WROXALL WRURAL WRAMBLE

Sunday 3rd August 2008

REPORT

The Quiz Walk is an event we hold with the Isle of Wight Ramblers and it has been running in its present form for 5 years. August can be a poor month for attendance, due to holidays and hot weather (well sometimes).

Our chosen area was centred on Wroxall, using the hills on either side of the village and we made several planning visits in the spring. During these we found the paths very muddy and overgrown with nettles aplenty. Many field paths had long grass - not a good start.

Thankfully the ground dried in July and many of the paths and fields were cut. So we hoped people would be able to enjoy some good views. But no! On the weekend there was a low cloud base giving very damp conditions and poor, sometimes, no views.

Despite this we had a very good entry of 15 teams. Thanks to all of you for turning out. The Community Hall at Wroxall was an excellent venue and there was even a pub nearby for those who needed more than tea and biscuits at the end.

Once again the clues were a mix of cryptic and straight forward and as usual they caused some debate at the finish. Very late in the day we found that one of our clues had disappeared as an old gate had been replaced. So we needed a quick re-think, asking the teams to find us 37 (links on a securing chain). Only four teams got this right. The others tried to second-guess us, based on previous years clues about gates, by counting rectangles, triangles etc.

We also introduced 4 General Knowledge questions for teams to ponder as they covered the route. Not surprisingly every team knew the Island High Sheriff (Alan Titchmarsh). But only one knew the Lord Lieutenant (Major Gen.Martin White).

We continued the idea of having two maps and allowing teams to choose. One map had the approximate position of the clues marked on it. The other was blank and the team had to work out clue positions by using grid references. Out of a possible total of 70 points 3 were added for using the ≥hard≤ map and 3 deducted for choosing the ≥easy≤.

A special mention should go to Emils Dzalbs, a young visitor from Latvia, who orienteers on the continent. He struggled to understand some of our cryptic clues but went round the course on his own in a very fast time

All in all a good day out enjoyed by everyone, despite the damp! So we are encouraged to arrange another walk same time next year, possibly Brading or Arreton. We look forward to seeing more of you then. Finally, special thanks to Jessica Curran who served up drinks and biscuits to everyone

Lesley Curran and Frank Winter, Planners