Rediscovering trails: Home to Burgess Hill Town Football Club

WITH RETIREMENT I started doing things I don't normally do.   Breaking out of some of the old routines, making new ones, meeting up with old friends and just getting out there and enjoying life.   I used to work with two people Chris Neal and Keith Morris and we got together at Burgess Hill Town Football Club to catch up and watch some football.   I have not seen Chris for over eight years.

It was a great moment to get together after starting work at the factory at the same time, going through training and taking it right through to retirement!   Three old geezers at the football, that's a great story.

I went to three matches and we hit the end of the season, it's worth noting that Burgess Hill Town won every match that I attended!    But afterwards I had a thought between me and BHTFC ground is fields and a wood, there must be a trails run in there somewhere, so I mapped it out on my "footpaths" app and ran it today as a test.

On paper the run looked quite good, but I wasn't sure what the trails would look like and needed to keep on track, so I used GPS on "footpaths" to make sure.    Leg one was through the estate that I live on heading out on some trails to the main Lewes Road, quick run up the road and enter the trails again at Colwell Lane.

Colwell is a long straight run taking you down to Hurstwood Lane, not my favourite place to run, as there are no pavements and I don't think it's that safe, but the distance from Colwell Lane to Fox Hill isn't too far, so I just kept left as close as possible to the side of the road.

Crossing the main road I turned down Cape Road and it wasn't long before I reached the trails run that takes me to Theobalds Lane in Burgess Hill.   This was the step beyond the pale into unknown territory, which I was looking forward to.

The route was not what I expected, it was a really nice, well marked out path taking you right down to Theobalds.   There were some really nice bridges that looked pretty new that helped to keep you on track.    There was also a chicken coup that seemed a little out of place, but made me smile.   Checking "footpaths" I could see I was on track all the way across.

It was sunny and hot, so I took my freetrain vest with me.    Head cover, water (with a hydration sachet in it), one gel, my phone and a bank card, just in case.    Always have fall back plans, things sometimes just do not go the way you plan them and you don't want to get lost on a hot sunny day without any water.

At the end of the trails I reached Theobalds Lane and started down the private road towards Leylands Road, this isn't far from Wivelsfield Railway station and BHTFC is just a six minute walk from there.

Made it in plenty of time and had a quick rest with some water before thinking about heading back.    My neighbour plays football for Balcombe II and they are playing Crawley in a semi-final match at BHTFC ground on Wednesday.   I was thinking about going over to see him play.

I now know I have a great route over to the ground to see him play.   That will save me £7.50 for parking at the railway station and £4.50 for the train fare.   Good times! 

 Update: Two days later I went over to see Ash play in the Mid Sussex Junior Charity Cup playing against AS Crawley.

AS Crawley 1 - 3 Balcombe II.   Great match and a good win.

 

 

 

OS Benchmarking - Reigate and Redhill

YOU WILL NEED to read the blog on OS Benchmarking to understand what this is all about.    Look to the right hand filters and click on "OS Benchmarking" to find the first blog which will give an explanation.   You can then break this down to areas (as I go and manage to build this up a bit more).

When I learned about Ordnance Survey benchmarking I was about to go off for a weekend in Reigate, Surrey.   I was explaining it to my friend, Mark Davison, and he had not heard of them.   During the weekend we did a 14km trails walk, on the way back we arrived on Redhill Common, and back into Reigate.   Here, we started the search and found four.

Rivet Stone
Location: Redhill Top Common j/w High Trees Road.
Height: 144.555m 

You can see the symbol embossed into the stone on the top.

Embossed wall
Location: High Trees Road (middle)
Height: 137.081m

Difficult to locate as it was quite well hidden.

 
Embossed wall
Location: Cronks Hill j/w High Trees Road.
Height: 126.009m

This is on the back of an old letter box, brick built.

 

Embossed wall
Location: Footpath j/w Cockshot Road
Height: 113.828m

Just on the beginning of the footpath. 

 

OS Benchmarking - Distances Above Sea Level

RECENTLY I DISCOVERED Ordnance Survey Benchmarking and for some reason it has got me really interested in these historic markings that can be found all over the place.   If you live in the UK, you have passed these symbols thousands of times and never noticed them.   They are called benchmarks and nobody knows exactly how many there are.   It doesn't matter how remote you live you will have these hidden around you in plain sight.

They were installed by Ordnance Survey, Britain's national mapping agency starting in the 19th Century.   If you wanted to know the difference in elevation between your town and the next one, there were very sophisticated tools that would allow you measure it, but you would have to go out and work it out yourself because no one else had done it for you.

As we started to build things like railways, it was becoming more important to know the difference in elevation across the country.   Ordnance survey went out and spent two decades mapping out lines across Great Britain and Ireland, measuring the differences in elevation along the way.  At ever point they measured, they left a bench mark embossed into brickwork.

Once that was done, each of these benchmarks became a new reference point that could be used to fill in the rest of the country.   If you look at ordnance survey maps from the 19th you will see these bench marks everywhere.   This means that if you want to know the height of a particular point, all you had to do was measure it relative to the nearest benchmark.   This would give you its height relative to every other part of the country.

These days with GPS, there's not much use for benchmarks and they were decommissioned 30 years ago.    But there is still one small part of the network that's still in use today.    They are called "fundamental benchmarks", and there are about 200 of them.    They were built more than a century ago to serve as a solid bedrock for the rest of the network.   They will go almost two metres underground.

These days they contain passive GPS stations.   Since we know the exact position of these benchmarks, we can use them to correct and enhance the data we receive from GPS satellites.   And using this, modern surveyors can pinpoint their location anywhere in the country to an accuracy of about a centimeter.

The benchmarks live on but more of them are being lost each year due to redevelopment.

