Bridgwater provided an excellent venue for the QO urban event this weekend. The narrow streets and alleyways of the old town contrast with the newer estates and wider roads. Through the middle runs the old Taunton to Bridgwater canal and finding access to the towpath can be a challenge. The old water meadows called The Meads and the tidal river Parrott complete the varied tapestry of landscapes.
Planning the courses for the event started back last Autumn and all was well until the persistent winter rains led to flooding of the Meads and potential loss of the junior courses and the Finish. Jim Mallinson, the planner, had to find an alternative set of courses in case of very wet weather and drew new sections of the map for these. A further complication is the big spring tides which result in closure of the tidal gates across some of the streets. Fortunately, the highest tide of the year is not until next weekend.
Safety is always in the mind of event officials and even more so in an urban event. Both Jim and the organiser, Chris Philip, have worked very hard to ensure that safety measures were in place for competitors.
On behalf of all the competitors, I would like to thank Jim, Chris, the QO committee and all the volunteers for their hard work and time spent putting this event together. It was a delight to work with them.
Show Pre-Event Info
Directions / Parking
The leisure centre and car parking should be approached from the junction of the A38 (Taunton Road) and Rhode Lane (opposite The Bed House shop)
Car: If travelling from north of Bridgwater you are advised to use the M5 Junction 24, then take the A38 back into Bridgwater.
There is parking at the leisure centre for approximately 120 cars and when full there is on street parking close to the leisure centre. Please car share if possible.
Please drive carefully in the car park area at the Leisure Centre.
Rail: Bridgwater Train Station is 1 mile from the Leisure Centre used for assembly.
Bus: Bridgwater is served by National Express and the 21/21A bus between Taunton & Burnham-on-Sea runs along the A38 with stops close to the Leisure Centre.
Course Information
DURING THE RACE
For each control unit the flag, control number, SI box and backup pin-punch will be secured to an immovable object. The SI boxes will be set for manual and SIAC (air) punching. Manual punch at the start and finish. If the SI unit at a control does not appear to be working use the backup pin-pinch attached to it to punch your map as proof that you have found it. If a control appears to be missing due to vandalism, you should make sure you are in the right place and then continue with your race. Please let us know at download if you believe a control is missing. Do not punch over or through ‘uncrossable’ features.
SAFETY
Competitors should take when crossing the car park at the Leisure Centre.
Roads in Bridgwater and the town centre are usually busy, even on Sundays, so please take extra care when crossing roads and be considerate to the general public. All runners are encouraged to wear a bright coloured/and or Club top - so that pedestrians, and drivers in particular, are aware of your approach.
Check for traffic in both directions before you cross any road. There are also some cycle paths which allow cyclists to travel in both directions. There are some blind bends and shopping areas. Competitors and more importantly, the general public, will be in these locations. Take care and adjust your speed as you go around corners to avoid accidents occurring.
In particular, the A38 and A39 are usually very busy, so they have been marked as OUT OF BOUNDS with the purple over-print symbol. These roads must only be crossed via the mapped underpasses, where the OOB symbol has been broken for clarity. It is permitted to run along the pavements on these stretches of road, but you MUST NOT CROSS THE ROAD.
At some stage on their courses, seniors will run along the canal towpath. This can be narrow in places, so please take care and be considerate to other towpath users. When running under a canal bridge, take care as many of them have low headroom.
The area has the usual array of steps, fences, walls and other items of which you will need to be careful. This includes some not to be crossed walls with a greater drop on one side than the other as well as a variety of slopes and steps that can be slippery when wet.
It is a privilege to run this type of race in Bridgwater. Do not jeopardise future use of the area through reckless or inconsiderate running which causes annoyance or injury to others. Ensure that you run within your capabilities. This is especially important in the housing areas, where there are local residents.
Under 16s: It is a requirement of British Orienteering’s Insurance Policy that anyone under the age of 16 on the day of the competition may only compete in areas with limited and/or speed limited traffic. All courses have been planned with this in mind.
MAP INFORMATION
The map scale is 1:5000 with 2.5 metre contours, updated and extended winter 2025.
It is drawn to the latest ISSprOM 2019-2 mapping standards.
Features that are forbidden to be crossed/entered, are shown below.
Junior courses: The map is A4 size printed on waterproof paper.
A full legend is printed on the map in addition to those features that are forbidden to be crossed/entered.
Senior courses: The map is A3 size printed on waterproof paper.
The legend only lists those features that are forbidden to be crossed/entered.
All competitors should make themselves familiar with the symbols used, in particular those that prohibit passing across and entering.
Features mapped as 'DO NOT CROSS' and 'DO NOT ENTER' must not be crossed/entered even if they look possible to cross/enter (e.g. If a fence is mapped as 'do not cross', you must not cross it even if you are physically able to do so or there is an open gate not mapped as a crossing point).
Anyone found doing so will be disqualified.
The Meads
The Meads was formerly an area of farmland which has been turned into an Eco Park. It is divided into several fields separated by deep drainage ditches. By digging a series of shallower ditches and ponds, it is being transformed into a wetlands area, to help make The Meads Eco Park attractive for wildlife and walkers.
It also serves as a flood plain to help protect Bridgwater from flooding.
At this time of year it is generally wet underfoot, especially if there is heavy rain in February/March.
The deep ditches dividing the separate fields MUST NOT BE CROSSED except by the mapped bridges.
The ponds MUST NOT BE CROSSED, and are mapped with the ‘forbidden to cross’ symbol.
The shallower ditches are water filled and quite wide, and are mapped with the ‘forbidden to cross’ symbol.
