ParkO 2St Ann's Well GardensSat 08 June, 2019

Report

Planners comments from Ayla Bowes:
I’ve been orienteering but had never planned a course before. When orienteering you are always trying to see the map in your surroundings. However, when planning an event you’re trying to picture the runners thrashing through bushes, running around in confusion, folding their maps then sprinting off determinedly. You plot your course on Purple Pen, then visit the park to find you’re not even close to finishing. But when it’s done, you wish you could find some new place to hide a control and use as an excuse to carry on.

St Ann’s Well Gardens is small but there are plenty of opportunities to run into bushes and discover wooden squirrels hiding a checkpoint! Luckily we didn’t encounter any of the recent downpours, just the wind trying to steal the maps.

Thank you to everyone who came, I hope you enjoyed the courses. I think a good course makes people think about their route, and allows those moments of satisfaction when you spot the orange and white of the check point. According to the splits, a number of checkpoints (particularly no. 1 on the sprint) did provide an opportunity for hopefully just the right amount of confusion.

Thank you to my dad (Simon Bowes) for helping me with the planning. Also to Rob Lines for so quickly translating our plan into one that made sense and didn’t include so many opportunities for crashes!

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

Participant Satisfaction Survey

Please tell us what you thought of the event at St Ann's Well Gardens. This is an anonymous survey which will take about 5 mins to complete. Any views may be used by the club and British Orienteering to help improve participation.

Location Info

Nearest town: Hove

• Postcode: BN3 1PL *
• Lat,Lng:50.83030,-0.15443
• Grid Ref:
• 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

Parking is in adjacent roads. Registration is in the walled garden in the SW corner of the park.

Course Information

Sprint 2.8km, 24 controls

Orange 2.0km, 18 controls

Yellow 1.1km, 18 controls

Expected winning time for all courses 14 minutes.

Entry Details

£4 Sprint, £2 Orange, £2.00 Yellow. SO juniors free

'Dibber' hire:
Standard electronic punching (SI) chip hire is included in the entry fee. SIAC (contactless) 'dibbers' can be hired for £2

Registration

From 9:45 to 10:45

Start Times

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

Map Details

1:2,500. 5 m contours

Terrain Description

St. Ann's Well Gardens is a park in Hove, East Sussex, about half a mile from the shore. The park is renowned for its chalybeate (iron bearing) spring, which is named St. Ann's Well. It is also thought to be the starting point of a ley line that continues over the South Downs and beyond.

In the 1800's the well was said to be 'one of the finest springs in Europe' and people came to drink the brown spring water to improve their health and strength. Following a decline in the flow of the spring the spa was closed and the fields around the spring were dug up to use in the local brick-making business. The places where the mud was removed to make bricks are still visible in the park.

In the 1880's a series of interesting and eccentric characters took over the gardens. There were open air concerts, musical tea parties, daring hot air balloon assents and a monkey house. In 1907 the gardens were bought by Hove Council and now it offers a variety of great features and a variety of levels to navigate around including a sensory garden, pond, tennis courts, cafe, parkland and woodland.

Facilities

Large children's play area, cafe, toilets

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Ayla Bowes

Organiser: Simon Bowes

Controller: Robert Lines