NICS 5 Gortin Glen Forest Park

Saturday 6th October 2018

Fermanagh Orienteers welcome travelling orienteers to Gortin Glen Forest Park near Omagh, Co. Tyrone. This is a large forest park only part of which is mapped. The map scale used will be 1:7500. It is a beautiful and mature coniferous forest set on the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains. It has excellent parking facilities, picnic sites and adjacent toilets.

Directions::  Gortin Glen Forest Park is located about 10km outside Omagh on the B48.

GR 487823 Sheet 13 OSNI 1:50000 series.

Normal NI Forest Service car parking charges apply.  

Junior Kitchen will be selling hot drinks and snacks – please support their fundraising efforts.

Registration will be in the classroom at the NE end of the public forest car park and will operate from 11:00am

Toilets are close to Registration and Parking.

Dogs should be kept on a lead.

Starts 11.30 – 13.00

Courses Close at 3pm.

 Start  350m uphill on paths

Finish adjacent to parking

 Entry Fees:

• Juniors £5 (NIOA members £4)
• OAP/ Unwaged £8.00 (NIOA members £6)
• Seniors £10.00  (NIOA members £8)
• Family £25  (NIOA members £20)

 Course Details:

Brown	5.4km	280m
Blue	4.3km	180m
Green	3.5km	140m
Short Green	2.6km	110m
Light Green	3.4km	160m
Orange	2.5km	95m
Yellow	1.5km	60m
White	0.7km	15m

Map   1:7500;  5m contour interval;  mapped 2014, updated summer 2018. Courses printed on A4 waterproof paper.

Please Note: Courses from Green upwards are ‘Middle Distance’ lengths (E.W.T. 35-40 mins.). Competitors should run their normal ‘colour’ courses for inclusion in the calculations for the NI Colour Series results. (You will not feel short changed!!)

Terrain Notes  There is an intricate selection of paths and forest roads ideal for the less experienced competitor and families. The more experienced orienteers will be challenged by the hilly but runnable terrain. There is an area of tough running peat moorland; only visited by the longer courses. Unmapped features include indistinct mountain bike routes, recent sporadic windblow and recent forest operations which have left some extraction tracks, debris and obliterated drainage ditches. Courses avoid the worst of this.

A ‘String’ course will be provided for the little ones if any interested families contact our club in advance.

Hazards  Although many paths are gravelled, mountain bike tracks can be muddy and very slippery in this steep terrain. Also across the forest there are fallen branches and logs – studded shoes are advised. On the moorland beware of vertical, deep ditches hidden under the heather. You are advised to carry a whistle.

Planner Raymond Finlay

Controller Billy Reed

Organiser Teresa Finlay