Claro Sprint Orienteering Event in RHS Harlow Carr Gardens, Harrogate

In RHS gardens? You must be kidding!  What about the flowers?!  Rarely daunted by our own mad-cap schemes, Quentin and I believed we could convince them.

Initially Claro agreed to hold a Taster Day within their series of Friday Activities in the school holidays. After a nervous first event where the head gardener followed me round watching every stake going in, they've been total converts. Later on (like a few years and many taster days later on) we started mooting the idea of us holding an event for ourselves; for the orienteering community rather than newcomers.

Harlow Carr never closes (well, maybe Christmas Day but we close then too) so using it without visitors wasn't an option. We settled on end of the day as being the quietest, I thought through the logistics very carefully indeed and a late afternoon event was born. They have been incredibly hospitable, even laying on a hot meal in the cafe afterwards.

Thank you so much RHS Harlow Carr. You can view the map area via the link below. 

Map area

Providing an Accessible course was a no-brainer.  There are some gorgeous new swoopy wide paths as well as gritty ones.  They even have scooters to borrow and a brand new accessible toilet.  Word got out and six adventurous mobility-challenged orienteers took it on. It proved popular with those using crutches as well as wheelchairs. They had the same double sprint format as everyone else, all successfully completing both.  Yes most did get caught out by the control at the bottom of the steps - map-reading skills vital.  

If you have a local venue you'd love to use, we're happy to be contacted to discuss further and see if our experience can help convince them to trust you.  Likewise for the particular things to consider when planning an Accessible course.  

Image credits: Wendy Carlyle.