Nomansland

Beginners First timers are very welcome. Look for our greeters in hi-vis jackets who will give you socially-distanced help.

You can go around individually, in pairs or in a larger family group. From an entries perspective,  pairs and groups are treated as a single runner – it’s one entry, you get one map, one timing chip (“dibber”)  and one finish time listed in the Results.  We charge per “entry” not per person and it’s easiest to enter in advance – see Entering for the first time for more info on how to do this.

If you’ve not orienteered before, we suggest most people start with the yellow course. Young juniors, say primary school age, and family groups are better on white. People confident with a map and compass may start on orange.

If you find your course too easy, club policy is to offer you a run on the next course up at no cost, provided there’s enough time and there are maps available. Don’t forget to download between runs!

Location Nomansland Common, on the B651 between Sandridge and Wheathampstead, opposite the Wicked Lady PH.
Parking West End Farm, Ferrers Lane, Nomansland, St Albans AL4 8EG.  OS Grid Ref. TL162125.  No parking charges.

Please park as directed at the farm which has a busy stable. Beware of horses near the entrance. No height restriction.

Public Transport Bus services (357) run from St Alban’s station with frequent trains from London; the route passes through St Peter’s Street and Sandridge. Disembark at the Wicked Lady PH.  The 304 also runs from St Peter’s Street to the Wicked Lady.

From Harpenden, it’s a 3.5km walk from the station or a 357 bus from the George on a quite a winding route via Batford & Wheathamstead.

Terrain A mixture of generally very runnable open heathland and woodland.  Areas of the woods have some summer undergrowth, but courses are planned to minimise the impact of this undergrowth.

Full leg cover is required for all competitors, due to the height of the undergrowth around all courses.

Map  1:7,500 pre-marked maps for all courses on waterproof paper. pre-marked maps for all courses on waterproof A4 paper. Control descriptions will be on the map.  White and yellow course maps are available at the pre-start.

Brambles are marked with vertical green hashing. The mapping of the vegetation should not be used for fine navigation but it has been done to indicate restrictions on route choice in the wooded areas. Not all minor paths are mapped, nor are the wooden childrens’ dens.

For a previous event on the area, see Routegadget.

Courses Courses for everybody from beginners of any age to experienced orienteers.

Course Straight-line Distance Difficulty
White 1.6 km Easy – all along paths. Control flags when you need to decide whether to turn.
Yellow 2.3 km Fairly easy – navigate along line features such as paths, walls, streams.
Some turns with no control flags.
Orange 3.0 km Moderate – start cutting across country, some controls a bit away from line features.
Light Green 4.4 km Harder – a range of navigational skills needed to find controls on any mapped feature.
Short Blue 6.0 km As hard as we can make it on the area.
Course Notes The brambles have been vigorous over the last few weeks and crossing them would be slower than walking speed and quite unpleasant.

The Orange, Light Green and Short Blue courses have manned crossing points on Ferrers Lane. These are timed-out so please follow the marshals’ instructions and cross safely.  These courses also cross Down Green Lane which is quieter but please do look out for any traffic and note that the lower section towards the road junction (which you should not need to use) is out-of-bounds.

Starts You may choose a start time between 10.00-11.30.  The event centre is close to start and finish.

Courses will close promptly at 12:45.  Please choose a start time that will give you ample time to complete your run by then.

Entry & Fees All entries are made online through SI Entries.  Entries are now open. You can enter up to 11:00 on the day (subject to map availability).

Entries up to midnight on Sunday 26 May:

  • BOF members: Adults £4, Juniors £2, HH juniors free.
  • Non-members: Adults £6, Juniors £3.
Late entries after Monday 27 May:

  • BOF members: Adults £6, Juniors £4, HH juniors £2.
  • Non-members: Adults £8, Juniors £5.

If you don’t have your own dibber (timing chip) you’ll need to hire one.  SIAC (contactless) dibber hire £2. Charge for lost dibbers £65.

If you cancel more than 7 days before the event we will refund your fees less an amount for admin and transaction costs. There is no refund for cancellations less than 7 days in advance.

If we have to cancel the event we will try to reschedule it. We will transfer your entry to the rescheduled event unless you ask for a refund.

Timing Sportident punching will be used. SIAC will be enabled for those with ‘contactless’ dibbers, but you must punch the start and finish.
Facilities Toilets and café  – see https://westendbarns.com.
Results Interim results will be published direct to the club website https://www.herts-orienteering.club every few minutes during the event.

Full results will be published on the same page and on Routegadget as soon as possible after the event. We aim to put provisional results up that evening.

Event cancellation Extreme weather conditions could result in late cancellation of the event. If cancellation is needed a message will be posted on the www.herts-orienteering.club website and an email sent to all those entered as soon as is possible after a decision has been made.

Please check before travelling.

Dogs Keep under control and clear up behind you.
Safety Orienteering is an adventure sport. You take part at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety. A full risk assessment has been carried out.

Note the information in Course Notes above about road crossings.

You must go to Download even if you don’t finish your course. We need to confirm you’re back safely.

Officials
Planner Oliver Bardsley
Organiser- Ben Bardsley
Controller Dave Tookey

The small print

This event is registered with British Orienteering, number 84565

Orienteering is a great sport for youngsters. If you bring children, please help us to keep to our safeguarding policy and British Orienteering’s photography policy.

Your personal data is used for results and insurance, see our privacy policy.