Saturday local orienteering event at Rickerby Park, Carlisle
These details have been updated 15/11/24 – Entry on the day availability with other changes in red below. It is important to note special symbols used on map and control descriptions.
Entry numbers available on the day : O-Cross (starting at 10:50)/Long 3, Short 3, Novice 7.
Try out head-to-head mass start orienteering race on our O-Cross course (same as the Long course), or normal orienteering courses (Long, Short and Novice/easy) in parkland on the edge of Carlisle.
Terrain: Rickerby Park is on the North side of Carlisle, and on the North side of the River Eden which bounds it’s Southern edge. The park was opened as a memorial to the fallen of the Great War (1914-18) and is a ‘natural park’, being mostly rough grassland. Hadrian’s Wall National Trail runs through Rickerby Park via a suspension bridge over the Eden at it’s SE end. Throughout the park there are scatterings of single trees & copses, some are old and well established, some are much more recently planted and have fenced enclosures around them. In places within the rough grass there are patches of thistles and nettles, mostly easily avoided. The park is not technical with a maximum technical difficulty of 3, and a very low physical difficulty. Rickerby Park is well used by the public.
Be aware that there are often cows grazing within the park and we cannot control where these may be at any time (although they seem to have been removed when we made our last check visit). You are likely to get wet feet, certainly from the grass, but also there is a marshy area which you may have to cross on all courses other than Novice. Leaves have dropped off the trees significantly so some of the smaller marked paths on the map may not be so obvious on the ground.
Event centre: We are using Stanwix Community Centre for our event base where we will have access to the community hall and toilets from 09:45. Here will be enquiries, download/results and entry on the day registration. There will be space to leave bags should you wish. If you bring your own mug (to save us washing up) we will be able to provide tea/coffee. Stanwix Community Centre is on Church Street, Stanwix, CA3 9DJ, what3words: candy.random.smiled.
Parking: Parking is on a self-service basis, parking on the streets in Stanwix on the NE side of the A7. There is usually on street parking outside of the University of Cumbria campus on Tarraby Lane, on Knowe Road, and there is some limited parking spaces on Brampton Road (B6264). Please take care not to park across residents drives and not on yellow lines.
Public transport: Numerous Stagecoach buses from the centre of Carlisle (eg rail station or bus station) pass up the A7 crossing the river Eden at Eden Bridge, also along Brampton road. Google maps shows bus stops and which numbers stop there. Note that there are a number of timetables changes planned from 4th November. If you come to the event by bike there are some railings outside of the community centre and adjacent pre-school which you should be able to secure bikes to.
Courses: O-Cross or Long*, Short, Very Short**, Novice.
O-Cross/Long = 4.8km (26 controls), Short = 3.3km (20 controls), Very Short (if selected on the day) = 2.8km (17 controls), Novice = 2.4km (15 controls). There is negligible climb on all courses (10m or less).
*The O-Cross/Long course will have butterfly loops; there will be 4 versions of the course but all will eventually run the same legs. The mass start O-Cross will be timed separately from the Long course due to the head-to-head nature of that race. Enter the O-Cross course if you are considering this option in order to give us an idea on how many might want to start. If there’s not much interest we may cancel the idea and move those entries to Long. Whether you enter O-Cross or Long courses on the day you can decide on the day which you run : O-Cross for the mass start timed start, Long for a punching start. If you do swap course (in either direction) you will need to let download know before you download your SI card.
** Very Short will be a cut-down version of Short – it is the same course map but with a dashed line between 2 controls which will shorten the course. Therefore you enter the Short and decide on the day which course you run with our download software automatically allocating you to the correct course (if you get them right that is!).
Map: 1:4000, 2m contours, updated autumn 2024. A4 size, printed on waterproof paper, control descriptions on front. No loose control descriptions. The map is to ISSproM 2019-2 standard with open-field yellow reduced in brightness. Note there are symbols used on the map and in control descriptions for seats (x) and fenced young trees (fodder rack). These are shown here and are also printed on the face of the map.
Entries: Pre-entry only except for Novice course where there will be some entry on the day, subject to map availability.
Entries are now open on SiEntries and will close at 23:59 on Thursday 14th November.
Seniors (21 and over): £7 (£8 for entry on the day)
Juniors (20 and under) and full-time Students: £3
If you are new to orienteering and would like to go round as a group or in a pair, just enter one person and purchase any additional maps that your group would like at £1 each.
Dibber hire by pre-order at no charge, £30 if not returned. To pre-order, leave the SI number blank during entry process, collect from Download on the day.
If you are unable to make the event please let us know via the email address. If we are informed by the closing date we will provide a refund less £1 per person to cover admin costs. Before the closing date you can change your course by editing your entry online, but there will be no changes of course on the day.
Clothing: It’s mid-November so dress appropriately for the conditions. Courses are almost entirely on grass so wear shoes with some grip. Shorts are allowed but bear in mind you may encounter patches of thistles.
Start times: Mass start O-cross for those interested at 10:50. Main start times are 11:00 to 12:15 for all courses. Due to the mass start there will be no early start option even on the other courses.
SIAC: It will be punching start (except for O-Cross) and punching finish. All controls on the course will be SIAC enabled for those with contactless dibbers.
Start: The start is approx 400m from the event centre. Proceed SW down Church Street to St Michael’s Church entrance, proceed through the church grounds on the path straight to Brampton Road where there is a crossing direct into Rickerby Park. This crossing should be manned, but nevertheless please take care crossing here into the park. The start is about 100m into the park. There’s not much room for warming up so if this is something you want to do please run up and down the pavement alongside Brampton Road, not in the road and not down into the park (competition area).
Finish: The finish is not far from the start. Courses close 14:00.
Safety: Before you start and after you finish take care crossing the road into and out of Rickerby Park. Within the park the longer courses will cross a minor road twice. There’s good visibility, traffic should not be frequent and should be slow moving but please still take care crossing this road. Courses may pass close to the River Eden; under no circumstances go down the bank to the river edge. IMPORTANT: Please remember to download after your run whether you have finished your course or not. This is both your and our safety check that everyone is accounted for. A full risk assessment has been prepared for this event, but please note that you take part in this event at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety.
Dogs: Well behaved dogs are allowed on the course on leads (due to livestock). Dogs are not allowed in the Community Centre.
Results: We hope to display results at download. After the event results will be on the Border Liners website although it may not be until very late on Saturday evening.
Planner: Keith Tonkin. Organiser: Christine Kiddier (christine@coria.co.uk)
Acknowledgements: Cumberland Council for use of Rickerby Park.
Border Liners Orienteering Club 