From organisers and planners Dan and Karen
After the cancellation of last two Border Liners events (blame curlews and roadworks) there is more reason than ever to come to the annual Long-O on Sunday 16th August.
The first thing to say is don’t be put off by the name “Long-O”. Yes, there are very long courses (up to 17km) for those who want them, but there are shorter courses (down to 3km) too. If you do a course that’s longer than the ones you normally do, then you are doing a Long-O! Over the years we’ve wondered whether to change the course names – people have commented (complained?) that the “Short” course isn’t – but we’ve decided against. It’s like urban orienteering with the plethora of descriptions for Vet classes, though we’re not yet in “Hyper-Short” territory.
This year’s event is based at Drybarrows Farm above Brampton (as used 2 years ago for a Cumbrian Galoppen at Burnbanks). The area includes the western part of Burnbanks plus a large section of Bampton Common never previously used for orienteering, covering Wether Hill, Raven Howe and Measand End. When test running the courses we were pleasantly surprised by how runnable the terrain is; we thought that with fewer sheep grazing, the tussocks would have got worse but instead there seems to be more lovely soft moss. At this time of year there is significant bracken on the lower parts of the area but it’s shown on the map and courses are planned to avoid it – it you find yourself stuck in deep bracken you’ve probably done something wrong (or made a route choice we hadn’t thought of)!
The longer courses are planned with the focus on route choice and long legs rather than fine navigation. The intention is to make them suitable for fell runners and the like with less navigation experience. The Long and Medium courses would be excellent training for anyone doing the Mountain Trial in September. The two shortest courses are more technically difficult, though still with longer than average legs to give a Long-O feel. One thing all courses share is the wonderful views over Haweswater and the Eastern fells. Even the car park is well-endowed in this respect.
Of course one of the big things that keep people coming back every year is the tea and cake at the finish. We can promise the usual selection again this year (with raspberry flapjack probably getting the highest approval rating)! And don’t worry if you are doing a long course – we always make sure it doesn’t run out.
As we write this (20th July), it’s hard to imagine that the weather will be anything but warm and sunny, but the longer courses cross plenty of streams so water won’t be a problem. But if we are back to a normal Cumbrian summer, you can just enjoy the extra navigational challenge offered by clag.
See you on 16th August?
Border Liners Orienteering Club 