| Date | Event | Signed From | Parking | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 23rd Feb Register 10:30 – 12:30 Starts 11:00 – 13:00 Courses close 14:30 |
NGOC league 2 Lightmoor (Mallards Pike North) |
GL14 3HX  What3Words: group.ecologist.free |
SO642121 In Forest Products Timber Yard GL14 3HU |
Paul and Ros Taunton mapping@ngoc.org.uk 01594 529455 |
Rescheduled from Sun 16 Feb.
Click here to download these details in PDF format
The second race of the NGOC 2020 League takes place in the Forest of Dean, around the area of the old Lightmoor Colliery. This is a local level, classic distance race.
Directions and Parking
Follow the B4226 road, which runs between the Speech House and Cinderford. At a point 250m east of the Dilke Memorial Hospital turn southwards, following the permanent signs for “Forest Products Limited” and continue about 500m along the tarmac access road to the entrance of the Lightmoor Works. Please take care, as competitors will be using this access road to walk to the start.
You may see other vehicles in a parking area to the right of the access road just before you reach the works gate: DO NOT park in that area, as it is reserved for anglers of the Royal Forest of Dean Angling Club (RFODAC), who have a match on the same day as our event.
Parking and assembly are within the timber yard: please follow the directions of the parking marshals. We are grateful to Mr. John Freeman for permitting us to park within his property.
Please do not climb on timber stockpiles.
The Area
The event uses the northern part of the Mallard’s Pike map, but has no significant overlap with the area used for our Middle race, held in the southern part last November.
Some of the forest close to the parking is not “access land” according to the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act and consequently is marked as out-of-bounds (OOB) on competitors’ maps. These OOB areas must be respected. We are grateful to the Forestry Commission (FC) for permitting us to run within the surrounding open-access areas.
The Map
1:10,000 scale, 5m contours, A4 size, landscape, pre-printed on waterproof paper. Control descriptions will be printed on the map and loose waterproof descriptions will be available at the Start. There is no Legend printed on the map – newcomers who are not familiar with orienteering maps should ask for a copy at registration.
The map for the Brown course will be double-sided.
The weather this winter has been considerably wetter than usual and consequently the forest was very wet a month before the event. Some marshes are more extensive than mapped and there is standing water in places where no ponds are mapped. The wet weather has softened the ground considerably and, especially near the edges of open areas, there are recent windblown trees that are unmapped. Also, ongoing thinning is taking place in several areas. The map has been updated to show several places where deep rutting and thick brashings have made conditions underfoot very difficult, but these changes are unlikely to be entirely reliable because of ongoing work.
The Forestry Commission has advised us that an uncrossable fence is likely to be erected in the competition area before our event. They have provided us with an approximate indication of its proposed location. This has been marked on the event maps as a purple dashed line. We will provide further information on the day.
Areas which are out-of-bounds and must not be entered whilst you are on your course include:
- Forest Products timber yard, privately owned, marked olive green;
- Yew Tree Brake Crematorium, no access, marked olive green;
- Spoil heap, privately-owned material, on FC land, marked with purple OOB hatching; and
- Fishing lakes, FC land leased to angling club, marked with purple OOB hatching.
Start and Finish
The start is about 500m northeast of parking and assembly. Leave assembly via the gate where you entered and follow the tarmac access road back towards the main road. Very young children must be accompanied to the start by a responsible adult. The final section from the access road to the start will be signed and taped.
You must not attempt to enter or leave the parking/assembly area by any route other than the vehicle entrance. Other gates will be locked and the high fences must not be climbed.
The finish is about 300m northwest of parking and assembly. With the kind permission of Josh Beard, secretary of the RFODAC, the route back from the finish passes through the area (out-of-bounds whilst you are on your course) where the angling match is being held. Please keep closely to the taped route, do not run, and obey the instructions of any marshals. Dogs must be kept on a short lead and not allowed to enter the water. The route back from the finish is considered acceptable for unaccompanied juniors, but they should be warned firstly not to approach the lakes and secondly to take care when walking back through the parking areas.
