SROC Sizergh Castle Spring Series 2  

12th March 2022  

Final Details

Entries  

No entries on the day. You will need to enter via the SI Entries website here before the  closing time of 21.00 on Thursday 10th March. Entry fees: £5 senior, £2 junior/student.

As agreed with the National Trust, this event is limited to the first 80 entries.

Location  

Sizergh Castle, Sizergh, Nr. Kendal

Post code: LA8 8DZ  

Grid Reference: SD 497876

What3words: lingering.lived.necklaces

Sizergh is a very popular attraction. Please be mindful at all times that we are sharing  parking, facilities and the competition area with the general public.

Parking in the National Trust car park. Follow road signs from the A590 to Sizergh Castle.  The National Trust requests that orienteers take the first empty parking space they find  (i.e. leave those close to the Visitor Centre for the general public). Note: there is less  obvious parking for a number of vehicles if you turn left immediately on entering the car  park.  

Every vehicle must display a parking ticket, obtained from the machine to the right of the  Visitor Centre. A charge is payable by non-members or if you have forgotten to bring your  NT membership card! All day fee is £4.

Please arrive in plenty of time for your start window. We would suggest at least 30  minutes before to allow for getting ready, receiving help etc.

Facilities  

The car park is open from 9.00 to 18.00.

Hours for the National Trust Shop and Café in the Visitor Centre are 10-15.30. Toilets are  available in the Visitor Centre.  

The House is closed, but the Garden is open for visiting. Between 10 and 15.30, last entry  30 minutes before closing time. For more information about Sizergh Castle click here

Courses  

There are three courses:  

Yellow: 1.9km, 35m climb, 8 controls. Suitable for Juniors with some map reading  experience and family groups with no experience

Short Technical: 4.0km, 140m climb, 14 controls. Suitable for adults and family group or  adult groups with some map reading experience

Long Technical: 5.3km, 205m climb, 18 controls. For experienced orienteers. Because of the road crossing, only orienteers aged 16 or over on the day of the event are  allowed to run the Long Technical course (unless accompanied by a responsible adult).

On the technical courses, competitors are required to divert from straight line routes to  use marked crossing points, so actual course lengths are longer than the distances  indicated.

All controls, plus the Finish, will be in beacon mode, meaning that you can punch  contactlessly if you are using a "SIAC" dibber. (Note: this does not apply to hired dibbers.)  Everyone must punch in the Start box.

All competitors must report to Download by courses close time of 14.30.

Enquiries

Open from 11.30am. This will be located about 20m from the far end of the car park.  Follow sign at the field gate into the parkland. Hired dibbers should be collected (and  returned) here. Help will be provided here for newcomers (as well as at the Start). Spare  clothing, car keys etc can be left here – at your own risk.  

Start  

Starts from 12.00 - 13.00. Please try to keep to the 15 minute start window you chose on  entering, but there is flexibility if this is not possible. Competitors on the same course will  be started at one minute intervals. The Start is about 300m from the far end of the car  park, signed from the field gate into the parkland. The route to the Start passes Enquiries/

Finish/Download.  

Only go to the Start just prior to starting (allowing extra time for help if you are a  newcomer). Before presenting yourself to the officials, sanitise your hands using the  sanitiser provided and Clear your dibber. Please keep some physical space between you  and others, particularly If you need to queue to start (do not to block the adjacent track).

There will be someone at the Start to help newcomers. Competitors on the yellow course  can collect their map from this helper and look at it before joining the Start queue.

Blank maps will be on display in the start lane and dibbers will be checked here. Everyone  must punch the Start box when directed.  

Finish and Download

These are located with Enquiries.

Please move away from the Finish quickly, and proceed directly to the adjacent  Download, forming a queue if necessary and keeping at least 2m apart. Use the sanitiser  provided before you download and take the splits – these are pre cut and you do not  need to touch the printer. Please move away from Download quickly. Results will not be  displayed on the day but will be on the website www.sroc.org in the evening.

Terrain and Map Notes  

Map A4 1:7500. Contour Interval 5m.

