurse’ pine trees were planted to protect the newly planted beech saplings from salt-laden south-westerly winds that could damage the young trees, allowing the beech trees to mature into the woodland we see today. Currently the coniferous ‘nurse’ trees are being removed leaving a largely broadleaved woodland. (Sussex Wildlife Trust, n.d.).

Dog restrictions

Keep dogs in sight and close by; use a lead if they don’t always return when called. Always clean up after your dogs.

Facilities

There are public toilets at the car park close to the start and finish.

Bring your own water

Miscellaneous

Biosecurity Measures: Before attending the event please ensure that your orienteering footwear/gaiters are clean. When you leave the car parking field to go to the start you will be asked to disinfect your footwear/gaiters before running in the forest. After your run please ensure you remove any excess soil/leaf litter/needles from footwear, gaiters and clothing before leaving the car park. On returning home thoroughly scrub footwear/gaiters, wash clothing and leave to dry for at least 48 hours before reuse.

There are several rides and tracks within the forest with extraction tracks that are unmapped. The terrain is mostly open forest but there are some areas with thicker undergrowth that can be avoided providing possibilities for fast running through many areas of the forest. There are areas with brambles, so gaiters are recommended.

There are usually some dog walkers, might be some mountain bikers and horse riders. Please be considerate. The area is crossed by South Downs Way Long Distance Footpath.

Safety bearing: North to ride/track then West to road and South to assembly.

There is a cafe at Exceat

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Darren Warner-Swann

Organiser:

Controller: