Organiser's comments

Congratulations to everyone who competed – and thanks to everyone who volunteered to help – on a chilly November day!  Yes , winter is coming.  Anyway, this was our "third time lucky" for putting on this orienteering event.  Fortunately, moorland vegetation doesn't change much, so the map and the courses didn't need to be updated, and the High Paradise tearoom was lovely and warm, with amazing soup and cakes.

The Planners and Controllers encountered some sunshine mixed with hail before we competitors even started!  On their advice, I decided to make cagoules compulsory, which proved to be the right decision, as the weather continued to change every few minutes as we enjoyed the navigationally challenging courses on the beautiful moorland.  Some of us were distracted by close encounters with fantastic birds of prey (apparently a juvenile hen harrier) as we sought out all those controls in assorted pits.

Fortunately, nearly all of us had successfully completed our runs before the weather became really foul.  Even me, although my smartwatch battery failed early on during my run, so I didn’t know when my hour was up!  A huge thanks to Alan, Ann, Duncan, Richard and Carolyn, who took on the job of collecting in all those controls after the weather had deteriorated.

I hope you enjoyed the today's excellent orienteering in a truly lovely bleak section of moorland and the warm hospitality in the High Paradise tearoom afterwards.

Caroline Mackenzie
Organiser