The competition area is a mix of deciduous woodland and open grazed fields over  limestone. The land generally rises to the North. The ground is steeper to the West,  increasingly so to the west of the North-South minor road which is visited by the Long  Technical Course. There is a good path network. Several parts of the map are out of  bounds, there are field boundaries that must only be crossed at marked crossing points  and gates that need to be kept closed. Please respect these constraints imposed by the  National Trust. (Failure to do so may affect our access to the area in the future.)

All courses:  

• The parts of the competition area hatched in purple are out of bounds. This includes a  runnable-looking field close to the Finish, where you must keep to the track.  • Walls/fences highlighted in purple must not be climbed. Cross these at crossing points  shown on the map, some of which are overprinted in purple to assist clarity.  • Competitors on all courses will encounter a number of gates. The National Trust  requires that competitors leave gates as found (i.e. you will often have to shut a gate  after yourself).  

• On some paths and tracks you may encounter gates/stiles that are not shown on the  map because it would affect clarity.

• One gate is particularly rickety and this will be manned.  

• Unaccompanied youngsters may find some of the gates a challenge.  • There may be livestock (sheep and cattle) in the competition area. Whilst the animals  are accustomed to people, please respect them by giving them space. Potential e-coli  risk too, so wash hands thoroughly after competing.

Plus for the Long Technical course:  

• The first part of the descent at the north of the map is steep and rocky, with a water  pipe as an extra trip hazard. The bend at the end could push you into the stream if  taken at speed.

• The gate into Park End Farm requires some contortions over a stream. Watch out for  the barbed wire.  

• There are two road crossings. It is a fairly quiet road, but vehicles may be fast moving.  Watch out for cyclists too.  

• There is ongoing management work in the woods after the road crossing, which may  not be reflected on the map. Do not rely on vegetation changes for navigation here.  Keep away from any machinery, wood piles etc.  

• You may also encounter patches of windblown.

Control descriptions on the map will be text for the yellow course, pictorial for the  technical courses. Separate control descriptions will not be provided.

Safety  

Competitors take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.

• You should dress appropriately for the current and forecast weather conditions. Full leg  cover is required. Footwear should be appropriate for steep, muddy and slippy terrain.  A compass would be helpful but is not essential. Whistles are strongly advised.  Waterproof jackets will be made compulsory if conditions require it.  

• You are encouraged to carry a phone. Call the organiser on 07478734492 in an  emergency. This phone number is printed on the map.  

• Limestone is always slippy and care must be taken. Worse if raining!  • Take care on minor paths for tripping hazards as they may be stony and/or with tree  roots exposed above ground.

• Pay attention to low hanging and spiky branches when in the wooded areas. • Be alert for members of the public – particularly when running along paths – and be  prepared to give way at gates and crossing points.

• You must report to Download after the event, even if you retire. Remember courses  close at 14.30.

We will be following BOF’s current COVID guidelines but trust everyone will be using their  common sense to ensure that all competitors and the public are as safe as possible.  Please maintain social distancing and adhere to the British Orienteering Participant Code  of Conduct. 

First aid and accidents

A first aid kit will be available at Download for people to self administer.

The Urgent Treatment Centre at Westmorland General Hospital, 3 miles away, can deal  with non-life threatening conditions such as strains and sprains, broken bones and minor  illnesses. Burton Road, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 7RG. Tel 01539 732288

For more serious conditions, such as chest pains or severe breathing difficulties, the  nearest A&E is Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Ashton Road, Lancaster, LA1 4RP. Tel. 01524  65944 (About 20 miles away.)

Results  

Results are available on the South Ribble web site www.sroc.org 

Event Officials & Thanks  

Organiser/Planner: Paul Ferguson, SROC Contact details 07478734492 or email  pferguson@me.com 

Newcomers who have any questions prior to the event, either about orienteering or the  entry process please contact Martyn Roome on Development@sroc.org. General  enquiries to Paul Ferguson as above.

Many thanks to the National Trust for their cooperation and support.

Red Rose Orienteers (SROC) was founded in 1964 and holds many events throughout the  year. We have been Orienteering Club of the Year and are current National Trophy  winners. For further details see www.sroc.org