Saturday, 30 July 2011

RACE 36 - THE BIG ADVENTURE STORE SUMMER DUATHLON - 17 July

Sorry for the delay in posting, but still not received photos purchased and emails remain unanswered. Well the title doesn't tell you much except it is a duathlon on 17 July, sponsored by the Big Adventure Store and presumably it was meant to be summer.


From Wikipedia (where else?) a bit of the history of the track. The Castle Combe airfield opened in May 1941. The land which the airfield occupied belonged to the Castle Combe estate, which was owned by the Gorst family. The RAF Castle Combeairfield functioned for seven years before being decommissioned in 1948. Castle Combe Circuit opened in 1950, and the first meeting was staged on July 8 by the Bristol Motorcycle & Light Car Club. Over the next few years, the circuit attracted star names such as Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn, Roy Salvadori and John Surtees.


Castle Combe has staged many different motorsport disciplines over the years. In 1997, Nigel Greensall established a new lap record. His Tyrrell 022 lapped the circuit at 130.93 mph (210.71 km/h). However, this was the last year that the circuit would remain unaltered. A tragic accident involving the death of a spectator forced the owners into installing two new chicanes in order to slow the cars down. The new layout was slightly longer at 1.85 miles (2.98 km), and was completed over the winter of 1998-1999.


Formula Three returned to Castle Combe in 2001. However, it would not stay long. In 2005, the circuit was issued with a noise nuisance order, which meant that the circuit had to reduce its noise level. The British Formula Three Championship and the British GT Championship were both louder than permitted, and so were prevented from returning. The local championships dedicated to Saloon Cars, GTs and Formula Ford are instead still active, with packed grids and exciting races. Since 2001 Rallyday, an annual demonstration event for rally cars, has been held at the circuit.
Being in Wiltshire it was an ideal opportunity to go home to the folks in sommerst (parents - one of each, Sharon, sister and Charlotte, niece) for some R+R and some TLC. The weather forcast wasn't particularly positive, basically rain and high winds. Getting up and off at 7 am, it was certainly drizzling and pretty blowy. Another very pleasant drive via Shepton Mallet, Trowbridge, Melksham, around Chippenham and through Tiddlywink. I kid you not, there is actually a place called Tiddlywink (or it can be spelt Tiddleywink). From the Wiltshere Council website  http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getfaq.php?id=101 they answered a query whether there was such a place with the following answer. "There is an area in Yatton Keynell with this name, which it seems to have had since the 1870s. It does not appear on the 1871 census but on the 1881 census there are some houses on the Chippenham Road that are grouped under this area name. It is believed that the name comes from an unlicensed beer house that used to sell beer to passing cattle drovers. The name does not appear on the Ordnance Survey 1st edition 6 inch to 1 mile map of 1887 but it is on the 1:10,000 sheet of 1981. The National Grid Reference is ST 872758. The name can be spelt as either Tiddleywink or Tiddlywink. The hamlet has eight houses and made the national news in February 2003 when Wiltshire County Council put up 'Tiddleywink' road signs to encourage motorists to slow down when passing through the hamlet." So there you are! 


By this time the rain was coming down like stair-rods so a quick phone home to recommend that Dad didn't come over to support. And yes there was a brief moment when I considered a DNS (did not start) category but having come all the way over and the opportunity to use the new wheels on a race track swung it for me.

Arrived expecting something like the horse racing courses I've raced at with a grandstand and so on. It wasn't. Most of the buildings were single storey, rough cast and only the main commentators building was above two. One thing - see if you agree, you know the ridiculously oversized bit of metal work that is being erected as 'sculpture' as  part of the Olympics? Well I wonder
 if they'd just scaled up the starter's gantry here? 