For your own safety, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS THEM.
COURSES
Junior Courses
All juniors aged under 16 on the day of competition MUST run one of the junior courses.
These courses use the areas of The Meads and St. Matthews Field and a small quiet housing estate.
The roads in this estate are very quiet, but juniors are reminded to take care when crossing roads, and to run on pavements adjacent to roads wherever possible.
Please note your course number to ensure that you pick up the correct map on starting. The course lengths are the shortest distances which a competitor could reasonably possibly take.
Course lengths are subject to final controlling.
Course number
Classes
Km Controls
1
Black
M Open
9.5km. 26 controls
MO
2
Brown
M40+, W Open
8.0km. 21 controls
MV, WO
3
Blue
M55+, W40+
6.0km. 18 controls
MSV, WV
4
Green
M65+, W55+
4.8km. 16 controls
MUV, WSV
5
Short Green
W65+, M/W75+
3.8km. 12 controls
WUV, MHV, WHV
6
Light Green
M16-, W16-
4.4km. 11 controls
MJ, WJ
7
Yellow
M12-, W12-
2.4km. 11 controls
MYJ, WYJ
Entry Details
Class
Pre-entry
Late / On the day entry
Senior
£12
£14
Senior Novice
£5
£6
Junior
£5
£6
Group
£7
£9
Junior - anyone 21 years or younger at the time of the event, regardless of the course they are running.
Senior novice - an adult running a junior course (non-competitive)
Group - all going round a junior course together, two maps provided (non-competitive)
SIAC cards will be available to hire on the day for a fee of £2, but due to limited numbers will be reserved for MO participants.
A standard SI dibber can be hired for free. Failure to return it will incur the cost of a replacement (£30 for SI, £60 for SIAC).
Entries will be taken on the day subject to the availability of maps - places are likely to be very limited on some courses with a surcharge of £2.
Personal data given will be used by the event organiser for the purposes of processing and publishing the event results, for conducting safety checks and to validate BOF insurance cover.
If you are a helper at this event, please contact the organiser for the discount code.
ELECTRONIC PUNCHING
Both normal SI dibbers and contactless SIAC dibbers can be used. Note however that both the Start and Finish MUST be punched by everyone, so SIAC users cannot swish/swipe it.
It is your responsibility to check your SI card has registered (flash/beep) at each control and at the Start and Finish.
In case of SI failure, use the pin-punch attached to the control flag to mark your map.
Entries will be taken on the day subject to the availability of maps - places are likely to be very limited on some courses with a surcharge of £2.
Pre-enter to ensure a run.
Registration & Start Times
We are using the 1610 Robert Blake & Elmwood Leisure Centre for the event centre and have exclusive use as they are not normally open on Sundays. Registration and download are both within the centre. There are toilets too but please remove muddy footwear before entering. These facilities will be open from 1030 to 1600 and include changing rooms and showers.
Registration and download are both within the sports hall. There are toilets too but please remove muddy footwear before entering.
The facilities will be open from 1030 to 1600.
The car park will be open from 1000.
Start times: 11:00 – 13:00. It is a punching start.
Courses close at 14:30.
START
There are two Starts, one for the Junior courses and one for the Senior courses (see below for course details).
The junior start is approximately 500m from the Assembly area.
The senior start is approximately 700m from the Assembly area.
The first part of the route is common to both starts and will be signed where they separate.
It will be a punching start, but you are asked to try and use the allocated start time period. In the interest of fairness you should not start within 4 mins of someone from your own club on the same course.
Control descriptions will be printed on the maps and loose control descriptions will be in the start lanes.
Course 7 (M/W 12-) uses text control descriptions. All other courses use IOF symbols.
FINISH
There is one Finish for all courses, located close to the junior start. Punch at the Finish control to record your finish time and then proceed to Download in the Assembly area. If you have hired an SI card, please return it there. There will be a charge of £60 if you lose a hired SIAC card.
You must download, even if you abandon your race – This is a safety check to ensure that all competitors are back.
Maps will not be collected – in the spirit of fair competition please do not show your map to competitors that have yet to run.
Terrain Description
Parkland, commercial, industrial and residential areas- it's got the lot
FIRST AID
Bridgwater Community Hospital (TA6 4GU) has an Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) open 8am to 8pm.
Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, (TA1 5DB) has an A&E department open 24/7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Bridgwater Town Council, Bridgwater YMCA and 1610 Robert Blake & Elmwood Leisure Centre.
Please check the website before travelling for any last-minute news.
Competitors take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.
Change Log
08/03/25 - EUOC classes added
10/2/25 - corrected name of league.
2/3/25 - further details and link to pre-entries
13/03/25 - final details added
17/03/25 - minor typo correction in final details
Contacts / Officials
Planner: Jim Mallinson
Controller: Katy Dyer (BOK)
Organiser: Chris Philip
:
Important Event Information
Safety and Risk: A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event. All participants must report to download whether they finish their course or not.
Privacy: when participating in our events/activities your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports. Read our data protection page to see how we look after your personal data.
Photography: QO has an agreed policy on the taking of photographs at events, based on national guidance. This provides a sensible balance between the benefits and risks associated with the taking and use of images. If you are unsure about acceptable practice, please speak to the event organiser.
Safeguarding: QO is aware of it's responsibilities in safeguarding and child protection. To comply with The Child Safeguarding Practice Review and Relevant Agency (England) Regulations 2018, we now provide an email address for individuals to report concerns to the Lead Safeguarding Officer. This address is safeguarding@britishorienteering.org.uk.