I was stopped in Reigate by a local man asking what I was looking for, so I explained it to him.   He understood exactly what I was talking about and told me there are two types, the ones with the line above the arrow which is ordnance survey and ones without the line above which is military.    Some of them are brass plates.

When I go out on my runs, I will be keeping an eye out of these, looking them up and seeing what the height is that has been recorded for them.    I know I am looking for public buildings and walls over 30 years old.

The hunt begins .... 

 

Rediscoving Trails: Haywards Heath to Ardingly Resevouir

THIS RUN IS a continuation of a run I did in November "Rediscovering Trails: A muddy autumn run through Lindfield".   The run went as far as the top of Haywards Heath golf course, but the aim was to run it again and take it to Ardingly Resevouir.

It has taken quite a while to get back to this run due to the amount of rain we had, so today was also a test to see if it was possible and how much of the route was a problem?

The road part was straight forward and as I got to the top of Finches Lane I could see the trails stretching out before me.   Parts have been changed in layout, as there has been a lot of tree loss and new saplings have been planted in their place.   This has changed the paths, but there are still quite a few trees down that you need to navigate.

The ground was soft in a lot of places, but not a problem and any boggy bits you could navigate around without any problems.   This was great to choose for the run as the skies were blue with lots of sunshine, which just aided the run, but there was also a cool wind.

It was great to see the bluebells coming out and carpeting the woodland floor in a lot of places.   Plants and leaves are now coming back and the trails feel, and smell, really fresh again.   With the sunshine, sights, smells, and sound of twigs snapping under your feet, it was good to get out again. 

Green Space Action Team: Return to Beech Hurst Gardens

I HAVE HAD to miss a few sessions with the Green Space Team, due to training for the London Winter 10km and some of the locations being a little out of my area.   But today was a return to Beech Hurst Gardens, which is a place that I look forward to working on.

We meet up in the car park next to the Harvester Restaurant for the morning briefing.   Today was defining the border and weeding out the large area of garden by the side of the tennis courts.

I am not a great one for weeding, so picked up a shovel and started to redefine the border, once that was done I moved across to do some weeding and clearing out some the rubbish thrown into the bushes.

Working in Victoria Park quite a few weeks ago I was interested in the Hebes.   Not realising that the part had the largest selection of them in the UK, but the stock had deminished due to the large amount of brambles that had taken over.    After freeing the hebes I managed to get two, from the local garden centre, which are now in my garden (one of them about the flower).

The plant of the day was the Toadflax.   A beautiful and common plant of waste ground, grassland, roadside verges and hedgerows.

One of the aims of getting involved with the Green Space Team was improve my knowledge and practical skills.

My next stop of the morning was coffee and lunch with friends at Orange Square.

Community engagement is very rewarding and I would recommend it as a way to meet new people, get involved in local projects and enjoy being outside.

If you are interested in volunteering to help the Green Space Team, it's once a week on a Thursday between 10:00 and 12:00 (two hours).   You can emil them direct for more information and they will send out dates, times, and locations.   You only need to attend the ones you can, there is no pressure.

Email: rangers.midsussex@glendale-services.co.uk 

WSFRL: Chicken Run - Run 5

AS THE FIFTH run in the West Sussex Fun Run League got under way Haywards Heath Harriers were joint 1st on the leader board.   For this run there was a massive turn out of 50 athletes taking part from the club, once again aiming for maximum points trying to create a significant lead before the Harriers host their own run in the event, which they cannot get any points for.

Burgess Hill Runners usually have their run in Hassocks, just beneath the South Downs, but this year they arranged a change of venue, which prompted a change in name for the run along with it!

On the 19th April at Macs Organic Chicken Farm in Ditchling the run took place.   The route was across many of the fields on the farm and in some places the marshalls were trying to hold the chickens back, so that nobody could cry foul!

The route was quite complex and difficult to orientate with a few overlapping points on it.   Marshals were there to ensure the run was smooth and problem free as possible, especially as this was a new route for them, which means everybody gets a PB on the day.

Due to the number of people and routes being used by the athletes there was some confusion with runners going the wrong way.   I went past one marshal who was shouting, "I've sent them in the wrong direction".   This is a new route and there are bound to be some teething problems (they are rare like hens' teeth).   Also because of the complex nature of the course, nobody could leave until the last runner was across the finish line.   This gave everybody space to enjoy the day, find a drink, some cake and have a chat.   This was a great run and social event in the calendar as well.

There are a number of runs that I look forward to on the WSFRL calendar and this is going to be one of them.   I hope that Burgess Hill Runners use the venue again next year.   They will have sorted the teething problems out by then as well.

The big question now is where does this leave Haywards Heath Harriers in the leader board? 

WSFRL: Lewes 10km - Run 4

AS LEWES Athletics Club host the fourth run in the West Sussex Fun Run League the leader board couldn't be tighter.   Haywards Heath Harriers are holding joint second position, and looking to get into the top spot.    Lewes was that opportunity with their 10km trails run.

As usual the run is held on the Easter Bank Holiday Monday, starting at the Leisure Center on the athletics track and then moving down onto Ham Lane, under the A24 and then heading out around Lewes on the trails.

I have run this event a few times now and look forward to it.   The weather was beautiful as we were running on the flood planes, as Lewes used to be a port.   Previous runs it has been pretty wet and muddy, with a lot of chalk on the ground it creates a white mush, but not today.

I believe that the course goes across private land, that you cannot normally run, unless taking part in this event, which is the Ifold Estate.   Working my way around the course through woods and fields the route takes a turn through the pictureque village of Ifold as it then starts to go back towards Lewes again.

Haywards Heath Harriers were out in force to try and get maximum points for the run, including new members who were out for their first run.