Anyway, it was time to get out of the car register and sort out my kit for the race. Normally having got their in good time there's a change to chill out, drink in the atmosphere and leisurly get ready. This time it was more a question of finding somewhere to shelter and work out how long you could leave it before laying your kit out in transition as it would just get soaked. One thing trying to find shelter noticed that pretty much everything was done out in black and white tiles - the chequered flag. Another thing I while numbering up my bike etc, was that my race number was personalised ~ it had my name on. A little detail but a thoughtful one and I'll certainly be keeping that number (I could show you on the photos but they haven't arrived yet ~ moan, moan...) 

At the race briefing the normal gallows humour in these situations and he even mentioned that there were some entries on the day and asked retorically "who'd on waking early on a Sunday morning with the rain lashing down would think - I know I'll go and do a duathlon?" Who indeed?


As we made our way onto the track for the start the rain actually lessened and we set off in just drizzle. We ran anti-clockwaise for 1km around a cone and back to the start where we were then to do a single lap of the circuit making 5km in total. The pace was pretty fast and being a track you could see everyone in front of you. Transitioning I was not at my most slick as the shoes were soaked and I had to attempt to dry my glasses so I could actually see out of them (getting my excuses in early!)


Then it was off on the bike. This was what I was really looking forward to - smooth asphalt, no traffic, fast corners - a chance to see what the bike could do. It could shift! I was passed by one guy but that was it. (Found later from the results splits that I was 6th on the bike overall with the 8th fastest lap averaging just over 36km/hr - 23mph. So in summary the wheels really do their stuff!) 


It was hardwork going into the wind and there was quite a lot of standing water which of course not having mudguards meant you got really soaked. Its taken two days to dry out the cycle shoes! However with the wind, which by happy accident went past the start /finish and the few hardy supporters, meant you put it in top gear and really went for it. I also loved doing the chicanes which if you got the line right you could just flick the bike from side to side.


It was seven laps of this out and out racing - I can't think of where I'd enjoyed it more as Dunsfold was a lot of bumpy concrete and the corners at Dorney (the two other traffic free courses) didn't have the racing lines and chicanes. Even the rain stopped and a hazy sun (I assume that was what it was) made a brief appearance. Also because of the weather there was a little bit of banter out on the course with one guy claiming I was a 'wuss' as I didn't take one of the corners down on my tri-bars - he passed me and showed me how it was done, while I passed him going into the wind as physically I was a little more "aerodynamic" than he was. The only downside to this out and out racing was I've now been suffering a bit from a stiff neck and it didn't leave much in the tank for the run.


The transition went well and then it was off around the service track and spectator path around the perimeter. All I can say was that it was a "bit hard going" - really a case a putting your head down and concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Overtaken a few times and didn't catch anyone, so slid down the finishing positions a bit. However still managed to 'clock' the views over the valley at the southern end of the course, the realisation that the whole place was on a bit of a slope as couldn't see any of the buildings and that there were still a fair few people still on their bikes including some hardy souls on mountain bikes struggling into the wind.


Nearing the finish, I was cheered to hear my name being called encouraging me on. Rachel (cousin) who lived in nearby Chippenham had come along to support and more importantly ~ go for Sunday lunch. She's a cyclist (both road and MTB) so was suitably complimentary about my bike and new wheels! Rachel also does some pretty high mileage cycle sportives and the like, something I've not really done yet. Couldn't do them on the TT bike and the commuter bike while OK for shorter journeys probably needs upgrading before tackling longer rides. I sense an excuse for a new bike though quite where I would put it .....?  Lunch (proceeded by coffee and cake just to recover the sugar levels of course) was at a nearby farm shop - so all fresh food and west country portions! Great way to finish the morning. Thanks to Rachel for braving the conditions and providing a great way to wind down. 



