Chilham Castle and King’s Wood

Our thanks go to the Saxons event team and Controller Andrew Evans (DFOK). Andrew, Land Access Officer David Kingdon & family and Organiser Alison Howe are in the photo with the Castle as the backdrop. Simon Blanchflower came up with courses that were very well received.

MG

Tick alert - the planner reports finding  a number of ticks so suggest you check yourself.

Location

Nearest town: Chilham

• Grid Ref:
• Postcode: CT4 8DB
• Latitude: 51.24390
• Longitude: 0.96587
• Google Map
• Streetmap (OS 50k)
• Bing Map (OS 50k)
• OpenStreetMap

Directions / Parking

The event centre and parking will be at the northern end of the mapped area at Chilham Park. Entry to the estate grounds is off the A252 opposite Soleshill Road.

Nearest postcode: CT4 8DB. W3W///commenced.restrict.bulky. Event will be signed from the A252.

Public Transport options

Event Centre is easily accessible by rail network being a 1.5km walk from Chilham station. Access to Chilham Park is the same as for vehicle access. Chilham station is 2 stops from Ashford which is on the High Speed Line from St Pancras, or 2 stops from Canterbury West.

Registration & Start Times

Online registration via racesignup only. Punching starts between 11.00-13.00. You will be required to choose a 15 min start slot as part of the advanced entry. Please try to stick to your chosen start window to ensure appropriate social distancing can be maintained at the start.

There will be two starts; a Near Start and a Far Start, and there will be 2 start lanes at each Start as follows:

● Far Start (Black, Short Brown and Green)
● Far Start (Brown, Blue, Short Blue)
● Near Start (Short Green, Light Green and Orange) 
● Near Start (Very Short Green, Yellow and Score)

The Near Start is situated approximately 1km from Assembly. The Far Start is a further 1km past the Near Start. Please allow plenty of time to get to the Starts from Assembly; 10-15 mins for Near Start, 20 mins for Far Start. No clothing Dump at either start. Remember your Course Colour, Start Time and which Start.

Please Note that the route to the starts will cross the competition area within Chilham Park. Please take care when crossing this area, (it will be marked) and give way to competitors as appropriate.

The Starts will be self-service as much as possible. Clear and Check dibbers will be situated in between the 2 start lanes. Please ensure you Clear your dibber on entering the start lane, and punch the Check box as you move forward, (for safety check and to enable SIAC dibbers).

On arrival at your Start, the clocks will be set to (unadjusted) race time. There will be no actual call-up - please join the relevant queue at or a few minutes before your chosen start time.

Yellow Maps available at the pre-start area.

Groups at the start - in order to limit crowding at the start, group leaders are requested to enter the start queue and follow the start procedure with the other group members standing to one side and joining once the group leader has punched the start control. Sufficient maps have been printed to allow for each group member to have a map.

The Finish is adjacent to Assembly.

Course Information

We will have the full range of SEL courses, (details below subject to final controlling). Age classes as recommended for SEL, but competitors can choose to run a different course.

No.	Course	Length (km)	Climb (m)	Controls	Start	Map
1	Black (M21)	11.0	225	26	Far	A3
2	Brown (M35 M40)	9.5	205	22	Far	A3
3	Short Brown (M18 M20 M45 M50 W21)	7.5	155	19	Far	A3
4	Blue (M16 M55 M60 W35 W40)	6.3	125	16	Far	A3
5	Short Blue (M65 W18 W20 W45 W50)	4.9	85	15	Far	A3
6	Green (M70 W16 W55 W60)	4.5	65	14	Far	A3
7	Short Green (M75 W65 W70)	3.7	55	13	Near	A4
8	Very Short Green (M80 M85+ W75 W80 W85+)	3.2	50	12	Near	A4
9	Light Green (M14 W14)	3.3	60	12	Near	A4
10	Orange (M12 W12)	3.0	40	13	Near	A4
11	Yellow (M10 W10)	2.2	30	10	Near	A4
12	Score Course	1 hour		20	Near	A4

 

A 1 hour Score Course will also be provided for novices and groups participating together. (Punch as many of the 20 controls within 1 hour).  Groups may also enter the yellow line course, and should enter using the ‘Group Entry Yellow’ or ‘Group Entry Score’ courses as applicable. Please remember to provide details in the entry form of the other group members for safety purposes and to ensure all group members may have a map.

No White course will be available. Courses unsuitable for pushchairs.

Explanation of colour courses

• White are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.
• Yellow use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups.
• Orange progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters.
• Light Green are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and point features.
• Green are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty.
• Blue are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers.
• Brown & Black are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.
• Score means visiting as many controls as possible in any order in a specific time, like 45mins.

Entry Details

This event will be pre-entry only via racesignup. 

Entries close midnight 23 May 2021. Late entries subject to map availability.  Racesignup will be updated on Monday 24 2021 with maps available for late entry.

Orienteering Club Member Entry Fees: Adults £14, Juniors £5, Groups £15
There will be a non member supplement of £3 for adults, £2 for juniors and £5 for groups.

SIAC electronic punching will be enabled on all courses, (Start and Finsh controls will still need to be punched). For those without a SIAC card these can be hired for £2.00 each, subject to availability, but 'normal' dibbers will also work; Non SIAC dibber hire free.  

Terrain Description

Part of the Kent Downs AONB, Kings Wood is one of the best ancient woodlands in Kent with large sections of open runnable mature beech woodland, chestnut coppice and non-deciduous plantation. Extending over 573 hectares, Kings Wood has interesting contours with chalk pits, dene holes and flint quarries. Look out for fallow deer – a legacy from when Kings Wood was a royal hunting estate.  

Forest is in excellent condition - minimal brambles and no stinging nettles!

The entire map has been professionally resurveyed by Peel Land Surveys and extended into Chilham Castle Estate and Stanners Wood.  Chilham Castle, built in 1616 on the site of a medieval castle, has extensive grounds originally designed by Capability Brown, and now home to a world class equestrian crosscountry venue.  The grounds offer a complete contrast to the ancient woodland, delivering an exciting and fast finish against an historic backdrop.

The map is 1:10,000 with 5m contour intervals.   Please note, Chilham Park contains permanent horse jumps mapped with an X, as well as many temporary/moveable jumps which are not mapped. See Final Details for further details.

Facilities

Tom’s Catering will be in attendance - please support. Note that Tom and Julie prefer cash and handle it in a COVID-safe way to reduce queuing.

Toilet facilities are available adjacent to parking.

Dogs allowed?

Dogs are allowed in the car park and on the event area, but must be kept on a lead at all times as the area is heavily used by horse riders.

Contacts / Officials

Organiser: Alison Howe

Planner: Simon Blanchflower

Controller: Andrew Evans (DFOK)