SOG S6 Houghton Sat 11 April, 2026

Report

I hope you all enjoyed running at Houghton. I certainly enjoyed planning the event and seeing so many of you at the start line. Your kind comments were very much appreciated.

It was a tricky area to plan: the start and finish have to be fairly near the car park, but much of that part of the Forest is covered in very thick vegetation and unusable. The blue course is long enough to make good use of the northern part of the map; the green and short green were much harder to achieve good courses, but with the expert guidance of Steve Jarvis, I think we did ok. I opted for fewer controls in the hope of more route choices, and judging by what is being uploaded to RouteGadget, that seems to have worked.

It would appear that I am destined to have at least one panic whilst setting up a course in the morning - today’s was popping the SI unit onto a control furthest away from any other, and discovering that my dibber was no longer on my finger! Thankfully it had only come off in the bag of kites. The other very memorable thing will be the owl that took an interest in my activities during one of the recce visits - an amazing sight, especially in broad daylight.

In addition to Steve’s help and tuition, many thanks also to the rest of the team who made the day a success; Steve B. spends a lot of time organising and doing admin for these events, as do Andy, Karen, Samantha and David; Chris surveyed and created the map and dealt with corrections in super fast time, whilst BML Print produced the maps for this one; nothing would happen at all without the SI team (first to arrive, last to depart at every event); a huge thanks to those who volunteer to make parking easy (Gail, Garry P., Simon, Cliff, Barrie & Sue) and those who somehow find more energy to collect controls in at the end (Liam, Euan, Garry G. and Michael); and Garry again, for also making RouteGadget work; the Norfolk Estate and Forestry England kindly let us use their land. There’s such a lot of people who all have a part in making an event happen, I hope I haven’t missed any of you.

And finally, a big round of applause please, to Mark Johnson (M12) for an excellent result on the Short Green, then coming straight back to the start and smashing the Green course as well!

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.

Pre event info

Entry link

Location Info

Nearest town: Arundel

• Postcode: *
• Lat,Lng: 50.88839,-0.57696
• Grid Ref: TQ002108
• 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

At Whiteways roundabout (the junction of the A29 / A284 / B2139) take the northbound exit (signposted Pulborough, Bury A29) and immediately use the left slip-lane to enter the car park. Head to the left and follow marshal’s directions to the grass parking area. Please be wary of motorcycles. The main car park has no height restrictions, however the grass area we are using has a barrier at 1.98m (6’6”) height x 2.55m (8’4”) width.
Anyone approaching from the north is advised to go fully round the roundabout and use the slip-lane, to avoid crossing unpredictable traffic.

Public Transport

Amberley rail station. Suggested route from the station: follow the riverside footpath SW to Houghton Farm / South Lane, then cross the B2139 and pick up the Monarch’s Way path. Approx 3km. Do NOT walk along the roads

Course Information

Yellow: 1.6km, 45m climb

Orange: 2.6km, 70m climb

Short Green: 3.4km, 85m climb

Green: 4.0km, 130m climb

Blue: 5.4km, 175m 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 (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

1:10000
5m contours
Mapped by Chris Hooker Autumn 2023 with updates to 2025

Terrain Description

Houghton Forest is a scenic 235-hectare woodland in West Sussex, situated within the South Downs National Park near Arundel. Managed by Forestry England, it is a popular spot for walkers, hikers, and mountain bikers, offering well-marked trails, steep terrain, and panoramic views from areas like Bignor Hill

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

The Whiteways cafe and toilets is closed for refurbishment, however there is often a van selling burgers, coffee etc set up in the car park.

Miscellaneous

The area is popular with dog walkers, cyclists and horse riders, please give them plenty of room to pass.

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

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Marky Saunders

Organiser:

Controller / Event Adviser: