Archive for the ‘Orienteering’ Category

Oak Orienteering

Saturday, January 17th, 2009

SOC held a local event at Knightwood Oak (just west of Lyndhurst) today and we went along with my in-laws. The area has some nice runnable patches but unfortunately last night’s rain made other parts hard going. I’m sure the Forestry Commission volunteers who were removing conifers in the open patch near control 206 had a good laugh as one orienteer after another disappeared up to their waist in one of the ditches!
(more…)

Highfield Street-O

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Tonight it was the second SOC street event of the year. This time we were starting at The Crown, Highfield, Southampton. There was a much better turnout from the club this time probably reflecting the more central location.
(more…)

New Year Score

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

704Happy New Year! We’re over with Christine’s family at the moment and today took the opportunity of some more local orienteering by attending NGOC’s score event at Parkend. When Christine, her Dad and I set off from home I still wasn’t quite sure whether I was going to run as my cough/cold is still lingering but, as we drove through the frost covered forest, I decided that it was simply too cold not to (the car thermometer was showing -2°C)!
(more…)

Post-Xmas Orienteering

Monday, December 29th, 2008

We spent Christmas at my parents’ this year and had a relaxing few days. The excitement of Christmas was slow to grow on Emma and she had to be enticed in to opening presents. She started to warm to it a bit after that. Thankfully our Fisher Price heliport and lift and load depot off eBay went down well (they just don’t make them like that any more) and The Tickle Book and The Bedtime Bear are now regulars on the reading list. Yesterday we headed back down to Southampton via the Southern Navigators’ event at Long Valley.
(more…)

Dibden Street-O

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Thanks to Jon Forster for organising the first SOC street-O of the year at Dibden. Jon had promised that this year it would be ‘doable’ to get all the controls (lamposts). With the tail end of a cold and the occasional wrong turn it wasn’t going to be (and it would have been tough even on a good day). I made all but two and was just under a minute late (although I’ll claim that back from number 16 being out by one lampost).
(more…)

Headless

Monday, November 24th, 2008

On Sunday I had my second orienteer of the week and, courtesy of Aunty Sarah babysitting, Christine had her third. It was another short trip in to the Forest of Dean, this time to the BOK Gallopen at Headless Hill. For the Forest of Dean, the area was remarkably free of undergrowth and brashings and Alice and Mark had planned a good set of courses. My problem, as with most of the forest, is the hills. They’re steep and consequently I don’t enjoy running up them, down them, or around them. This was made worse by the previous night’s heavy soaking which meant the carpet of leaves covered a good slick layer of mud.

(more…)

Spectating

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

698We’re visiting the in-laws for the weekend and today Christine managed her second fix of orienteering for the week at a NGOC local event at Bixslade in the Forest of Dean. I took Emma out for a walk in the carrier with Christine’s Mum. Even though I occasionally had trouble staying vertical on the muddy footpaths I was grateful not to have to venture off the paths in to the thick undergrowth (where the controls were apparently well hidden in traditional NGOC style). We arrived back just in time to see the exciting conclusion of the race between Christine and her Dad. Christine finished first but not by a big enough margin. For the first time in I don’t know how long Christine and I went for dinner on our own – nowhere more exciting that Pizza Express in Monmouth but it was still a nice break.

Off at Ocknell

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

696The original plan had been to run at the Wednesday league’s night event at Ocknell but, having failed to work out how I could leave work at four, pick up the car (which Christine wanted for the daytime event), and get to the New Forest for five, I decided to take the morning off and join Christine and Emma at the event. This decision was undoubtedly influenced by the bright blue skies that I could see outside at breakfast time.

(more…)