Southwater Country Park

Report

Thank you all for coming to the first Park-O event of the Summer at Southwater Country Park. By the sounds of the chat afterwards it gave competitors some things to think about.

The challenges of planning at Southwater are familiar:
- How best to avoid running round the lakes too many times
- Avoid some of the grottier bits particularly as the foliage develops
- Not reusing features which have been used before
Shorter courses should not just be a walk round the lake
- Cramming longer courses into a small area

We also had been asked not to use the meadow area on the slope because of the sensitive flora. I’ve never seen so many cowslips as I did on my first planning trip.

Looking at Routegadget it looks like there were sufficient route choices on the Sprint – I would encourage you to add your routes if you haven’t done so as it is useful feedback from a planner’s point of view. Competitors always do things you don’t expect.

Thanks as ever to loads of people who helped me out. Steve B for permissions. Sue C on her course reviews and pointing out that the length of courses should be adjusted to take into account uncrossable objects like Lakes. You could have been “sprinting” over 4km with the original courses. Matt W for his new map – the best version of the brown features I’ve seen. Neil C for map printing. Karen for RA guidance. Anna C from a Park Management point of view. David M for website details. Chris H and Gary G for control collection. Ian C for clearing up the sign posting. All the members of SI Tent Team – thanks for the support re. clearing the control boxes when I realised I hadn’t done it 30 minutes before the start!

Also worth mentioning is my contact at Horsham DC, Andrew Rodgers, who I work with via Horsham Green Gym. He gave me invaluable info re. sensitive areas of the park to be avoided as well as the reopening of the path close to where the swans nest.

I hope you all enjoyed your run/walk as much as I enjoyed planning it.

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

Junior warm up session 10:15 to 10:30

We will be running a junior warm up session from 10:15 to 10:30. Juniors are anyone under 20. Do come and join us. It's a chance to warm up the muscles and have a bit of fun, before your run. Find us by the coaching flag & junior squad banner.

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

Location Info

Nearest town: Southwater

Postcode: *
Lat,Lng: 51.01756,-0.34992
Grid Ref: TQ157256
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

Registration, Start and Finish will be located close to the Upper Car Park off Mill Straight, Southwater. Alternative parking also available off Cripplegate Lane

There is a Height limit barrier of 2 metres.

Pay and Display machines take coins only but you can also pay by App. Charges are:

0-1 hour: £1.10
1-3 hours: £2.20
3-4 hours: £3.40
All day: £7.00

Public Transport

Metro Bus Service 98 from Horsham Rail and Bus stations

Course Information

Yellow 1.2km; 12 controls
Orange 1.8km; 17 controls
Sprint 2.9km; 20 controls

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

1:4000 to ISOM 2017 standards

Terrain Description

Mixture of deciduous woodland and open areas with an established path network. Located in a former brick clay quarry.

Dog restrictions

Yes but must be on leads at all times. This is Horsham DC policy from March to September.

Facilities

Café with Toilets (about 400m walk from the Upper car park)
Dinosaur Island play area.
Lake, beach and picnic areas.

Miscellaneous

Competitors on Orange and Sprint courses are likely to encounter some brambles, but these have been kept to a minimum. Leg cover is advisable.

In the event of wet weather some of the slopes can become slippery but these have been kept to a minimum.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Robin Wilson

Organiser:

Controller / Event Adviser:

Parko 1 Southwater Country Park Sat 31 May, 2025

Results