Why Yes I Do Still Have Legs - Why Do You Ask?

I haven't been orienteering in ages. But all club members are supposed to serve as helpers a few times a year, and I was phoned earlier in the week and asked to help at today's event.

So I stood/sat near this bridge for an hour and a half, writing finish times on clip cards



It was fine when I took the photo, but not for long. Rain did it's best to put a dampener on things...
The garden looks harmless enough here, but this is the flat part. You can see the cliff wall of an old quarry in the background. The bridge is a memorial to the Korean War, I think.

After I'd been relieved of finish duties, I summoned up enough energy to go out on a course myself. Which is quite a different proposition from walking to work a couple of times a week. Safety hazards were described as "pits are deeper than they look, rabbit holes, slippery wet grass and rocks, the quarry edge, cars on the access road" and probably a few more I've forgotten. And yes, it was very slippery. Trying to follow tracks as much as possible didn't help all that much given they were mostly mud churned up by the feet of the dozens of orienteers who went before me.

I stopped at this spot, after fruitlessly searching up and down the hill for the control flag, and photographed the view while I gave my brain a rest.



This is the view across the plains, from the same spot as the previous photo, just aiming the camera higher.



Then I found the control I was looking for, and continued round the course. Further on, I had a choice between going round the top of the quarry and going round the bottom. I think round the bottom was probably a much shorter route. But I hate going down then up, much prefer up then down. And besides, visiting the quarry without walking round the top of it is just not done.

Fantastic views, but I didn't take photos as I thought I should aim to finish before the course closed. Maybe another day.