Middleton Woods

Pre entry has now closed but Entry on the day is available.

Newcomers are welcome and we have courses for beginners.

Juniors entry is free on White and Yellow courses.

Safety Information

In the event of extreme weather the organiser may require Waterproof Hooded Cagoules be worn. Look out for notices in car park assembly. We recommend all competitors carry a whistle.

Directions / Parking

At Ilkley Lido swimming pool (OS grid ref: SE118484) What 3 Words slightly.forgives.pitchers. From the A65 at the main traffic lights in Ilkley follow the Brown Tourist signs for the Lido, turning north onto Middleton Avenue & over river Wharfe. Parking at the lido or on the adjacent wide residential streets west of the Lido.

Assembly/Registration immediately adjacent to Lido car park

Start Flat walk of 300m from Assembly/Registration

Finish is at Assembly.

Registration & Start Times

Pre-entry preferred via Fabian. EOD dependent on maps being available.

Please pre-enter to guarantee a map for your preferred course.

Registration 10:00 -11:45

Starts from 10.30-12.00. PLEASE NOTE EARLIER TIME THAN NORMAL FOR LAST START AND COURSE CLOSE

Courses close at 2.00pm, please choose an early start time if you need extra time.

Entry Details

Dec 2022 Middleton Woods Final Details 111122

Pre Entries are now closed but we do have Entry on the Day.

Newcomers are welcome and we have courses planned for beginners.

£10 for Senior BO members, £12 for Senior non-members. £5 for juniors/students. Juniors on White and Yellow are free. £5 Senior on Orange, White and Yellow

There will be a free string course in the grounds of the Swimming Pool.

SI card hire: £1

Hired SI cards will be available to collect at Download. A charge of £30 will be made for lost or non-returned hire SI cards. After your run they must be left in a box beside the splits printer.

Controls will be SIAC enabled. But you must dib at the Start and at the Finish.

Competitors with standard or hired SI cards must also dib at all controls.

There will be a control at the gate which must be punched both on entering and leaving the Nell Bank grounds.

It is the competitor’s responsibility to ensure that their SI card has registered at the control.

Covid-19 Considerations: Please keep to the British Orienteering Covid code of conduct:

Code of Conduct August 2021

Before attending any orienteering activity all participants should self-assess for Covid-19 symptoms which include: a high temperature; a new continuous cough; and a loss of, or change to, their sense of taste or smell. If you, or anyone you live with, has one or more of these symptoms, however mild, you should not attend the event.

Course Information

Updated 2022 by Tony Thornley, based on AIRE's previous maps of the area. A4 on waterproof paper.

 Middleton Woods: 1:7500 with 5m contours drawn to ISOM 2017 specifications, except for White, Yellow and Very Short Green at 1:5000.

 Nell Bank: 1:4000 with 2.5m contours drawn to ISSprOM 2022 specifications. The Nell Bank area is an enlargement to the right of the main map.

Blue & Brown courses will use 2 maps printed back to back

Fences and walls overprinted with purple lines must only be crossed at marked crossing points.

Pictorial descriptions for all courses except Yellow and White which have textual descriptions. Control descriptions will be on the map. Loose control descriptions will also be available at the start.

Course details below.

Courses are extended middle length but have been planned to long distance guidelines (more route choice than a standard middle event). Expected winning time for the Brown, Blue and Green is 45 minutes.

All courses except Very Short Green, Yellow and White have part of the course in the grounds of Nell Bank centre. This part of the course is shown on the inset map to the right of the main map. The transition between the main map and the inset map is at a gate which will be open for the duration of the competition. There will be a control at the gate which must be punched both on entering and leaving the Nell Bank grounds. The fence around the Nell Bank property must not be crossed: it is shown on the main map in purple overprint. Adventure equipment areas within the grounds of the Nell Bank centre are strictly out of bounds and are shown on the inset map with purple overprint.

The Brown, Blue and Green courses cross Curly Hill [road] into and out of the western section of Middleton Woods. The road is wide and carries mainly residential traffic. Leave the woods only on the paths shown on the orienteering map. There are public stiles over the fence on the eastern side of Curly Hill and at the northern crossing a kissing gate in the fence at the western side of Curly Hill. These are frequented by the public - please be courteous to walkers. The crossings will not be marshaled. Please Take Care Crossing the Road. Competitors take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.

Course	Length	Climb	Controls
Brown (double sided map)	6.0k	215m	30
Blue (double sided map)	5.0k	170m	24
Green	3.8k	115m	21
Short Green	2.4k	80m	18
Very Short Green	1.8k	60m	10
Light Green	2.5k	80m	17
Orange	2.0k	65m	13
Yellow	1.7k	50m	13
White	1.2k	30m	11

Terrain Description

The area is in three parts:

 Middleton Woods, which itself is divided by Curly Hill [road] into western and eastern sections.

 Nell Bank at the eastern end of Middleton Woods,

Middleton Woods is an ancient deciduous woodland on a south facing slope with a network of paths plus considerable contour, rock & watercourse detail. Visibility is good but the wood & paths are wet & muddy in places. Beware of slippery bridges, boardwalks & steps. Fallen leaves may make some paths and path junctions harder to spot. The area is frequented by the public.

Nell Bank is an outdoor education centre for children. See https://www.nellbank.org. The area is a mixture of buildings and parkland, typical sprint-o terrain. Some parts of the building complex and around adventure equipment will be roped off. The ropes are part of the centre's infrastructure to guide users of the centre. The ropes are red coloured and not always easy to see at speed. They are not marked on the map. Courses have been planned to avoid these areas. If you encounter any, please do not cross.

All private gardens & fields surrounding the woods are out of bounds

Many dog walkers and some horse riders please respect other users of the area.

Dog restrictions

On a tight lead please.

Contacts / Officials

Organiser: Peter Haines hainesilkley@yahoo.co.uk

Planner: Roger Lott

Controller: David Williams