RESULT: 21st out of 79 in a time of 1:13:46

Saturday, 23 July 2011

RACE UPDATES

Someone asked me for a breakdown of the races, so here goes. Of the 36 events completed so far, I've done:
  • 9 triathlons
  • 8 duathlons
  • 6 extreme cross country runs (those involving copious amounts of water and/or mud)
  • 4 Green Belter/Adventure races
  • 4 10k runs
  • 3 half-marathons
  • 1 10 mile run
  • 1 50k mountain bike 

GREEN = races already completed
RED = New races recently booked (brief description at the end)

1 - SPAM MTB 50k
2 - Brutal 10k
3 - The Grim
4 - Run Rampage
5 - F3 Winter Duathlon
6 - Dorney Lake Duathlon 
7 - Saucony 10k
8 - Rempstone Duathlon
9 - F3 Winter Duathlon
10 - Steyning Stinger Half Marathon
11 - Kamikaze 
12 - Kingswood Duathlon 
13 - Questars Adventure Race - New Forest
14 - The Gauntlet 
15 - Ful-on-Duathlon - Kempton Racecourse 
16 - Bolt Around the Holt Half Marathon 
17 - Maidenhead 10 
18 - Stockley Park 10k 
19 - Three Forts Half Marathon
20 - Mini Marshman 
21 - The Beast in the East 
22 - Eton SuperSprint Triathlon
23 - Strathclyde Triathlon 
24 - Green Belter 
25 - Dunsfold Duathlon 
26 - Blenheim Triathlon 
27 - Windsor Triathlon
28 - Lakeside Triathlon
29 - G3 series 10k
30 - The Bridge Triathlon
31 - Green Belter - Kent
32 - Canterbury Triathlon 
33 - The Hurt 
34 - Tri-Challenge 
35 - Hever Castle Evening Triathlon 
36 - DB Max Summer Duathlon
30 July London Triathlon http://www.thelondontriathlon.co.uk/
6 Aug Hyde Park Triathlon http://london.triathlon.org/ 
13 Aug - Cymmer Afan Off-Road Triathlon http://www.cymerafantriathlon.co.uk/3/route-info/
20 Aug - Letterkenny Sprint Triathlon http://www.letterkenny247.com/triathlon/index.htm
11 Sept London Duathlon http://london.triathlon.org/
27 Nov Hellrunner http://www.hellrunner.co.uk/



Letterkenny Sprint triathlon - The race will take place in the beautiful scenic area around Gartan Lake. Gartan Lake is just 10 miles outside Letterkenny Town which in Donegal.

RACE 35 - HEVER CASTLE EVENING SPRINT TRIATHLON - 13 July

The race was described on the event website as starting "with an open water swim in the spectacular 38 acre Hever Castle Lake, transitioning into the cycle which will take place around the 20km circuit through the High Weald of Kent an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The run will then circumnavigates the estate and award winning castle grounds before making the dash to the finish beside the lake." Which you'll be pleased to hear pretty much sums it up. I've put a bit of history about the castle at the end.


Well it was a bit of an odd feeling getting ready 
for an event mid-week. Having spent the morning at work, I had the afternoon off so I didn't have to rush around and I also hoped to miss the rush-hour traffic. Packed the car and headed off at about 3pm so instead of rush-hour, hit the Bromley/ Beckenham area school kicking out time instead, so hoards of children, 'youff' and parents in their 4x4's (as you know how much off-roading you need to do in suburbia) made for a fairly slow exit from London.

Once following the brown tourist signs to Hever Castle there was minimal traffic and truly glorious countryside - the Weald of Kent. This area also has Chiddingstone Castle and Chartwell - home of Winston Churchill, nearby.

We didn't park in the main visitor car park but down a very potholed track (oh the poor mini) through a very tight gate and into a very bumpy field. It was then a lovely 10 minute woodland walk down to registration and transition. However I'm glad it was dry otherwise the car parking and the walk to registration would have been 'interesting' to say the least.

At registration we were given our race numbers that were then inscribed with indelible pen on the back of both hands and on one leg. It certainly illicited comment the following day at work as I was unable to get it all off so it looked like I'd got tattoos on both hands. I racked the bike, sorted my gear, had a chat with adjacent competitors and went off to explore the grounds and find a cuppa.

