Lakes 5 Days 2022
Some of QO contingent at Lakes 5 Days
Credit:
Judy Craddock
Nineteen members took advantage of this quadrennial opportunity to head up to The Lake DIstrict to orienteer in some of the most breathtaking (and challenging) scenery in the UK over a fantastically sunny week.
Events
Day 1 - Swindale South
An open fell with many contours, rock detail and mostly dry marsh. Despite trying in the morning, the rain held off, and the sun appeared for most runners out on the fast open fell. The marshes were very distinctive on the ground, so navigation was not too challenging with the rocks, cliffs and big contour features as long as you kept your concentration.
Day 2 - Threlkeld Knotts and Common
Another open fell with contour detail, loose rocks and boulder fields, with a 1.5km 200m climb up to the start from the assembly but with magnificent views of Blencathra and Skiddaw. Fast terrain with fewer features to keep you on track on some of the legs than the day before.
Switched back to rubber studded shoes for this open area .. this helped a lot and actually ran for more than half of the 64 minutes despite the climbs and marshy areas. Nav went well with only one relocation needed after straying off the bearing - Brian (M60)
Day 2 start
Club Social
At their campsite near the assembly for day 2, Andy and Rosie hosted a cream tea after the event for QOs. It was a lovely opportunity for everyone to gather and chat about all things orienteering in the sunshine. As the photo in the gallery highlights, some cornish sympathisers are in the QO ranks!
Day 3 - Graythwaite (Dale Park)
An area of largely runnable steep oak woodland with lots of intricate rock and contour detail and an adjacent dense conifer plantation with low visibility. This middle-distance event required a much slower pace, especially in the humid dense trees and needed orienteers to stay in touch with their maps while navigating the detailed and complex terrain.
I absolutely loved the detailed and intricate mapping. Phil (M45)
Rest Day
For the rest day, amongst other activities, Steve took part in the Penrith Urban (results & maps), Rosie and Andy went hiking, Karen and family went wild swimming, Phil went stand-up paddle boarding, Adam and Robin did a fell race and Jeff went on a scenic train journey.
The last ones to leave
Credit: Phil Sorrell
Day 4 - Raven Craig (Dale Park)
On the other side of the valley from the same assembly as day 3, Raven Craig is a varied forest with a wealth of contour and rock detail (with more low visibility conifer plantations and very steep cliffs). Arguably harder than the previous day with fewer features to tick off deep in the conifers. Some seniors had courses on parts of Dale Park they did not visit the day before.
QO had late starts, and several members stayed at the end chatting about whether to help (or not) confused fellow club members and the quality of O-footwear (Rosie suffered a shoe malfunction towards the end of her run!)
Parking and assembly for day 5
Credit: Phil Sorrell
Day 5 - Helsington Barrows
A highly runnable open fell with areas of loose rock and some contour detail. On one of the hottest days of the year, it was tough.
The open moor was exposed to the full heat of the sun so despite taking a Camelbak and hat, it felt extremely hard to keep running... More toiling and less concentrating meant more relocating with the subtle features and I never felt at one with the map. Was glad to finish this one. Brian (M60)
It was not just Brian - Jeff ended up in minor injuries with a cut, and Phil also struggled:
I just could not make the terrain match the map, and I kept getting pulled offline, putting me out of position. I was done halfway round and just wanted it to end. Phil (M45)
Overall Results
M16A
17th Hamish Braine-Clarke 2102
M21L
11th Adam Fieldhouse 4760
27th Robin Fieldhouse 3795
M45L
21st Philip Sorrell 3544
27th Peter Shirvington 2632 (3 events)
M50L
22nd Jeff Pakes 3324
M55L
30th Andy Rimes 3871
M60L
14th Brian Pearson 3922
M65L
36th Steve Robertson 3201
M80
11th Roger Craddock 3762
W55L
12th Sheila Braine 4095
42nd Joanna Evans 1457 (3 events)
W55S
13th Karen Lewis 3221
25th Adele Appleby 1002 (1 event)
W65L
13th Rosie Wych 3458
W65S
15th Julia Robertson 161 (1 event)
Although there were no overall results for Orange, Oliver Lewis, Annabel Lewis and Jacob Shirvington all took part, and did well in the difficult terrain.
Overall
Overall a brilliant and well-organised event with wonderful weather, and it was worth the journey for some interesting terrain we are not used to in Somerset.