Saturday 13th October 2018
This year’s Open Championships will be held in a forest new to Orienteering – Pomeroy, between Dungannon and Cookstown. The forest was formerly the Demesne of Pomeroy House (built circa 1780 by Robert Lowry) and still contains stands of ornamental planting of Scots Pines and the ruins of walled gardens. In the mid-twentieth century the old house and land was acquired by Northern Ireland Forest Service and demolished to make way for a purpose built specialist forestry college which operated until 2006, however it now lies derelict. It is now a recreational forest with walks, an outdoor exercise trail, children’s playground and an abundance of wildlife including occasional deer.
Final Information (new 10th October)
Please see the “Final Information Sheet” for details of the starting procudures, event layout, out of bounds areas and the use of crossing points. These should be read in conjunction with the information on this page.
Terrain Notes:
From an orienteering perspective, the useable areas of the forest are mainly coniferous, undulating and with an abundance of old boundaries and drainage ditches. A few areas of rough open parkland with mature isolate trees are reminders of the former Demesne. There are a number of paths and trail loops varying from heavily used stone blinded paths to less distinct trails used only by the more adventurous walker. The courses have been planned within the runnable areas, visibility is generally good. Only some legs will encounter mixed scrubby seasonal vegetation depending upon the route chosen. Whilst runability is generally good, the momentum is often broken by ditches, ridges and furrows associated with the lines of planting. The area is very compact, so in order to keep path running to a minimum expect courses with lots of twisting and turning with higher numbers of controls than usual.
Getting there:

Pomeroy forest is most easily accessed from the junction of the A29 with the B160 between Dungannon and Cookstown
Parking:
All parking will be on areas of hard standing adjacent to the former forestry College buildings in the centre of the competition area.
Pre-Entry:
Start and Finish First start 11:00 – last start 13:00. Start is 75m from registration.
Courses Close at 3:30pm.
Entries via the Fabian 4 website have closed. There will be limited EOD for some classes. Please use the contact form if you wish to enquire about course/map availability.
View Start Lists Here
In the event of cancellation NWOC reserves the right to retain all/part fees to cover costs.
Enquiries / EOD:
There will be entry on the day for 5 colour courses (see below). This will be along with enquiries adjacent to the parking and will operate from 10:30am
Map:
All courses will use a new 1:10,000 map with IOSM 2017 symbols. This has been surveyed by Anthony McGonigle summer 2018.
Course Details (Final):
Course |
Length | Climb |
Classes |
1 | 8.7 | 165m | M21L |
2 | 7.5 | 100m | M35, M40 |
3 | 6.8 | 110m | W21L, M18, M20, M21S, M45, M50 |
4 | 6.0 | 105m | W35, W40, M16, M55, M60 |
5 | 4.5 | 70m | W18, W20, W21S, W45, W50, M65 |
6 | 4.0 | 55m | W16, W55, W60, W65, M70 |
7 | 2.9 | 45m | W70, M75, M80, M85 |
8 | 2.7 | 45m | W75, W80, W85 |
9 | 3.5 | 55m | W14, M14 |
10 | 2.4 | 45m | W12, M12 |
11 | 2.0 | 30m | W10, M10 |
The following courses will also be available to enter on the day: | |||
White | 1.8 | 25m | |
Yellow | 2.0 | 30m | |
Orange | 2.4 | 45m | |
Light Green | 3.5 | 55m | |
Green | 4.0 | 55m |
Toilets will be provided adjacent to the parking
The Junior Kitchen will be selling hot drinks and snacks – please support their fundraising efforts.
Hazards:
- The entrance to the forest from the B160 is on a bend – please take extra care when arriving and leaving.
- The derelict forestry college building is surrounded by security fencing which must not be entered.
- The walk to the start is along the forest driveway – please take care.
All participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.
OfficialsOrganiser: David Blair
Planner: Anthony McGonigle
Controller: Steven Linton
Date/Time
Date(s) - 13th Oct 2018
10:30 - 15:00
Location
Pomeroy
Event Type
Google Map


