Autumn Series, event (4/4)Dean Clough RegionalSat 05 November, 2022

Regional level event

Results

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Controller’s comments:

I hope you enjoyed your run despite the windy weather. My concern before the event was heavy rain but this held off until mid-afternoon so on balance I felt we escaped with better conditions than expected. Thanks to everyone who helped on the day. Everything was collected and packed up before 3pm which was a great effort.

This event landed on our laps in September after a number of officials withdrew from the PFO autumn events which necessitated a shift in personnel across fixtures. Whilst a husband and wife planning/controlling team is not really in the spirit of event officialdom, it did have the advantage that we were able to plan it quickly to a mid-October deadline due to a late-October family holiday. Hopefully you were not overly offended by this abuse of event rules!

We would have liked to have had a few longer legs on the courses but initial drafts of these ended up with stretches of dead running or encouraging fence hopping that would have put at risk access to the area. Instead we focused on switching between terrain styles (wood/open/farmland/etc) to keep you on your toes. Billington Wood, near the end of the courses, was lightly used as it is very rough at present. We could have used it to slow things down but figured most people would not thank us for it as it was not fun to get tangled up in the thick undergrowth.

After our first visit to the area it was clear that times would be quick so we lengthened most courses by 10-20%. This proved to be the correct action with times on all courses more or less spot on with guidance. The start and finish were close together that is (in my opinion) a good thing for events at this time of year.

Finally, apologies for anyone affected by the inquisitive alpacas near the entrance to Billington Wood. We used the public footpath route through that field on 8 occasions before the event (including on the morning of the event) and never once encountered them. Most comments at download were positive, saying they were very friendly, but I can understand that they could be distressing for young children.

Steve Wilson PFO - Controller.

Planner’s comments:

Thanks to everyone who came to our Dean Clough event – I hope you all enjoyed your run. Course planning on this area was a bit of a challenge, primarily due to the large number of walls and fences which in some cases were uncrossable, and in other cases could only be crossed at single locations. This inevitably meant that planning legs with lots of route choice, or planning long legs was quite difficult. It also meant that you were never going to be too far from a line feature, and so I was limited in the number of true TD5 standard legs that I could plan. So instead, I tried to give plenty of variety in the courses, with legs alternating between the different types of terrain, and with lots of changes of direction.

Given the exposed nature of the area, and the fact that the event was to be held in November with potential for cold, wet and windy weather, one of the initial planning decisions was to make sure that the start and the finish were within easy access of the car park. This was both for the benefit and safety of competitors but also the officials manning both locations.

After my initial visit to the area, I realised that the terrain was generally pretty runnable, and so tried to plan course lengths to reflect this. Trying to get a course of sufficient distance on the Brown course was probably most difficult – as I consciously didn’t want to take competitors over the same areas twice, just for the sake of it. The Light Green course may have been a little long, but I wanted to use the fast open area in the NW part of the area for this course.

The last few controls on each course went through the wooded area. Although there were plenty of features in the woodland, the undergrowth and vegetation generally meant that the optimum route choice was to take the paths through this area, and so I deliberately didn’t put too many controls in this section.

Overall, the results seemed to suggest the course distances and winning times were about right. It was interesting to see how close the results were on some courses - in particular just 30 seconds separating the top 3 runners on Brown.

On the day I was made aware of the Alpacas and a couple of horses which were present in the open area just before the entrance to Billington Woods. I think they were around at the time the earlier starters came through but had been moved by a farmer later on in the morning. I didn’t encounter these on any of the 3 visits that I’d made to the area whilst planning, and I also didn’t notice them on the morning of the event when we were hanging controls. So I’m not sure when they appeared, or where they came from! But I do want to offer apologies to anyone who was distressed by these, or who lost time on their course as a result.

Hope to see you at another PFO event very soon.

Cath Wilson PFO - Planner

Organiser's Comments:

Many thanks to all the competitors who came to run yesterday - we were very lucky with the weather with the rain holding off until everyone had finished the courses.

It was great to see a good turn out from many of the clubs from the north west and other neighbouring clubs. Hosting the event at the MX track worked well for us, allowing us to have both the start & finish close to the parking area which hopefully was welcomed by competitors.

Thank you to Cath & Steve Wilson for stepping in at short notice to plan a set of excellent courses.

We had many PFO club members volunteering to help out on the day - we couldn't run these events without your support so a huge thanks to all of you for giving up your time, and working so well as a team to get everything done.

Finally as a first time organiser I'm grateful to George for all his hard work & advice before the event. There is a lot of work that he has done in the background to arrange permissions, mapping, parking, toilets, equipment etc, so that everything went smoothly on the day.

Alan Hodkinson PFO - Organiser

Footnotes:

Fast terrain with some tricky navigation. All courses from Brown to Light Green had to run the gaunlet with the ponies and their offspring, while others found time to make friends with inquisitive alpacas. They all seemed unperturbed by our passing.