I must admit I was looking forward to the race as it gave me a chance to see Hever Castle and more importantly try out my new wheels. As I've mentioned they are Planet X 50/82 - that's the depth of the rims in millimetres, and I had them fitted with Vittoria Corsa Evo CX "tubs" that can be inflated to 200 psi! These tube less tyres have to be glued onto the rims. To prevent punctures they have kevlar protection and if they do puncture I have a clever little aerosol that combines glue and compressed CO2 to seal and inflate the tyre.  Hopefully I'll never have to use it but it's good for peace of mind. Also with the deep rims it meant that I had to buy valve extensions as obviously normal tyre valves are just too short and I had to fit new special brake blocks as normal ones would damage the carbon rims! Its amazing that when you buy one thing (wheels) how it leads onto other purchases! That's half the fun of triathlons though is the "kit". One thing's for sure though, now the new wheels are on it certainly looks the part - just hope I can perform half as well as it looks! Especially as there is one kind of competitor that tends to attract most mockery and that's the one with "all the gear and no idea"!

Cuppa in hand I wandered down to the lake where we'd swim
 - not in the moat unfortunately, I realised that you couldn't see the castle from this side of the grounds (subsequently found that in fact I would only catch a brief glimpse during the run I when of course I was not in the best state to appreciate it!) Watching some of the swimmers from earlier waves and cheering them on, I realised they looked rather small and as they emerged it was apparent that they were children! 


So Wednesday for them would be go to school, after school do triathlon - hopefully they were let off homework. It was amazing to see as there was a wave for 7 and 8 year olds, and some of them were so tiny! They emerged in their little wet suits, ran up the hill with utter concentration on their faces, to be greeted in transition by parents and siblings to go off around the castle grounds on their bikes, before do a run! Even the 7 year olds were doing a 100m swim in the lake, a 4 km cycle and finally a 1.3km run. It was really impressive watching them.

Then watched some of the earlier adult waves starting and took some photos of the start by the impressive loggia.

So cup of tea - done: photos taken - done: get into wetsuit ready for my start - to do. On way back saw someone in a Windrush triathlon suit (the club I'm a member of) and introduced myself. Johnny suggested I get ready and then meet up near the swim start which seemed like a good plan.

Down at lakeside the buoy for the turn around of the 750m swim we decided looked very distant. However the die was cast as we called to the race briefing. The organiser while waiting for some late arrivals regaled us with the history of the lake and from memory (which is a bit sketchy as I had normal pre-race nerves) it took 800 men, 2 years to dig it by hand, with most of the spoil going by rail to Edenbridge. One workman used to walk from Tunbridge Wells (12 miles) do a 9 hour shift, then walk home again! Certainly puts a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run into perspective.


The lake temperature was 19 degrees so wetsuits were optional and while most were wearing them (they give extra buoyancy) a few hardier souls were just in their tri-suits.
Then it was down "some of the slippers steps in Kent" as they were described to the start line. They didn't keep us treading water long and it was off. As it was a straight out, round the buoy and back course, you do get to see how far in front/behind you were. Put it this way I wasn't' last but I could see people finishing their swim soon after I tuned around the buoy for the swim back!
Finishing it was then a run uphill (not as bad as Blenheim's) but enough to get you breathing heavily (that is if you weren't already from the swim) and onto to bike.


The first 50m were a bit of a nightmare as it was a rough gravel track - a mountain bike would have been a better option rather that a time trial with skinny race wheels.
Then on an access road with some vicious speed bumps and potholes - never mind as it meant you had enough time to catch your breath before hitting the open road. It was then a case of winding the bike up and down onto the tri-bars through some very beautiful countryside including some "cheeky" hills (their words not mine) and some rather petrifying downhills (usually with a blind bend at the bottom). Traffic was fantastically light - well I suppose most 'normal' people are tucking into their evening meal; watching some mind numbing TV or down the pub, and not haring round the countryside trying out their new wheels.


