A weekend at my parents in Somerset gave an opportunity to go back to an orienteering area of my youth, Staple Hill. Only about 7 miles from home it takes the form of a very steep escarpment forming the side of the little known Blackdown hills, which always lose out to the the popularity of their larger cousins of Exmoor and the Quantocks
. Castle Neroche and Staple Common have undergone alots of changes since I was last there including the obvious felling and growing but less obvious grazing by long horned cattle and a new accessible bridleway which snakes its way along the ridgeline.
I got an early start and was prepared for it to be tough . The route to #1 certainly gave that. As soon as I left the path I was threading my way through fallen trees, dense bits of woodland and the inevitable marsh and bogs caused by the cattle. I had a fairly clean run only making a couple of errors but the course was challenging with few path options and plenty of rough tough forest. The roughness was OK though as it was not all bramble and brashing, more fallen trees, tussock and bog.
As I moved towards the end of the map before the turn I noticed blobs of flour. Crossing the openland I then heard the familiar cries of On On coming the the ridge. I crested the ridge after #10 to face Taunton Hash House Harriers all coming towards me and it was good to recognise a few faces Ive not seen for 15 or so years.
The planner (Will Kromhout who I was in the SW junior squad with many moons ago) had one last trick up his sleeve with a nasty contouring cross country leg back through the cattle trodden thick forest. I was driven too low by the vegetation and had to climb back up but I am assured that the light green was ‘quite nice’ when you got into it.
Results at http://www.quantockorienteers.co.uk/
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