10/12/2022 – League 12 – Danby Lodge | North Gloucestershire Orienteering Club

Print this page

10/12/2022 - League 12 - Danby Lodge

Our final League event of 2022 takes place at Danby Lodge, an area not used since 2019. This is a Level D or 'Local' event. For this race we are starting and finishing towards the North Western-most part of the map, so the courses are hopefully quite different from our last ones there. In part this is due to a lot of larch clearance around the central part of the map adjacent to Yorkley village, which has meant large areas no longer accessible, and has made that part, and the more Southerly parts, tricky to use for interesting courses.

As a result, please pay particular attention to the bio-security measures set out below, and comply with them. We will provide dry brush cleaning stations at Assembly and after the Finish.

Enter on Fabian4.co.uk by midnight on Wednesday 7th December. Please try not to leave it to the last minute to enter.

As well as the league race, we are pleased to host the South West Juniors and 'Talent South', who may be using some controls for training exercises, but who in the main will be using mini-kites and tapes, so ignore any such markers that you may come across.

Bio-Security

Please pay particular attention to the following requirement from Forestry England:

Our forests are at risk from pests and diseases. They can spread rapidly and have a devastating impact on our landscapes. Help keep the forest healthy by ensuring all boots, buggies and bikes are free of mud, leaves twigs or bark before traveling to another area of woodland.

Read more on how you can help stop the spread of diseases in our forests at:

https://www.forestryengland.uk/article/biosecurity-advice-forest-visitors

Officials

Organiser/Planner: Pat Macleod Queries? Pat Macleod

Parking is on a forest track, signed off the Parkend-Yorkley road at:
What 3 Words: ///forklift.taxed.shears
Grid Reference: - SO634079

Note that the Blakeney-Parkend road via Wenchford remains closed. The best approach from the South/Bristol/Wales is via the A48 around Lydney on the by-pass, and then taking the left turn just short of Blakeney towards Viney Hill. This route is also signed as the diversionary route to Go Ape. Drive straight through Viney Hill and Yorkley and carry on towards Parkend until you see the O signs marking the forest entry. From the North and West head for Speech House Hotel, turn left(from Cinderford)/Right(from the West) there and left again at the next T-Junction, then right at the Road Closed sign. Pass the Rising Sun pub and go left at the next T-junction.

To avoid driving through the competition area, other than after the Finish/before the Start, entry and exit are the same, so please obey marshal's parking instructions, and drive slowly and carefully through the early part of the track past Assembly and Finish. If you can share transport please do so.

Typical mixed woodland, with some some steep slopes where loose rocks pose something of a slip/trip hazard. Bracken is encroaching into areas previously very runnable - see Map notes for the treatment of bracken for this event. The area immediately after the start is invariable frequented by a flock of sheep, so runners need to be wary of causing these to panic and run onto the road which runs parallel to the first few controls, though some way from them. They are not usually spooked by runners and other forest users. As usual in the Forest of Dean there are plenty of mountain bike tracks, with new ones appearing regularly. These are in the main mapped where relevant to controls or route choice, but may not be if particularly new.

A4, 1:10,000, 5m contour interval, for all courses, georeferenced to a LIDAR base and updated for this event. The map has two pairs of undergrowth screens, an all year one and a Summer one, the latter primarily depicting bracken which is not usually troublesome in the winter. Owing to the particularly mild Autumn, however, the Summer vegetation screen remains switched on. This means that areas with a light screen will generally be very runnable, but with some undergrowth which in some areas and on steep slopes may hide trip hazards and loose stones. Areas with a heavy screen may be partly runnable, but are best avoided.

Control descriptions will be printed on the map.

The Start is 200m flat walk from Assembly, and the Finish is adjacent to Assembly. You have to cross the vehicle access track after finishing to get to download, so please take particular care there, and look out for traffic travelling in either direction.

