Park O 7 Hellingly Country Park Sat 18 July, 2026

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

Results

Report

Welcome back to Hellingly and thank you all for coming. Seeing all the smiling faces afterwards suggested that you enjoyed your courses and the slightly cooler weather. I aimed to keep the courses away from the cricket pitch this year which meant that you should have spent a reasonable amount of time running in the shade. A lot of clearance work took place over the winter which generally made the area more runnable and it sounds like a few of you tried to take advantage of this; I certainly would have done so if I had been running. Times were about as I had hoped which is always a relief!. Finally thanks go to Joe, Sam and Penny for SI, Steve, Jill, Jane, Darren and Jo for control collecting, Karen for course checking and signing off the risk assessment, Neil for map and control description printing, and Hellingly Parish Council for allowing us to run in their lovely park. Finally, you may have noticed a new safety feature on the map which was the W3W code at various access points for emergency purposes, which is currently being trialled. We also trialled an emergency call out to a "missing" competitor after the event to test out a potential new system, which worked really well. Thanks go to Garry for coming up with the idea and to Jane for being the missing person.

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.

Read more about RouteGadget…

Park O Series Info

Park-Os are friendly club events, usually in parks or school grounds, where children and newcomers are very welcome. These are fun events where you can get a feeling for the sport – you can walk or run, go as a group or on your own or challenge your navigation at high speed against some of our top competitive orienteers. Yellow and Orange courses are suitable for children to walk or run on their own with a bit of practice. Adults are welcome to shadow children until they are confident to go on their own. Sprint courses are run or walked by any age group.

The Park-O series takes place in the early summer and early Autumn and is 8 events this year. Medals are awarded for the best placed in a variety of age categories.

Volunteer here

Enquiries here

Read more about this series

Location Info

Nearest town: Hailsham

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

Directions / Parking

Parking at Hellingly Community Hub Car Park and surrounding roads if the car park fills up. Please park wholly in the marked bays as there will be many other park users.
Post code BN27 4EP
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Approach from Boship roundabout where the A22 meets the A267. Head east from roundabout along A271 for about 2km and go over the mini roundabout to the traffic lights. At the lights turn left. Take 2nd left after 400m onto Park Road. Then take 2nd right after 600m onto The Drive. The Hub car park is after 600m on the right.

Public Transport

Several buses from Eastbourne to Roebuck Park, Hellingly.

Course Information

Sprint 2.5km

Orange 1.5km

Yellow 1.1km

Actual distances will be at least 25% further

Entry Details

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.

Entry fees: Sprint £5.00, Orange £2.50, Yellow £2.50 (SO Juniors free - use code SOjuniors)

SI card hire: Seniors £1 (£2 for SIAC), Juniors 50p (£1 for SIAC)

Registration open

From 9:45 to 10:45

Start Times

From 10:00 to 11:00 Courses close at 12:00

Map Details

Hellingly Country Park
1:3000 with 2.5m contours sprint map
Surveyed and drawn by Chris Hooker 2024/26

Terrain Description

This is a revamped park in a new estate built on the site of an old asylum (Hellingly Hospital). The park itself used to be the sports grounds and open space for the hospital staff. The local council are very keen to promote this public space, so a lot of work is being done to make it look great! You will find a gently sloping park with open and wooded areas along with 2 ponds. There is a good path network along with various play areas, a community allotment and a cricket pitch, and a community orchard has recently been planted. As you run around you may also spot relics from the old hospital.

Dog restrictions

Dogs under control are allowed.

Facilities

Bring your own water. Toilets might be available in the Hub building if it is open, but this is not guaranteed.

Miscellaneous

Full leg covering required as this will be partially a forest sprint. Check yourself for ticks after the event.

Bring your own water as the hub won’t be open.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Chris Hooker

Organiser:

Controller / Event Adviser: