No distant events this issue, but a look at TVOC's annual Wendover event-a Badge Event this year, as well as an early review for the British Night Championships and Badge Event at Ambersham in early March to entice you to put a date in your diary. To begin, another chance to run at Ashridge.

Ashridge colour coded (2 Dec 2001)

The Badge event at Ashridge earlier this year was a revelation. For years I had dreaded the Northern section, which had become choked with undergrowth, to the extent that when I planned a badge event there a few years ago, I only subjected the M21L course to this area. But as the map shows, this part of the forest is now beautifully runnable, with the straight line route often the fastest. I was fortunate to have a very early start time at the Badge event and to experience this part of the area under an undisturbed dusting of snow (which also dusted the electronic punching boxes, hiding the holes). In the quiet before most competitors set off, I took the straight line route to number one and got most of the way there before I realised that I hadn't seen any of the paths I should have crossed, as they were indistinguishable from the forest itself under the snow. There is also always a good chance of seeing deer at Ashridge and I was not disappointed. In summary, don't miss this event, and before or after your run don't miss the opportunity to help - I am sure Helen would welcome volunteers, see page 28.

Approximately 1 hour travelling time.

Chiltern Challenge : Wendover Woods (16 Dec 2001)

The Chiltern Challenge normally takes place early in the year, around February or March, but this has been anything but a normal year for orienteering. So it is that TVOC have decided to make their annual pre-Christmas event at Wendover, timed as always to coincide with the Wendover Hill race, into a badge event and to run this year's Chiltern Challenge. Like most areas in the Chilterns, the woods at Wendover are perched on the edge of the chalk scarp slope, but the added feature at Wendover is that at the south of the map there is a deep valley dividing the area into two wooded ridges. As a result, it is impossible to go any great distance at Wendover without gaining or losing a lot of height. While the woods on the steep west-facing slope can be rather dense, brambly and slippery, the forest in the south east is less steep and quite runnable in places. There is enough moderately flat terrain on the top of the ridges for the shorter courses, but medium to long courses will inevitably have considerable climb. Of late, some of the courses planned here have been a succession of uphill slogs, which can be avoided by sensitive planning. Particularly irritating has been the climb to the finish at the last couple of events, with a last control at the bottom of the hill and the finish 50m higher straight up a path.

To be fair, the position of the finish is to some extent dictated by the car parking, which is often in the Forest Enterprises car park on the top of the ridge. For this event, the Air Force base at the North of the map is being used, which has the advantage that that the run to the finish is downhill. Rumours that the map was to be extended to the east, which would increase the proportion of the forest not on a steep slope, do not seem to have come to anything.

Approximately 1 hour travelling time.

Ambersham Common (02-03 Mar 2002) : Sue Marsden

David asked me to review Ambersham Common saying he thought I must know it fairly well. Perhaps two years planning the British Relays there in 1994 may justify the statement. My first visit was two years before the event for a general look and to identify a changeover area. It was cold and wet. The only bit of wood I remember from this visit was the northwest corner which was full of strange objects. They turned out to be polo balls hit from the adjacent field (Ambersham Common is owned by Lord Cowdray, whose polo ground, Cowdray Park, backs onto the area).

One year before the event Jon and I spent five days tagging the control sites and reviewing the map. The area consists of a variety of terrain. It is mainly heather covered heath land with some trees and with some large marshes (ask Neil about rolling up the tape around the SSSI) and large gullies on the hill slope.

There is a ridge of runnable deciduous forest with large re-entrants on each side, those on the east descending to a large stream. In fact a stream, which can vary in width from about 18 feet to nothing at all as it dries out completely. The banks are at risk from erosion so for the British Relays Joe Harrison built three of the most sturdy and elegant bridges you could wish to find in any orienteering event.

A steeply sided, flat-topped hill is the main feature in the southwest and a second ridge at the west of the area is mainly coniferous. There is a reasonable path network but good planning can keep you running in terrain.

I hope from this you have got the impression of an area with lots of variety, most of it extremely runnable and all of it a pleasure to orienteer on. There are also two railways - a derelict one and a working one, but the working one is in someone's garden.

		Ambersham's two railways; the derelict one runs diagonally from the top left over two old bridges, while the model railway is in the out-of-bounds area. There's some nice white forest too!

Lastly don't forget the third dimension, where the old railway crosses an old track. Up and over is a steep climb in both directions.

Do visit Ambersham Common; it has rarity value as Lord Cowdray doesn't allow us on his land too often.

Approximately 2 hours travelling time.