There will be five start lanes, with Yellow runners picking up their maps and starting when ready, independently of the start procedure. You can move into the first start box, where Clear and Check are located, if there is no one waiting for your lane before you. In that event, please queue appropriately for your start lane. There will be a short taped route from the start boxes to the start flag.

Touch Free punching is enabled, but all runners must punch both Start and Finish.

Course	lengh(Km)	Climb(m)	Controls	Suitable for
Brown	6.9km	300m	18	Experienced Orienteers
Blue	5.2km	225m	14	Experienced Orienteers
Green	3.7km	115m	12	Experienced Orienteers
Short Green	2.4km	90m	10	Experienced Orienteers
Orange	2.0km	80m	8	Adult beginners and improving children
Yellow	1.6km	60m	8	Children

The Yellow course has two short taped sections. The first comes soon after the start, and tapes the runners alongside a layby next to the road. Runners should be told not to cross the tapes, but run alongside them to the control, which will be visible from the tapes. The second taped section uses streamers to mark an indistinct section of path.

We will use SI Timing, in contact and touch free modes. All runners must however punch the Start and Finish controls.

If you need split starts, or expect to be out a long time, please come early; we will aim to start helpers and split start runners off as early as possible, and possibly before the official 10:30 start time.

Owing to the short day we will also start taking in controls as soon as courses close, so again, if you feel you may be out some time, come early.

Starts: 10:30 - 12:00
Courses close: 13:30, meaning that you must report to download before 13:45, or risk disqualification.

Fees	Pre-entry	Entry on the Day	Non-member Supplement
Adults	£7	£10	£2
Juniors	£3	£4	£1
Family (2 adults + their children)	£16	£20	As above for any non-members

SI dibber hire: Standard dibber £1 Adults, Juniors free

Touch Free dibber: £2 Adults, £1 Juniors

Enter via Fabian4.co.uk by midnight on Wednesday 7th December.

Entry on the day is possible only while maps last, but note the premium price to discourage this. We should by then be able to accept credit/debit card payments, but this is not guaranteed so bring cash just in case.

As the Government has removed all restrictions on events and activities, COVID related refunds are no longer available. The standard Fabian4 terms and conditions offer an automatic refund up to 2 months before the event date, and we do not normally vary this specification. That means that in most cases no refunds are possible, as we do not publish details until less than 2 months before the date of the event.

However, for all except large events we hold entries open until only a day or so before the event, so you can delay entry if unsure whether you can run, until very close to event day.

Orienteering is an adventure sport. All runners take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.

The event area is bounded by public roads, all of which are strictly out of bounds to runners. This includes running along the verges, which should not be required. On the yellow course there is a short stretch of taped route which keeps yellow runners from straying onto a road where the course passes alongside a small layby on the road. Unaccompanied Yellow runners should be advised not to cross any tapes they encounter, but to run alongside them to the next control, which will be visible when they encounter the tape.

There are crags in one or two places, but most are fenced on top, and no courses pass close to the tops of these.

If, as is likely, the ground is wet, loose leaves and stones on steep slopes present a significant slip/trip hazard, and care should be taken when contouring, particularly on the north facing slopes visited by the longer courses.

Mountain biking is prevalent in the area, with new but often temporary tracks appearing every weekend. Take care crossing these; few offer good route choices for this event.

A risk assessment has been completed, and a copy will be held at Enquiries and Download in case competitors wish to consult it before their run.

A first aid kit and trained first aiders will be available at Enquiries and Download.

Living with COVID

As from 24 February:

You are not legally required to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID-19. You should, however, stay at home if you can and avoid contact with other people.
You do not have to take daily tests, nor are you legally required to self-isolate following contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Nevertheless, although all legal restrictions have ceased, you should NOT attend if you are Covid positive, or suspect you are, and everyone attending should continue taking sensible precautions, such as avoiding close contact, particularly around the Start, Finish, and Assembly.

10/12/2022 – League 12 – Danby Lodge