After a 20km circuit it was a tentative return to transition over the speed bumps, potholes and gravel for a quick change of shoes and on to the run. I'd been warned that the first 1km was uphill but rather complacently I thought how hard could it be considering the races I'd done the previous week end. Well I found out! Very hard as I hadn't taken into account quite how much I'd put into the cycle. Then it was downhill to the lake on woodland tracks and then round the lake where the route bificated - one being the 4km run of the super sprint (named the Anne Bolyen) and our 5km (Anne of Cleves). This did mean that while one guy had sprinted past me I found that he was doing the shorter course so it was a bit difficult to judge how well you were doing. Also it was disconcerting in that I'd managed to stagger passed a rather attractive runner at the top of the first hill, only to pass her again on the last hill.

One problem I found with the rest of the run was that it followed a mown path. Though the grass gave the appearance of level ground, it was anything but underfoot. It made it much more difficult to judge your footing than 'real' cross country running.

During the run we got our only glimpse of the castle as we ran through the 'Elizabethan Village'. Looks utterly stunning and intend to go back when I'm in a fit state to appreciate it (possibly in September when I've booked another triathlon here - albeit it a longer one).

Then it was one final hill (past the attractive girl that I may have mentioned before?) - a deep gravelled path which was particularly energy sapping, and a 300m 'sprint' to the finish - with Johnny cheering me on!  
Having checked our initial results it was back to the car to try and fit two bikes in the back of a Mini-Clubman which was easier said than done. Though it proved to be a lot easier getting them in than out the other end as they were well and truly tangled! Note to self - must find a better way of doing it as I've a couple of weekends coming up when I need to get a mountain bike and tri-bike in the back. 


The journey home consisted of following another competitor i.e. another car with a tri-bike on the roof rack as they seemed to know where they were going until we reached a point where I actually recognised the place names and road numbers and could head back into London. It was nice to have company as it made the journey go a lot quicker. Also I realised that it's been a while now since I've needed my 40 winks on the way home from a race. The only downside to the journey was that we started to discuss food with about half an hour to go - I'm convinced by stomach was touching spine I was so hungry. On reflection should have stopped after the race to get a sandwich or something too keep me going.

Mid-week racing is certainly fun and feels a little more relaxed but I'll probably give it a miss if I've a weekend race before and after as it is a little tiring doing four races in eight days. Oh and the wheels, did they work? Well I don't know whether it was purely psychological or not, but checking the cycle splits, I make it I was 5th fastest - so know all I need to do is improve the running and learn to swim properly!


RESULT: 27th out of 161 in a time of 1:24:32





From http://www.hevercastle.co.uk/ :
There have been three main periods in the construction of this historic castle. The oldest part of the castle dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse and a walled bailey. In the early 1500s the Bullen family bought the castle and added a Tudor dwelling within the walls and so it became the childhood home of its most famous inhabitant, Anne Boleyn. It later passed into the ownership of Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. From 1557 onwards the Castle was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humfreys and the Meade Waldos. Finally, in 1903, William Waldorf Astor invested time, money and imagination in restoring the Castle, building the ’Tudor Village’ and creating the gardens and lake.


The castle has a homely atmosphere [if you can call a castle homely!] and houses historic 16th century Tudor portraits, furniture and tapestries. Other artefacts include two magnificent Books of Hours (prayer books), both signed and inscribed by Anne Boleyn. Costumed figures of Henry VIII and his six wives in the Long Gallery adds to the atmosphere and is popular with the children. The Council Chamber in the thirteenth century gatehouse contains collections of historic swords, armour, instruments of execution, torture and discipline.


