Bush EstateSat 9 Dec

The Bush Estate (including the Edinburgh Technopole science and business park) can be reached by heading for the Edinburgh City Bypass at Straiton Junction for the A701 and at Lothianburn Junction for the A702, both of which will take you to close to Bush Estate.

Parking will be available on hard standing within the Bush Estate, signed from the entrance to the Estate at NT247 638 on the minor road linking the A701 at Gowkley Moss to the A702 near Easter Howgate. What 3 words throat.leaps.student

By Bus: Lothian bus number 15, hourly service using the A701, passes close to the Bush Estate as does Lothian bus number 37, a half hourly service to Penicuik using the A702, but not on Saturdays, so you need to change onto the 141 in Loanhead.

Parkland and woodland with many paths and tracks.
The map (updated in 2023) will be printed on waterproof paper, the control descriptions and points values will be printed on the map (no loose control descriptions) and the map scale will likely be 1:5000.

Covid: Please don’t come to the event if you have Covid or symptoms of Covid or are unwell. Please respect other people’s space.

First Aid: We encourage you to bring your own first aid kit and administer as necessary. A basic first aid kit will be available at Registration/Download.

Unlike our usual ESOC local events, there are only 2 courses available, a 60 minute Score and a 40 minute Score.

For score events, instead of following a preset route you can visit as many controls as you can, in any order, within the time limit. You are a given a map showing a large number of controls and each control will have a score associated with it. The idea is to score as many points as possible but returning within the allotted time. For every minute you are late, penalty points will be deducted from your score.

Agatha Christie BingO

There are two things that you can usually rely on over Christmas:

• Board games
• Somewhere on TV, there will be an Agatha Christie mystery to watch

Taking inspiration from the board game Agatha Christie Bingo, Bush Estate will be hiding a pre-Christmas buffet of murder, detectives and intrigue that might leave you feeling more than a little suspicious of the sage and chestnut stuffing.

Points: 10 points per control, one point per minute penalties for being late back ?

Bonuses: You can pick up Bingo cards from either the Marple or Tuppence Bingo Card piles which will be at the Start. Collect all of the controls on the card for a bonus of 50 points per card completed. As always with Bingo, you need to stay focussed on your card and not get distracted. You’ll only get the bonus points if you’ve visited all your Bingo controls with no extras sneaking into your stash. There’s 3 different combinations for each, so those looking for an extra challenge can come back to the start and pick up additional cards once they’ve called ‘House’.

The Marple Bingo Card – Thanks to her keen observational skills and her deep understanding of human nature, Miss Marple is a brilliant detective. She’s often underestimated by those around her, including the police. However, they soon learn that she can always be relied on to unravel mysteries that seem more tightly knotted than a basket of unruly wool. While her mind is still sharp, Miss Marple prefers to stick close to the path. The controls on the Marple Bingo Cards are all on or in sight of line features, so perfect for those not quite ready to dive straight into the thick of it.
The Tuppence Bingo Card – Along with her husband Tommy, Tuppence Beresford bravely throws herself into numerous hazardous missions, including going undercover as a maid for a dangerous criminal, using her knowledge of poisons to identify a multiple murderer, recovering buried treasure, smashing unbreakable alibis and solving a sixty-year-old cold case. These Bingo Cards could take you anywhere and everywhere, so is a good choice for those who like a bit of adventure.

Do you to bring anything special?: For any keen Bingo players, feel free to bring your pen. We’ll have some available for those who like to check off their numbers on their card or you can rely on your memory and just use your dibber to collect your points.

On the day, there was be extra helpers on hand plus more written instructions for the bamboozled.

Read more about Course lengths and Difficulty here

Pre-Entry and pre payment via RaceSignUp are required for this event. Entries open 10am Monday 27th November and will close at 8pm on Friday 8th December. However to be guaranteed a course map for your chosen course you MUST pre-enter by 2pm on Tuesday 5th December.

Entry on the day (EOD): Entry on the day will be available at Registration as long as maps are available.

On the RaceSignUp page you can view

• an entry list for all competitors and their chosen start blocks (scroll down to Start List section). Please note that you can arrive at the start at any time within your block.
• in the Courses box a list of maps left (entry limit-no of entries) from 2pm on Tuesday 5th December which will be up-to-date as of Friday 8th December.

Entry Fees: Individual entry fees are:

Seniors - £4 for orienteering club members, £6 for non-members

Juniors - £2 for orienteering club members, £4 for non-members

As well as individuals the entry system also allows pairs, groups or families who wish to go round a course together to enter using a sliding scale of fees. Full details of the various group entry fees are on the RaceSignUp web pages (link above).

Note that a Senior is someone born 2001 or earlier and a Junior is someone born 2002 or later. Matriculated students will normally be eligible to enter as Juniors and pay junior fees - check out RaceSignUp as before.

SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used. If you have your own SI (dibber) please bring it with you.

We have SI dibbers for hire free of charge via the pre-entry system but there is a £30 charge if lost.

Look out for the ESOC banner and yellow tent; Registration will be open from approximately 11:45am pm to 13.15pm for Entry on the Day (EOD) but only if maps are still available (see also section on Entry Details below) . Payment for EOD will be taken in cash, or by bank transfer or card payment. Please have the correct money if at all possible.

Hired dibbers should be collected from Registration but all maps will be at the Start.

STARTS: From 12:00 to 1.30pm (earlier than usual for our local events because of the time of year) with course closure at 3pm. You should be back at Download by 3pm as controls will start to be brought in then so they can all be collected before it gets too dark.