SOG A3 Friston Forest West Sat 19 December, 2026

Google location map

Near: Seaford
Level of event: Local
Type of event: Race

Location Info

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

Pre event info

This is the event that has been rearranged following cancellation on 24th October.

SOG Series Info

SOGs are friendly club events where children and newcomers are very welcome. Yellow and Orange courses are suitable for children to run on their own with a bit of practice. Adults are welcome to shadow children until they are confident to go on their own. Green and Blue courses are run or walked by any age group - you can race competitively or just enjoy the woodland.

There are two series of events - autumn and spring of approximately 8 events each. Electronic timing (SI) is used.

Help on the day always appreciated.

Volunteer here

Enquiries here

Directions / Parking

Parking in the Forestry England Friston Forest car park, Litlington Road.

From A27 between Brighton and Eastbourne turn south as Drusilla's roundabout. Follow Alfriston Road, Litlington Road, The Street, Litlington Road, in total approx 2.9 miles. Entrance to the car park is on the left.

From A259 between Seaford and Eastbourne, turn north at Exceat and follow Litlington Road approx 0.4 miles. Car park entrance is on the right.

Parking is charged at £3 for 2 hours, £5 for 4 hours or £6 all day. Forestry England members park for free. The RingGo code is 31023. Payment is only by card, cash cannot be used.

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Public Transport

Route 12/12A/12X between Eastbourne and Brighton stopping at Exceat which is 0.4 miles from the car park.

Course Information

Course lengths:

Blue 5.7 km

Green 4.5 km

Short Green 3.0 km

Orange 2.3 km

Yellow 1.4 km

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 (use code SOjuniors).
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 Forest West, scale 1:10000 with 5m contours. Updated February 2024 by Chris Hooker.

Terrain Description

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

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 therefore gaiters are recommended.

Dog restrictions

Well behaved dogs are allowed.

Facilities

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

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Liam Marsh

Organiser:

Controller / Event Adviser:

Mapper: Chris Hooker

Important Event Information

Safety and Risk: A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. Information about how to keep yourself and your children safe at an event can be found here.

Whistles:Carrying a whistle is strongly recommended at all our events and may be made compulsory by the organiser depending on identified risks and conditions.

SIACs: Note that in contactless mode no record of a SIAC "punch" is held in the control box. By using contactless punching, competitors are accepting the resulting risk that we may take longer to find them if they are lost or injured.

Covid Prevention: Please adhere to the British Orienteering Code of Conduct and take care to allow others to maintain social distance if they wish.

Ticks: Please be aware that ticks are common across many of the areas we run in and can carry infections such as Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Encephalitis. This is why the rules of orienteering say that you MUST wear full leg and abdomen cover in the forest. Full arm cover is also recommended. Please check for ticks after running and seek medical advice if you develop flu like symptoms or a spreading circular rash after being bitten. There is an excellent government leaflet here.

Insurance: All of our events are registered with British Orienteering and are covered by their public liability insurance; individuals are advised to consider their own private accident insurance.

Participants who are not members of British Orienteering are not covered by British Orienteering’s public liability insurance. By entering this event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered. Look into joining here.

Please note that the insurance only covers those registered as being part of the event so if you are taking part as a group, or are accompanying / shadowing a child please make sure you register the names of everyone taking part as you sign up.

Privacy: when participating in our events/activities your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Read our data protection page to see how we look after your personal data.