The spectacular gardens at Hever Castle were laid out between 1904 and 1908 by Joseph Cheal & Son, turning marshland into the spectacular gardens you see today. One of the most magnificent areas of the gardens is the Italian Garden, which was designed to display William Waldorf Astor’s collection of Italian sculpture. Over 1,000 men worked on the great design with around 800 men digging out the 38 acre lake at the far end of the Italian Garden – taking two years to do so! Within four years the 30 acres of classical and natural landscapes were constructed and planted.  125 acres of the garden has now reached its full maturity and includes the colourful walled Rose Garden which contains over 4,000 plants..
There are many water features around the gardens, including Half Moon Pond, the Cascade Rockery, the cool and shady grottoes, the formal loggia fountain based on the Trevi fountain in Rome, and the more informal Two Sisters Pond.
Other areas that you can stroll through include the Tudor Garden, Rhododendron Walk and along Anne Boleyn’s Walk with its collection of trees planted over 100 years ago. In recent years, the present owners have made several changes in the garden including the Millennium Fountain which can be found on Sixteen Acre Island, forming an interesting feature at the far end of this more informal area of the gardens. The 110 metre herbaceous border has been reinstated and Sunday Walk created, providing a peaceful woodland garden following the course of a stream. In addition to the existing Yew Maze, a splashing water maze has been built on Sixteen Acre Island - a unique feature which is especially popular with the children!

Wednesday, 20 July 2011

COFFEE MORNING


A big thank you to Mum and Dad, ably assisted by Sharon and Charlotte who organised a coffee morning to raise money for Prostate Cancer on my behalf. They invited people from their two churches by advertising in the church notice boards a few weeks in advance along with weekly news bulletins and a display of information and photos of me in various races/ states of pain. 

It ran from 10.30 a.m. to 12.00 though I believe some people stayed a lot longer! They sold home-made cakes, bric-a-brac, and children's toys and books. Also advertised a stall as a Bring & Buy so some people brought along items and sold them. Several people who couldn't come, gave donations from £5. -  £10. Everyone from couples with young children to the 80+ (which makes them "super-duper" vets in triathlon parlance) attended. They raised over £106 which is a fantastic effort!

Many thanks to everyone who contributed!

And yes that is a picture of Mum. No picture of Dad unfortunately, as like dads the world over he's the one behind the camera to ensure no photos are ever taken of him!  

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

RACE 34 -TRI-ADVENTURE CHALLENGE - 10 July

Described as a "true test of endurance, an adventure race over 5 hours incorporating trail running, mountain biking and navigation."

The rules of the event (which is not unlike Race 13 ~ Questars Adventure Race except without the kayak stage)

  • Registration opens at 08:30. Collect your race number, waterproof map (necessary as its bound to get wet) and SPORTident dibber (that you use to record the checkpoints visited).
  • The event starts at 10:00am and finishes at 15:00pm (that will be the 5 hours then).
  • It is a mass start with all competitors starting on foot. Competitors are welcome to buddy up and race in pairs or teams.
  • Using your map navigate to as many checkpoints and cover as much distance as you can within the 5 hour limit.
  • Competitors may only transition once from foot to bike.
  • There will be a number of checkpoints to collect set over a course of approximately 25km trail run and 55km mountain bike (amazingly some usually manage to cover all of this within the time limit!)
  • Competitors must collect a minimum of one run and one bike checkpoint to qualify.
  • Each checkpoint is worth 10 points (34 each regardless of distance worth the same amount).
  • Competitors will incur a penalty of 1 point per 30 seconds they are late back.
The Tri-Challenge is being held from Peaslake Village Hall ~ which happens to be coincidentally where yesterday's race started from so I don't have to bore you with all the background information again as you'll have remembered it from then! 


Drove on a slightly different route just to add variety as driving in/out of London can get very monotonous. Only two things of note. Firstly there are some real idiots (mainly in white vans) that tear around at that time of the morning and secondly as soon as you cross the M25 the landscape is beautiful.


