St Ann's Well Gardens

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RouteGadget

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Pre event info

A fun morning of orienteering in the picturesque surroundings of Brighton & Hove's historic St Ann's Well Gardens.

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: Brighton

Postcode: BN3 1PL *
Lat,Lng: 50.82974,-0.15535
Grid Ref: TQ298050
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

You can get to St Ann's Well Gardens from Somerhill Road, Nizells Avenue and Furze Hill. Parking will be the on-street pay and display parking which is available along Somerhill Road and Nizells Avenue.

Start, finish, and registration tent will be on the North side of the park towards Nizells Avenue, between the café and the children’s playarea.

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Public Transport

The number 7 and 81B buses go near the park every few minutes during the day. The nearest train station is Hove which is around 25 minutes walk away.

Course Information

Yellow – 1.1km

Orange – 1.7 km

Sprint – 2.6 km

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

09.45 - 11.00

Map Details

New 1:2,500 map by Edward Lines in June 2025.

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

Garden Café and public toilets on site, as well as a children’s playground.

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Clare Devine

Organiser: Robert Lines

Controller / Event Adviser: Steve Jarvis

Park0 6 St Ann's Well Gardens Sat 02 August, 2025

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