Border Liners Orienteering Club’s latest event took place on Sunday 1st November at Eycott Hill, near Berrier. It was a counter in the Cumbrian Galoppen series of events which made for a good turnout, possibly aided by the promise of good weather, or at least better weather than we have had recently. With barely a breath of wind, early morning mist was stubborn to clear, but once it did running conditions were perfect. Eycott Hill is a mixture of fast open moorland with an abundance of rock and contour features interspersed by slow marshier sections. This meant that fast running had to be balanced against accurate navigation, with competitors who mastered this coming out on top.
The longest course (Brown) was 9.1km with 300m ascent, though a more typical running distance would be between 10km and 11km. Toby Heppell (M18) of West Cumberland Orienteering Club (WCOC) came out on top with a time of 61.37, just over a minute ahead of Lancashire based David Roome (M40, SROC). With Border Liners’ top ranked runner Jeff Powell Davies setting the course, it was left to Dan Parker (M60) to fly the club’s flag coming 19th in a time of 80.24. First lady home was Sophie Crawford (W18, WCOC) who took 84.26, just 18 seconds ahead of top Border Liner Karen Parker (W60).
The Blue course (6.1km, 165m) was won by Chris Naylor (M40, WCOC) in a time of 50.12, 2 minutes ahead of first lady, Pippa Archer (W45) of Lakeland Orienteering Club (LOC). Top Border Liners were Keith Tonkin (M65) in a time of 55.51 and Nadine Wright (W35) who took 66.23. The most popular course on the day was Green (4.2km, 140m) attracting 68 competitors with ages ranging from 16 to over 80. Rebecca Rooke (W35, LOC) came out on top with a rapid time of 33.07 closely followed by Graham Patten (M60, WCOC), 2 minutes down. Top Border Liner was Natalie Hawkrigg (W50) who was 4th overall in a time of 38.44. Top BL male on Green was Paul Goldsmith (M55) who took 51.51.
There were two other fully technical courses – Short Green and Very Short Green, designed for competitors who want less of a physical challenge without compromising on the mental challenge that orienteering provides. The Very Short Green course was a cut-off of the Short Green course, allowing competitors to choose part way round how long they want to be out for. Short Green (3.4km, 85m) was won by Roger Thomas (M65, WCOC) in a time of 36.25, 2 minutes ahead of Richard Towler (M75, LOC). First lady was Anne Salisbury (W70, WAROC) who took 40.37, just one second ahead of Anne Cummings (W65, WCOC). Top Border Liner was Tricia Davies (W70) who took 48.57. For those taking the Very Short Green option (2.4km, 50m) David Fenwick (M80, WCOC) came out on top in 46.59, followed by a trio of Border Liners including Chris Lates (M80) in second taking 54.53.
The Light Green course (3.7km, 70m) is designed for improving juniors and adults, providing technical challenge without (too much) risk of getting very lost. Freya Hodgson-Jones (W14, LOC) showed everyone a clean pair of heels, taking the lead at the first control and never losing it, coming out winner in 36.15. Murray Page (M14, SROC) was second in 40.04, just in front of Finn Wilson (M16, LOC). On the easier Orange course (2km, 60m) Harriet Rooke (W10, LOC) took the honours winning by over a minute in 20.37 from Finn Rowley (M10, WCOC). Top Border Liner was Andrew Nemeth who came 6th in 37.01. On the (least technical) Yellow course (2.2km, 65m) Jess Ferris (W12) sped round in 26.22, two minutes clear of Una Rowley (W7, WCOC). Top Border Liner was Josh Hookway (M8) in 34.53.
The final course on offer was a Score course where, rather than taking checkpoints in a defined order, competitors visit as many as they can within an hour. Of course if you take longer than an hour you start losing points. Two competitors, Mike Page (M40) and Darren Baker (M55, DEE) managed to visit all 20 of the controls, but Darren was 2 mins 17 secs over time so lost 7 points leaving Mike to come out the winner. Third place was taken by John Taylor (M60, WCOC) who got 19 controls within the time limit so was just 3 points behind Darren in the final reckoning. Top Border Liner was Charlie Bradshaw (W35) who collected all but two checkpoints, finishing 7th overall. Complicated? Not really – you get used to it!
The next Border Liners’ events are in two weeks’ time – a double header, kicking off with a night event (in the dark with a torch) at Penrith Beacon on Saturday 14th November followed by an urban event round the streets and alleyways of Brampton on Sunday 15th November.
Dan Parker
2nd Nov 2026
