WORTHLODGE FOREST
Saturday 22nd November
Hosted by Southdowns Orienteers
A second use of this newly mapped area following the National Event in March.
Only 3 SARUM orienteers were foolhardy enough to confront the rain and wind that had persisted all day and into the evening. Charlotte Thornton, Freda Peirce and Ian Peirce are all 80+ class and entered their class course, the Short Green (2.8km 60m 8 Controls)
The area was mixed woodland with a path network. Sounds simple enough but the planner ensured we had to find some controls with careful navigation through complex details where some minor paths and rides seemed to disappear in the undergrowth. Some of the legs were quite slow due to forest debris, undergrowth and the occasional fallen tree and the weather seemed to close down the visual range.
Charlotte took the decision to abandon wearing glasses as all seemed hopeless with hood, headlight and steamed up glasses which can catch some glare from the headlight. This may not have been the best situation as she definitely misinterpreted some of the map details. In spite of her excellent recent form, Charlotte was beaten into 2nd place by Ruth Rhodes, last year’s champion and previous British Night Champion. Ruth is also an SO member, so does she really count?
I got confused on my way to the very 1st control but had caught up Freda who was overheard to mutter: “Oh no, this is not the earth bank but the earth wall”. I’ll take any help, no matter how unintended. My only M80 competitor was John Parfitt of BOK, who we know well as he was a long-time member of SARUM. Unfortunately for John, he lost significant time on two legs and handed me the win.
We are all in awe of Freda who went out into a difficult area at night in bad weather. Freda successfully finished part of the course and then gracefully retired when she came to a suitable main track to the finish.
British Night Orienteering Championships – 7th February 2026
Night orienteering can be a bit daunting to the uninitiated, but it can be great fun and hugely rewarding. It’s also excellent training for any orienteering because, with visibility so much reduced, navigation needs to be particularly careful and precise. The British Night-O Champs are in the South next year, taking place at Egypt Woods near Beaconsfield. For anyone looking for some good training ahead of the Compass Sport Heats two weeks later this could be an excellent choice. Details here: britishnightchamps.org.uk