SOG A5Oldhouse WarrenSat 23 November, 2024

Report

Thank you for coming - it was great to have such a good turnout despite the unkind weather, and actually conditions were more favourable than forecast earlier in the week, when serious thought was being given to the possibility of cancelling. Oldhouse is a wonderful forest to orienteer around, and I hope you enjoyed the pockets of good runnability. If truth be told, we could have done with a few more frosts to kill off the bracken and a bit less recent rain to reduce the boggyness, but that’s winter orienteering for you. The map is showing its age somewhat, and although I made a few updates, there remained many areas where things have changed considerably since it was surveyed. One such was around control 129 (2 on Green, 11 on Blue) - I have used this control site previously without issues, which perhaps lulled me into a false sense of security, but in retrospect this was not a good choice, and I would like to apologise to those who lost time here. It was in the right place, but the surrounding bracken height, together with the unmarked tall conifers in the vicinity, that could have been interpreted as thickets, made it difficult to find, and the large rootstock that had appeared right by the thicket since I last visited the forest certainly didn’t help.

I would like to thank Di Turner for drumming up such enthusiastic helpers - Nicola Yule, Samantha Gibson (and Di) for keeping out the riff-raff on the gate, Hal Jacob and Alan Yule on parking (and everyone who helped push out stuck cars!), control collectors Peter Stubberfield, Will Heap, Andrew Bargery and Garry Greenstreet, and last but not least the SI team Joe Barrett and Mike Ralph. Julia Jarvis’s wise counsel improved the courses you ran today considerably - many thanks Julia. Thanks also to the Paddockhurst Estate and Clerk of Works Peter Budgen for allowing us to use their beautiful forest. And finally kudos to my right hand woman Maddie Bartlett, who was out waking up SI units in the forest with me at 7am in the dark and pouring rain, but still with a smile on her face!

Alan Velecky

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: Crawley

• Postcode: RH10 7ZL *
• Lat,Lng:51.10256,-0.14548
• Grid Ref: TQ299353
• 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

Please note parking is NOT at Whitely Hill, which we have used for some events previously held on this area.

Access to the gated site is from the B2036 Balcombe Road roundabout, Worth.

Grid Reference: TQ299353 Nearest Postcode: RH10 7ZL What3Words: beams.lines.fallen

From the North, exit the M23 at junction 10a. At the roundabout take the 2nd exit to the West onto a track.

Approaching from the South, from the B2110/ B2036 junction at the Cowdray Arms follow the B2036 north for 1.3 miles (2.1km). At the roundabout take the 1st exit to the West onto the track.

Please note that the roundabout from which the track is accessed can be busy with traffic, so signal in good time and take care.
Driving slowly, follow the track SW approximately 700 metres to the assembly area and park as directed. This track is unmade with many potholes, and is NOT suitable for low sporty cars.

For anyone being dropped off, please walk in from the gate, following the edge of the track to the assembly area.

Please do not leave the parking area before 11:00 to avoid two-way traffic on the narrow track back out.

Public Transport

Nearest railway station is Three Bridges followed by a 1.7 mile (2.7km) walk/cycle

Course Information

Blue: 5.4k, 160m, 15 controls

Green: 4.1k, 125m, 13 controls

Short Green: 3.0k, 95m, 11 controls

Orange: 2.3k, 55m, 7 controls

Yellow: 1.7k, 40m, 9 controls

Start is 250m from parking, signed from the path at the south-east end of the parking area. Follow tapes through the forest. The route crosses a stream, with a short but quite steep climb up to the start, so is not suitable for pushchairs.
There is an alternative pushchair route which follows paths and rides, and is 500m. Please ask for a map from Download showing this route if you would prefer to use it.
Finish is 200m from parking down a path.

Participants in orienteering must wear appropriate clothing including full leg cover (not shorts). This is a standard rule of the sport to minimise the transmission of blood borne parasites. Activities in cold weather or poor conditions require layered clothing with a windproof and/or waterproof shell garment.

Courses have different technical difficulty - please refer to our skills checklist for a summary of skills needed to be successful. If you'd like to learn more skills, read up on our website, come along to our monthly coaching sessions or just ask at download for someone to talk you through.

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

Oldhouse Warren, Cowdray & Greentrees Forest 11/24. 1:10,000 with 5m contours

Terrain Description

Oldhouse Warren is an ancient hunting forest comprising of deciduous and coniferous forest blocks with a grid network of rides and interesting contour detail. It is not open to the public, so this is a rare opportunity to experience one of the club’s best orienteering areas, which has been used for major events in the past.

Some rides, and re-entrants containing ditches and streams, are boggy. There are many areas of beautifully runnable forest, while other blocks still have significant bracken which will slow progress and reduce visibility, although this is dying back. No brambles or nettles, but some areas of brashings from ongoing forestry work.

There are some unmapped thickets, so don’t rely on vegetation alone for fine navigation. Where thickets have been used as control sites, they are distinct from other vegetation in the vicinity, but aren’t always the highest growth in the area.

Dog restrictions

Sorry no dogs on the courses – this is a requirement of the landowner

Facilities

None.

Miscellaneous

Yellow course passes close to a lake between controls 2 and 3. However the route is along a ride, so there is no reason why this should be a hazard. Parents who have concerns may shadow their child for the first 3 controls.

Safety Bearing: North to the uncrossable boundary fence, shown at the north end of the map, then head uphill to the assembly area. If after heading north to the boundary fence, you hit the track used to enter the venue, then turn south west and follow the edge of the track to the assembly area avoiding any traffic.

An area has been marked out of bounds (on the map with purple hashing) due to the presence of Phytophthora Ramorum. This is a highly destructive, algae-like organism called a water mould, it can cause extensive damage and death to more than 150 plant species. The Out of Bounds area is not taped on the ground, but you MUST NOT enter it area for any reason. Failure to comply could jeopardise our future use of the area.

Please take the following measures to reduce the possibility of spreading the disease:

- Clean footwear and gaiters thoroughly before arrival at the event.

- Remove excess soil/leaf litter/needles from footwear, gaiters and clothing before leaving the forest at the end of the event. On returning home thoroughly scrub footwear/gaiters, wash clothing and leave to dry for at least 48 hours before reuse

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Alan Velecky

Organiser:

Controller: