SOG A7Washington CommonSat 04 January, 2025

Report

What a lovely morning; It was certainly a bit ‘fresh’ but that sure beats being wet, right? The frost on the ground was beautiful at 5:30am, you should have seen it! As a complete novice at planning an orienteering event, it is very rewarding to see so many of you taking part today, and a huge thank you to all those of you with kind words before and afterwards. Hopefully everyone enjoyed exploring the Common, and the courses which were hugely improved by the experience and helpful advice of Steve Jarvis. Many thanks also to Chris Hooker for facilitating close to fifty alterations to the map and to Mike and Rob for printing them - it’s amazing how so much can change in a short period of time since the last map update, and I certainly feel that my navigation has improved as a result of many hours of amateur surveying. Huge thanks also to our wonderful SI and results team for their super-efficient work and to Liam, Euan, Peter, Neil and Gary for their speedy control collection and tidying up; to Neil for setting up the start and finish meaning I was just about ready with 30 seconds to spare (lesson learned: leave trivial tasks for later if there’s still time!) and to Gail for being a great sister and helping at the start. There were a lot of cars to fit into a little village, so more thanks go to Steve and Jill for all their help, and to Kia Washington and HGH Groundworks for use of their car parks. Karen, David, Andy and Di were all pivotal in making the event happen too, so it really is a team effort and a team that I am very happy to have become part of. And now for the final part of my first planning adventure, to have a look through your results and RouteGadget uploads to see if there’s any more lessons I can learn for the next one… assuming the club will let me have a second go?

All the best, Marky

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: Washington

• Postcode: RH20 3BN *
• Lat,Lng:50.91131,-0.40583
• Grid Ref: TQ122137
• 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

Grid Reference: TQ121136

Post Code: RH20 3BN

What3words: alerting.blindfold.finders

There is limited parking in Old London Road. Take the Thakeham turn off the A24 Northbound just North of the Washington roundabout and then turn immediately left.

Please be careful not to block any driveways.

Access to the woods is at the southern end of the road and the what3words for this point.

Late arrivals (after 10.30) will need to park in Washington Village. From here follow the pavement northwards to the Triumph/Kia garage, then cross the road and walk up Sandhill Lane. At the end of the lane turn left to find the underpass under the A24, then follow the Orienteering signs the very short distance to the event.
DO NOT TRY TO CROSS THE A24 ON FOOT IN ANY OTHER WAY

Map of safe walking route

Public Transport

Metrobus service 23 runs hourly in both directions between Horsham and Worthing and stops in Washington.

Course Information

Blue 5.6km and 100m climb
Green 4.3km and 75m climb
Short Green 3.2km and 45m climb
Orange 2.4km and 55m climb
Yellow 1.6km and 25m climb

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

1:5000 with 5m contours. A4. Surveyed by Chris Hooker 2023 with updates to December 2024.

Green and Blue courses will have a double-sided map.

Terrain Description

Washington Common is a beautiful mixed woodland that is owned by The National Trust. It is popular with dog walkers, especially as horse riding and cycling are not permitted. The southern part is dominated by Warren Hill, in the centre is an open area that is a favourite spot for family picnics, although less so in early January. The northern section is known as Jenners Wood and is relatively flat and currently undergoing some tree felling work. There is a network of paths and runnabilty is generally good. Areas of brambles can be avoided fairly easily.

Dog restrictions

Dogs are welcome, but must be kept on leads where signs indicate.

Facilities

None on Washington Common, but The Frankland Arms in Washington should be open for business from 12pm and Squires Garden Centre is just a few hundred yards up the A24 with a café.

Miscellaneous

Safety Bearing: TBC

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Mark Saunders

Organiser:

Controller: