ESOC at the Purple Thistle - 14/15 August
A select band of ESOC stalwarts ventured north for the biennial Purple Thistle weekend, with some excellent results.
The Purple Thistle is a “barebones” event, organised by a small group of people from Team Nopesport, with the aim of providing great orienteering with minimal fuss. There are no allocated start times, and a selection of courses, ranging from the Baby Thistle (about 3km in length) up to the Mighty Thistle (about 11km). This year’s event was at Balmacara, near Kyle of Lochalsh. Camping was available at the assembly area in Lochalsh Woodland Park, and the starts were within walking distance. The terrain on both days was open moorland, mostly heather and grass, and some birch woodland and plantation too on the longer courses. It was quite hilly, with rocky knolls and also marshes. Poor weather earlier in the week finally gave way to warm sun, and unfortunately there was very little wind, so there were lots of midges, but there were also lovely views of the surrounding area and across to Skye.
Despite the midges, it was a very sociable weekend and everyone thought the journey was worthwhile. Many took the opportunity to visit other places nearby.
ESOC members in the top half of the results were as follows:
DAY 1 – Balmacara East
Big Thistle (42 competitors) – Andrew Lindsay 11th, Crawford Lindsay 12th, Mike Stewart 13th, Rona Lindsay 16th (1st woman)
Medium Thistle (88) – Roger Scrutton 21st, Chris McLeod 34th, Alison Cunningham 41st, Les Dalgleish 42nd.
Small Thistle (35) – Margaret Dalgleish 6th, Jamie Cunningham 17th
DAY 2 – Balmacara West
Big Thistle (34) – Andrew Lindsay 8th
Medium Thistle (81) – Ross Sanderson 3rd, Chris McLeod 30th
Small Thistle (39) – Alison Cunningham 2nd (1st woman), Margaret Dalgleish 5th, Jamie Cunningham 8th
Full results and more details from the event are available on the Purple Thistle website, and some photos have now been added to the ESOC Gallery.