Our thanks are due to United Utilities for permission to use the area, to Tracey Pickard, tenant farmer, for her tolerance of our activities over her working farm and to Philip Roberts for permission to use the MX track field for our parking and assembly. The parking field was a huge bonus compared to our previous layby and roadside arrangements.

We are not aware of anyone experiencing difficulty accessing the parking field via the very narrow Moor Lane. Local residents were advised of our arrival and departure times and directions and asked to 'go with the flow' for their own journeys. We are grateful to them for their forebearance.

Finally, huge thanks to the many PFO helpers who made the day run smoothly. See you all soon.

RouteGadget

Is a web browser app for sharing and comparing orienteering routes. You can draw your own route or upload a GPS track from your watch. It also allows you to watch an animated replay with a simulated mass start.

Go to the Pendle Forest Routegadget now

Last updated: Mon 07 November, 2022

PFO Regional. Autumn Series event 4 of 4.

Location Info

Near: Langho
Lat,Lng: 53.80382,-2.42828
OS Grid Ref: SD718342

Open an interactive map in:
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Directions / Parking

Late news: Original last entry was Wednesday 2nd Nov. Late entries available Thursday and Friday 3rd and 4th Nov at late entry rate. See below. But no EOD.

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Location: Postcode of the crossroads is BB6 8DU. What3words coordinate of field entrance ///armed.waggled.graver

You must arrive at parking before 11:45AM as the last 1k of road is very narrow. No exit until 12:00 noon.

Best approach from west, north or east is via A59 to the roundabout with the A666. Follow this to Langho (1k) then turn south on York Lane (getting steeper) for 900m. At the crossroads with Whalley Old Road (not your right of way), continue almost straight ahead on to Moor Lane (also known as Old Nab Road). This is a very narrow single track tarmac road with few passing places. Take great care. After 1.1k the spaceous parking field is on your right. Pay the parking fee of £2.00 once inside the gate. Park as directed.

From the south, approach via the M65 and Blackburn northern ring road. Turn uphill at the lights on to Whalley Old Road. Follow it to the Lord Nelson pub in York village and turn immediately right on to Moor Lane.

In order to minimise traffic on the narrow lane, please consider sharing transport with others.
The access road is not suitable for for wide campavans or other large vehicles. Alternative parking is available in a wide layby about 600m uphill and SSW of the crossroads and the Lord Nelson pub. The roadside route from the layby to the Start is 1.7k.

On departure, you must turn left and reverse your direction of arrival.

The Lord Nelson pub is close to the crossroads at BB6 8DU. It serves excellent food and there is a garden at the rear. Opens at 12:00 noon. You will be made very welcome.

Map / Terrain

Competition maps for all courses is 1:10000. Loose descriptions in the start lanes and on the map.

The area offers all standards of orienteering. Mostly open undulating rough pastures but with areas of detailed woodland and old quarry workings.

Do not cross any stock-proof walls or fences. However ruined walls or fences may be crossed at any point.

It is a condition of our permission to use the area that stock-proof walls and fences must only be crossed at marked stiles, gates or natural breaks.
In general the many crossing points (indicated by either gate or stile symbols) have not been seperatly highlighted. However, a few crossing points have been marked with the ) ( symbol - these are mainly where there is only one choice. Competitors seen not using designated crossing points risk disqualification.

At this time of year, undergrowth is receeding. Some areas marked with the green pinstripe symbol may be easier to traverse than the map suggests.

There is no legend on the map. The relevant Legend is amongst the images on this website.

Registration and Start times

Starts: From 10:30 to 12:00
Courses Close: At 14:00

Course Information

START & FINISH: Very close to parking. Allow 2 minutes.

All competitors MUST report to Download, whether they have completed their course or retired.

Please always give way to other users in the area. It is a popular area for walkers, runners, mountain bikers and horse riders.

WEATHER: Much of the area is exposed open fell. If wind and/or rain are likely the controller may make wearing or carrying wind/waterproof jackets mandatory. Watch for signs. If it is also cold, hats, gloves and thermal layers may be advisable. Be prepared! Whistles are mandatory.

Entry Details

Online via SIEntries. Closing date for standard entries is midnight on Wednesday 2nd November. Late entries available 3rd & 4th Nov, but only up to the limit of available maps.

Standard entries:
Adults (M/W21+) £8.00. (Non-BOF £10.00)
Juniors (M/W20-) £3.00. (Non-BOF £4.00)
Dibber hire £1.00 but £40 if lost! Collect hired dibbers from Download.

Late entries:
Adults (M/W21+) £10.00. (Non-BOF £12.00)
Juniors (M/W20-) £4.00. (Non-BOF £5.00)

Dog restrictions

Dogs must not be taken around courses as this is sheep country. After your run, dogs may be exercised responsibly in the competition area. Leads and doggie etiquette please.

Facilities

Portaloo toilets at Registration.
The Lord Nelson pub in York village will be open from 12 noon for food and drinks.

Miscellaneous

BOF event: 80474

Contacts / Officials

Planner: Cath Wilson PFO
Controller: Steve Wilson PFO
Organiser: Allan Hodkinson

For general enquiries, contact: