Coast and Islands 2022Kintyre and Arran, 25 - 31 July
There were many complimentary comments from ESOC members who took part in this week of orienteering events in tough technical terrain.
Coast and Islands 2022 was organised by Masterplan Adventure, and included 7 orienteering events on 6 days. This year it was in Kintyre and Arran, with new maps throughout. The weather was fine all week. Almost 30 ESOC members were there, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Day 1 - Tarbert, Monday 25 July
This was an afternoon sprint event in Tarbert, with the Start and Finish beside the ruined castle above the town. The map included the steep grassy slopes around the castle, as well as more typical urban terrain.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were:
Long (59 competitors) - Ben Brown 6th, Paul Clatworthy 9th, Helen Bridle 13th, Walter Clark 19th, Martin Quirke 22nd, Alison O’Neil 23rd
Short/Medium (101) - Alison Cunningham 3rd, Richard Oxlade 4th, Helena Nolan 16th, Sarah Crawford 18th, Ronnie Nolan 26th, Rachel Fawthrop 32nd, Fran Daley 42nd
Orange (13) - Hazel Clark 2nd, Ewan Crawford 3rd, Adam Clark 4th, Rebecca Daley 6th
Day 2 - Torinturk Forest, Tuesday 26 July
Torinturk is a few miles SW of Tarbert, on the N side of West Loch Tarbert. It’s a small area with lots of technical detail - a forested ridge eroded by the sea into knolls and gullies, with lots of rock features. There was general agreement that it was a great area, and very tricky.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were:
Long (58 competitors) - Helen Bridle 3rd, Alison O’Neil 11th, Ben Brown 20th, Walter Clark 21st
Medium (64) - Keith Brown 2nd, Alison Cunningham 6th, Richard Oxlade 10th, Sarah Crawford 11th, Fran Daley 18th, Helena Nolan 20th
Short (42) - Mary Williams 16th
Orange (13) - Ewan Crawford 2nd, Emma Daley 4th, Rebecca Daley 7th
Day 3 - Corranbuie South, Wednesday 27 July
This area was next to the Tarbert Holiday Park, which was very convenient for people staying there. The terrain was described in the pre-event details thus: “Oak and birch woodland. Steep in places. Plenty of contour and rock detail. There are some small open areas, they are best avoided due to the bracken”. Like Day 2, it was described by ESOC competitors as tricky.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were:
Long (55 competitors) - Helen Bridle 8th, Walter Clark 13th, Alison O’Neil 14th
Medium (66) - Alison Cunningham 7th, Richard Oxlade 8th, Sarah Crawford 11th, Keith Brown 17th, Helena Nolan 21st, Fran Daley 22nd, Karena Hanley 33rd
Short (41) - Judy Bell 19th
Orange (12) - Emma Daley 3rd, Zoe Clark 4th, Hazel Clark 6th
Day 4 - Corranbuie North, Thursday 28 July
Adjacent to the previous day’s area, the terrain was mature conifer plantation on a series of ridges with clearings between them. The forest was reportedly easier going than the clearings, where there was long grass and heather.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were:
Long (53 competitors) - Helen Bridle 7th
Medium (61) - Alison Cunningham 5th, Richard Oxlade 10th, Sarah Crawford 13th, Helena Nolan 23rd, Keith Brown 26th
Short (45) - Mary Williams 13th, Anne Hickling 20th, Ronnie Nolan 21st
Orange (10) - Zoe Clark 1st, Hazel Clark 4th, Emma Daley 5th
Friday was a rest day, giving time for everyone to travel across to Arran for the next events.
Day 5 - Saturday 30 July
There were 2 events on Day 5:
Part 1 - Merkland Forest
Merkland Forest is north of Brodick, on the steep lower slopes of Goat Fell. The Start was a 500m uphill walk from the Ranger’s building behind Brodick Castle, and the Finish was some 80m lower. The terrain was conifer woodland with a lot of vegetation changes, and there were many comments about dead rhododendrons causing interesting underfoot conditions.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were:
Long (54 competitors) - Helen Bridle 6th, Alison O’Neil 13th, Ben Brown 19th, Walter Clark 24th, Martin Quirke 25th
Medium (52) - Alison Cunningham 8th, Richard Oxlade 10th, Helena Nolan 19th, Fran Daley 20th
Short (37) - Ronnie Nolan 7th
Orange (9) - Zoe Clark 2nd, Emma Daley 3rd, Rebecca Daley 4th, Hazel Clark 5th
Part 2 - Brodick Castle
This was an evening sprint event around the grounds and gardens of Brodick Castle. The terrain offered varied vegetation, with a maze of paths, bushes and water features, all on a slope, which was steep in places, with rock features.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were:
Long (54 competitors) - Helen Bridle 10th, Paul Clatworthy 19th, Alison O’Neil 20th, Ben Brown 21st, Walter Clark 26th
Medium (54) - Richard Oxlade 11th, Alison Cunningham 12th, Helena Nolan 13th, Keith Brown 16th
Short (43) - Megan Brown 1st, Ronnie Nolan 8th, Judy Bell 16th, Rhona Fraser 24th, Mary Williams 26th
Orange (7) - Adam Clark 2nd, Rebecca Daley 3rd, Emma Daley 4th
Day 6 - Glenashdale & Arran Community Land Initiative, Whiting Bay, Sunday 31 July
This event was further south on the east coast of Arran, above Whiting Bay. Glenashdale Forest is steep plantation forest with some streams in very deep gullies, adjoining the rough open terrain of the Arran Community Land Initiative. This is an area of old farmland being adapted into a resource for the local community.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were:
Long (44 competitors) - Helen Bridle 10th, Martin Quirke 17th
Medium (52) - Alison Cunningham 3rd
Short (37) - Ronnie Nolan 9th, Mary Williams 17th, Judy Bell 18th
Orange (10) - Hazel Clark 3rd, Zoe Clark 4th, Emma Daley 5th
Full results (including the overall results table) and other details about the week's events are available on the Coast and Islands website.
Other entries categorised under: Event Reports