Needles and Knolls
A weekend of holiday orienteering to celebrate WightO’s 50th anniversary, with races at the Island’s two iconic lighthouses. Both lie within National Trust Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, delivering dramatic south-coast views from the white cliffs of the Needles to the Knolls of Knowles Farm at St Catherine’s Point.
Key Information
🎯 Day 1: Double Sprint
- Two sprint-distance races in complex terrain (not urban)
- A small, complex area mapped at 1:4000
- Final result is the two sprint times added together
- Open, Vets, Super Vets, Junior classes available (level D)
- Start window 10:30-11:30 and 12:00-13:00, you will run two courses with 90 minutes between start times
- Car park location [900m, 50m descent to assembly]
🎯 Day 2: Middle Distance
- Fast terrain above the white cliffs of the needles
- Range of colour coded courses (level C, SCOA league)
- Start window 10:30-12:30
- Car park location [adjacent to assembly]
🎫 Entry Information
- Limited entry on the day until maps run out
- SportIdent electronic punching system
- Entry limit of 200 competitors. If we are approaching the limit we may consider increasing it. We are a small club, so please enter early to help us with this and consider offering to help to support a greater number of entries.
Getting Here
⛴️ Ferries (and discounts)
- Vehicle ferries are charged per vehicle regardless of number of passengers, so team up with your clubmates!
Red Funnel
- Book via this link for a 15% discount on vehicle travel and reduced foot passenger rates available 4-6 September
- Vehicle ferry Southampton-East Cowes
- Foot Passenger only ferry Southampton-West Cowes (Red Jet)
WightLink
- No specific discount but try the 20% discount for other events happening the same weekend
- Car ferries Portsmouth-Fishbourne and Lymington-Yarmouth
- Passenger ferry Portsmouth-Ryde
HoverTravel
🚗 Parking
- Saturday car park [google maps] is a field with no facilities. All facilities at assembly (900m, 50m descent). Approach from the east if possible.
- Sunday car park [google maps] is a field adjacent to assembly with facilities available at The Needles Landmark Attraction
🚌 Public transport
- Combined rail/boat tickets are possible with destinations Ryde Pierhead, West Cowes, East Cowes, Yarmouth, or any station on the Island Line.
- Southern Vectis runs the island's bus network and Google maps public transport directions usually have the buses correct.
- On Saturday, the bus stop to use is the Buddle Inn. This is serviced by Bus 6 arriving at 09:30. From there it's around 1km to assembly [google walking directions]. The road leads along the edge of the competition area. Do not leave the road.
- On Sunday, the bus stop to use is Alum Bay. This is serviced by Bus 7 arriving at 09:45 then every 30 minutes. The bus stop is adjacent to parking and assembly.
Accommodation
⛺ Camping
Event campsite
- 🔗Kingston Goat Farm 📍Map 📞07530 867318 ✉️simone.dickens@gmail.com
A very basic eco-campsite available exclusively to orienteers from 4th-6th September at a cost of £8 per person per night, maximum 50 people. Facilities are composting toilets, cold water, and camp fires are allowed! Book by calling or emailing Simone.
Other recommended campsites
- 🔗Grange Farm 📍Map 📞01983 740296 ✉️grangefarmholidays@gmail.com
- 🔗Compton Farm 📍Map 📞01983 740215 ✉️info@comptonfarm.co.uk
- Pitch up is a great site for discovering further temporary campsites, popular on the Isle of Wight.
🏠 Indoor accommodation
- Listings can be found on Airbnb, Vrbo, Holiday cottages and other popular sites for stays.
- Many commercial accommodation providers have ferry discounts negotiated along with your stay.
More Running!
👟 Parkrun
- Medina parkrun starts at 9am in Newport on Saturday
- Parking and start outside Medina leisure centre
- If you have a car you should be fine with late start times. If you are using public transport, drop us an email and we will try to arrange your first run outside of the standard start block so that you can arrive at 1130 on bus 6
- Please do your best to make your orienteering start, but if you miss it don't worry, we'll slot you in somewhere!
- Occasionally the location moves if there is a big event where Parkrun usually is. Check the Medina parkrun news page for any last minute updates
⛰️ Isle of Wight Fell Series
- Make a week of it and stay until 12/13 September for The Isle of Wight Fell Series
- A series of three races based in Ventnor
About the Event
WightO is one of the smaller clubs in the SCOA region. Although isolated from neighbouring clubs it has remarkably survived the past 50 years. The National Trust have supported the club throughout and allow us access to orienteer on some of the most dramatic landscapes in the country. To mark this momentous milestone in our club's history we have chosen the sites of the island's two iconic lighthouses to stage a weekend of orienteering for our anniversary event.
Day 1
Saturday 5th Sept, St. Catherine's Lighthouse & Knowles Farm
St Catherine's Lighthouse is located at the southern most point of the island. The map incorporates the dramatic and rugged coastline dominated by the lighthouse. The coastal section is undulating and very open, allowing fast runnability through the many rock formations around Knowles Farm. The backdrop is a climb through wild scrubland with intricate paths that lead you to the higher ground. Here too the terrain is very open but more undulating and diverse. The entire area is covered with an array of monolithic rocks, giant boulders and steep sided crags which make this area quite unique. The contour detail is complex and although the area is quite small it packs a punch and ideally suits the sprint format. The results will be determined by the overall time taken over two designated courses.
Day 2
Sunday 6th Sept, The Needles Headland
The infamous Needles Lighthouse is at the far western point on the island. The map stretches from the memorial cross on the top of Tennyson Down, to the less talked about ruins of the rocket launching site, Needles headland and battery. From here you look down to the famous colourful sand cliffs at Alum Bay and the views from wherever you are on the map are spectacular! The terrain is very fast open down land, peppered with an abundance of embankments, knolls, earth walls, pits and depressions. Much of the thick gorse at the eastern end has been recently thinned out making the area even more accessible for this middle distance race.
WightO are negotiating with local businesses for reduced rates on ferry crossings and accommodation to those taking part at this event along with reduced rates for many of the local attractions that the island has to offer. These will be posted on this website in due course. Our aim is to, not only provide a unique orienteering experience, but to ensure your weekend here is a memorable one. So please send any queries to info@wighto.org.uk.
Officials
Organiser: Peter Bartlett
Sprint Planner: Peter Bartlett
Sprint Course Checker: Ben Windsor
Middle Planner: Ben Windsor
Middle Controller: Tom Dobra (TVOC/DRONGO)
Map Samples
St Catherine's Point
The Needles
Get in Touch
Have any questions about the event? Get in touch!
Social
🎉Work in progress - we hope to offer a social celebration on Saturday evening! Here's the vision