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Purple Thistle Weekend 2008

Posted on 27 Aug, 2008 by Lynne Walker | Filed under Blog • Orienteering

Kerrera – an island just south of Oban, a short ferry journey, low-lying but with intricate contour detail and stunning views to Mull, the Garvellachs (the Islands of the Sea) and numerous other islands dotted around the Firth of Lorn.

All photos were taken by Iain Shepherd, INVOC. Many thanks for these Iain.

Would EckO be able to map this and recoup the costs? There is the potential to sell detailed maps to the small number of tourists who take a day to explore the island (a track goes from the ferry in a 10km loop around the southern part) but could we have an orienteering event there? Paul contacted the team from Nopesport, offering them a package for a Purple Thistle weekend; we would map Kerrera and they could use Creag Mhic for the other day. Andy Dale had also made a street map of Oban so there was potential for a sprint race as well. Nope were keen so Stirling Surveys were commissioned for the map and Argyll & Bute Council provided a grant towards some of the costs involved.

The next question was – would people want to come to the event? It was booked for the late August Bank holiday weekend (this is not a holiday weekend for many in Scotland though) and the White Rose was being held on the same weekend. Entries were quite slow pre-summer but then they picked up . .and up . . .and up! Expectations from Nope were for about 150 competitors so when entries exceeded the 300 mark there was a bit of ‘Oh, this is sommewhat bigger than anticipated’. Would the ferry cope? Would parking at Creag Mhic cope? What would the competitors think of Kerrera? No need to worry about Creag Mhic (except for the summer bracken) as it is a well-kent area. The entry was international with people from clubs in New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, Spain, Northern Ireland and over 100 from English clubs.

August 2008 has been less like summer 2008 and more like autumn 2008 so the forecasts in the preceding week were closely monitored – lots of websurfing until we could find one we liked (or, was the most favourable option!). It looked as if it would be a wet and windy experience on Kerrera BUT on the Friday Metcheck forecast that the rain would not move in until late afternoon on Saturday – oh, I like this forecast!

Saturday on Kerrera – quite bright but windy weather. Short queues for the ferry crossing (the usual 12 person ferry being augmented by a fast 7 person boat) and a walk up to the ‘Ferryman’s shed’ to leave bags and sign out for the courses. The queue for the Medium Thistle was quite long – not surprising given the entry level for this course and the forecast of doom & gloom later in the day. It was jovial and everyone was very polite, after all we are British and we could do ‘queuing’ as a gold medal winning Olympic sport.

Straight up the hill after the punching start and map collection. This course must have been planned by fit young things. The moorland was not as tussocky as I expected and there were some very runnable bits. I had been a little disappointed when the first draft of the map came through as there were many fences transecting the island. However, this was not a problem as the bracken made them less visible. The planner had tried to minimise bracken problems but I was still glad not to be a very early starter.

On the whole the course went well. I made one poor route choice (3 – 4) and loved some of the legs, especially 4 – 5. The re-climb to 9 was rewarded by coming through a col, the Sound of Kerrera opening up and a wonderful wee ledge to trundle along towards 9. I must have had a huge grin on my face at this time. The main downside was my personal fitness as the legs could really feel any climb towards the end of the course.

The Ferryman’s shed was busy as I went to sign in after finishing; people were relaxing and chatting about their experiences. The brisk wind kept the midges away but meant that layers had to be put on quickly. After download at the campsite it was socialising time again, trying to sell clean copies of the 1:15000 map and just generally getting a feel for the enjoyment level of the island experience.
We were staying with Niall Urquhart – why refuse the offer of a bed, chairs to sit on and a midge-free environment? Niall gave me a lift back as Paul was involved in the results side. The rain then started and my desire to go to the sprint race went into rapid decline. Yes I know that I am a ‘wooze’ but so what? Someone had to prepare the meal.

Sunday ‘dawned’ (or crawled out of Saturday night) with low cloud and rain. Ah well, it can only improve and it did! A short drive to Creag Mhic, chat to people, Paul helps to get the computing side set up, get changed and then walk to the start chatting to folks along the way. It really was a very sociable weekend.

The ground underfoot was wet and so this sapped strength. The first part of the Medium Thistle was in the oak woodland area where it is deceptively easy to make mistakes and head off along the wrong marsh. My navigation was generally OK except when I took a few paces from no. 3 in the direction of no. 5! Then it was out of the enclosure and onto the tough part of bog / birch / tussocks / head high bog myrtle / bracken / crags. Again the navigation was OK but the legs complained a lot about the climb. I was slow so when it came to crossing the large bog towards the northernmost wooded area I kept to as much dry ground as possible. Not sure if the route choice was the best though. At the last control I headed downhill for a few paces instead of turning the few paces uphill – and got flack for this from Jan Bryan-Jones! At least the track to the finish was downhill. At Download, I was greeted by some ‘gentlemen’ who were keen to know my time. It was my turn to perform a Highland Fling as I had beaten all of them (OK, one by only 40 seconds but those 40 seconds count!).

Paul had just started as I came out of the enclosure and as I passed him I said ‘Go carefully’ as he has had a run of mistakes recently. I was really pleased to see him come in, smiling and with a reasonable run behind him. Actually, he improved his placings from Saturday and was delighted to see who he had beaten on the Big Thistle course.

A tiring but very enjoyable weekend. Would I do it again? Yes as I have realised that many take a long time on the tough courses so I was not actually last! Walking up the hill to work the next day was OK with no sore legs.

Tagged : Blog • Orienteering