Sunday 15th February
2009
I made the mistake of starting to pan the course at
Brighstone before visiting the area. Then when I went to check on the control
sites I found that I couldn't get anywhere near a lot of them because of the
brambles. Glyn Williams had told me that many of the paths had disappeared and
a lot of the undergrowth had increased. But I was surprised at the amount of
runnable area we had lost.
The maximum length of course (without a second master map)
was about 4.5Km. But with the considerable climb involved I thought this would
be a tough enough challenge. Judging by the favourable comments at the finish
it seemed about right.
The Yellow course was limited to one or two main paths. The
Orange was similar, but with controls just off the path and a last leg along a
distinct vegetation change boundary.
I hope the flock of sheep around the last few controls did
not cause any problems. Although two competitors on the Green course managed to
punch the wrong control.
Thanks to Sue and Glyn Williams for putting out the
"knotty" String course. Also
to Peter Bartlett for collecting in some of the controls. Perhaps we could have
more volunteers to help set up and clear at future events.
Brian Bailey - Planner