This is a local Night Orienteering event at Hackthorpe New Wood between Penrith & Shap on the A6. It is part of the North West Night League series of events for 2023/24. Come along for some final night orienteering practice before the British Night Champs one week later.
Event location: Lowther Parish Hall, Hackthorpe just off the A6. Hard standing parking is available at the village hall to its North side, and if that is full, to the South side in some unlit parking adjacent to Hackthorpe Wood. Travel & location details to follow nearer the event.
Facilities: Enquiries, key drop, EOD, Download, Toilets in the village hall. Please don’t turn up before 5pm as we only have it booked from then. Hall closes 9pm. You will be able to leave bags/clothing here whilst you run. NOTE: Clear & check of dibbers will be in the hall and NOT AT THE START. Refreshments (soup, tea, coffee & cake) provided by Hannah Birkinshaw with profits donated to NW Junior Squad. No muddy shoes inside the hall please.
Terrain: Hackthorpe is at its best early in the year. The area is small with a mix of deciduous woodland divided into sections by walls, and open areas, some with planted trees. Most of the area is bramble free, bracken will be low and the 2023 crop of nettles are all dead making for generally good running.
Additional terrain notes:
- The walls are mostly intact. Please don’t climb them. Gaps between the walls, including those gaps where there is a collapse, are all marked on the map. These are NOT taped on the ground.
- You may notice remains of an old permanent orienteering course with small red/white markers. Some of these are used as control sites, most are not. If you see one of the POC markers don’t expect that there should be a control and it has disappeared!
- We have marked one dangerous hole in the ground with a purple X on the course maps. We plan to tape this off to prevent any one falling in.
Courses: Courses are below. There is nominal climb across the area, more on the blue course and proportionately less on the others.
Blue (long) 6.0km, approx 100m climb, map flip
Green (short) 4.0km, 55m climb
Orange 2.4km, 30m climb
Entries: Entries open on Friday 5th January on SiEntries. Pre-entries for all courses close at 23:59 on Thursday 1st February. Entry on the day is available on Orange only. Seniors (21 and over): £6, Juniors (20 and under): £2
Punching: The event will use SportIdent electronic punching, with controls in SIAC contactless mode apart from the start and finish which must be punched. Dibber Hire is available by pre-order at no charge, £30 if not returned (to pre-order, leave the SI number blank during entry process, collect from the village hall on the evening).
Groups and Pairs / Extra Maps: If you are new to orienteering and would like to try night O we would recommend entering the orange course and not blue or green which will be much more technical. If you would like to go round as a group or in a pair that is possible; just enter one person and use the option to select any additional maps that your group would like at £1 each.
Map: 1:7500, 5m contours printed on A4 waterproof paper with control descriptions on the front. Minor updates have been made for this event. No loose control descriptions. Descriptions are pictorial on Blue & Green, text on Orange.
Start/finish: Starts between 18:00 and 19:00. Start approx 600m taped route from the village hall, finish about 100m. Courses close 20:30; all competitors must be finished by this time.
Dogs: There are deer in the area so we are not allowing dogs on the courses. No dogs in the playground area or hall either please.
Safety: A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. You should carry a whistle, spare torch & consider carrying a mobile phone (the organisers number will be printed on the front of the map). You may need to carry/wear a cagoule depending on the weather. You must remember to download after running. This is both your and our safety check.
Officials: Organiser Keith Tonkin, Planners Keith Tonkin & Christine Kiddier.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Lowther Estate for giving us permission to use the area.
The North West Night League 2023/4 series events & results are here. NWNL is sponsored by Bright Bike Lights.
Border Liners Orienteering Club 