Courses
Juniors under 16 years of age on the day of the event may not run the Blue or Brown course.
| Course | Length | Climb | No. Controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | 2.3km | 50m | 10 |
| Orange | 2.8km | 70m | 10 |
| Short Green | 3.0km | 60m | 8 |
| Green | 4.2km | 100m | 13 |
| Blue | 7.1km | 140m | 15 |
| Brown | 10.0km | 200m | 20 |
| Trail | 9.6-15.5km | up to 265m | 9 |
There will be a string course close to Registration. It’s in a lovely patch of forest, which also has much more interest for string than flat runnable forest normally does – scalable ditches, fallen trees with huge rootstocks and some bushier trees. The nearby part of the open area is nice too and a good contrast.
The waymarked trail course is about 15.5km long, with 265m of climb. You can complete the course on alternative paths in about 11km, and can get it down to about 9.6km or less with cross country routes, all through runnable woodland. Visit the Beat the Trail page for more details on our trail courses. Please note that the trail course cannot be pre-entered; you can only enter on the day. Please note that whilst there is no minimum age limit for the trail, as it crosses no public roads, it is long and lightly waymarked, and we advise that runners under 14 should not attempt it, and under 16s should only do so if reasonably experienced orienteers. Juniors can of course run accompanied, but bear in mind that courses will close at 14:30, by which time you must have reported back to download.
We will be using Sportident (SI) timing, with touch free dibbing. All runners must however ensure they punch both the Start and the Finish in the normal manner.
Times
Registration is open from 10:30 to 12:30
Starts are from 11:00 – 13:00
Courses close 14:30.
Competitors on longer courses should ensure they start early enough to complete their runs before courses close.
Fees
In case you aren’t aware, we have increased our League entry fees this year for the first time in five years, but you can get a £1 discount on the new fees by pre-entering on Fabian 4, and you can do so right up until midnight on Thursday 13 February. Of course entry on the day is still available for all courses.
| Before end of | 14/02/2020 | On the Day |
|---|---|---|
| Senior members of British Orienteering | £6 | £7 |
| Senior non-members of British Orienteering | £7 | £8 |
| Juniors | £2 | £2 |
| Standard SI Hire | Seniors £1; Juniors free | |
| Touch free SI Hire | Seniors £2; Juniors free | |
| Trail | NA | £8, incl SI hire |
There will be no additional fee for parking, but NGOC will donate part of the entry fees to a charity chosen by the landowner.
Safety
Please take great care driving from the main road, along the tarmac access road to parking/assembly, as all competitors will be walking to the start along this road, and some competitors on the longest courses will be crossing it. Please drive slowly – there is a poorly-marked but very effective speedbump which may catch you out if you drive too fast!
If adverse weather is forecast we may require competitors to carry cagoules. If that is the case, the requirement will be posted on notices in the car park. The start team would then check that runners do wear (or carry) cagoules.
Juniors must carry whistles for emergency use, and they are recommended for seniors.
A comprehensive risk assessment has been completed and is available at Registration for inspection if required. Nevertheless, please note that all competitors take part at their own risk.
We hope that more normal conditions will return by the date of the event, but please take special care crossing marshes and streams on your course.
Drainage works are currently under way in a shallow former railway cutting, mapped as a marsh, running alongside the Family Cycle Trail. Conditions currently vary from deep water, through uncrossable marsh, to a deep dry ditch where pipe laying work is in progress! The entire length has been mapped as out-of-bounds, apart from a short section, marked with a control, at which point a safe crossing may be made. There is no need to cross elsewhere, so please do not attempt to do so.
The path returning from the finish past the fishing lakes is wide and level and presents minimal risk, but juniors should be warned by parents to keep to the taped route and not approach the water.
The spoil heaps to the southeast of the assembly/parking are a magnet for illegal motorbike riders. The area they use is fenced, and marked out-of-bounds to competitors, but it is possible you may encounter bikes using forest tracks to travel to or from this area. Please listen out for motorbikes and take care if you hear one approaching.
There are no fast downhill mountain bike trails in the event area, but competitors on all courses will encounter the family cycle trail. The trail is gently sloping with good visibility but children should be warned to look out for bikes.
Competitors are advised to be courteous to members of the general public that they may encounter on their courses.
Competitors are advised that wild boar are present in the area. If you meet a boar please back away and run around to avoid confrontation.