At Peaslake in good time to park up in the car park we'd started the race from the day before. This was where we were leafleted by a very nice lady trying to get us to join the Friends of Hurtwood ~ especially critical due to the cut in their grant funding. Shows real commitment to the cause getting up that early in the morning to lobby a bunch of total strangers. Then it was off to the village hall to register, receive your race numbers, get first sight of the map and the checkpoint locations, and have the first (of a number) of free cups of tea/coffee. What a civilised approach ~ looking at the map, planning your routes while sipping on a cuppa.


Had time to have a bit of an explore, mainly to find the direction of the first checkpoint I wanted to head towards. As has happened in the past, I tended to follow the majority resulting in my planned route being ignored from the off! 


Couple of things I noticed in the village. The pub was already open and doing a roaring trade in 'proper' coffee and breakfasts and the village shop was likewise doing a roaring trade in drinks, Danish, sweets and in my case jelly babies. It wasn't just a question of those of us racing either, this area is a Mecca for mountain bikers . There's a great piece with loads of pictures on the British Cycling website: http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/recreation/article/rec20091201-Where-to-Ride--Surrey--MTB-0  and even a specific MTB orienteering club based in the village (http://www.peaslakemtbo.com/).


Having planned my routes, taking extra care NOT to include any of the slopes I'd run the previous day, I reckoned that I'd do about half the running ones (approximately 10k) and as many of the bike ones as possible taking into account that I was a bit tiered from the running on Saturday. At 10am sharp we were off with the 60 or so competitors haring off in different directions. About six had decided to go in the same direction as me ~ consisting of a steep initial climb onto the ridge and then a good few checkpoints without too many inclines (well not substantial ones at any rate). First one done and off towards the second which proved annoyingly difficult. you know when you're convinced you're somewhere on a map when you so obviously aren't (it happens to me frequently in a race like this). Well myself and another guy were in that boat when a very helpful bystander taking pity on our confusion pointed we were at the wrong junction of paths and we were 50m away from the checkpoint.


This was when we decided to 'buddy-up' for a while as obviously neither of us were particularly good at map reading whilst running. We got chatting ~ he did triathlons, I do triathlons; we've both taken part in some of the same ones. His bike splits and run times are similar and swimming was the weakest discipline. Obviously talking while running does slow you down a bit but we'd both decided that a) we were not out to win (there were some very serious competitors and some serious 'kit-envy' at the start) and b) were really in it for a nice (if energetic) day out. From his point of view there was c) his mum lived in the next village!


Next we compared notes on orienteering races. He was recounting his first experience (with the same company - Tri Adventure) when he'd noticed a very attractive Sandhurst officer in full uniform turn up to one of the races. Once changed, at the start she had run off purposely and he'd followed, with another guy in tow, obviously thinking that "army officer + orienteering = no brainer!" Unfortunately it seemed that map reading wasn't her strong point and the three of them ended going a couple of miles off the map and needed to ask directions to find their way back. Somewhat incredulously I listened to this litany of disaster ~ but had to come clean, I'd been the other bloke! So we'd actually raced together before, got lost ~ so it wasn't the most inspiring of buddying-up! However apart from one minor hiccup we did pretty well covering all of Holmbury Hill (site of YouTube clip and photos with a view in the background from race 33).  After 8 of 17 checkpoints I decided to call it a day on the run (feet hurting and blisters forming) while he went off to do some more running.   


Back at transition entered into a discussion of the merits of jelly babies as opposed to the 'sports gels' for giving you a burst of energy. My argument was they tasted nice (gels are mainly yuk) and cheap (gels are nearly three time the price) ~ debate won! 


Then off on the bike straight up the wrong road (well to be fair the scale of the map is quite small and my eyesight isn't what it used to be). So true to form a complete change of plan from the off. Never mind it meant I could visit Leith Hill which I subsequently found out is the the highest point on the Greensand Ridge (I wish I'd known that before cycling up it!) and is the second highest point in south-east England, after Walbury Hill near Hungerford. 


It was possibly on the summit of Leith Hill in 851, that Ã†thelwulf of Wessex, father of Alfred the Great, defeated the Danes who were heading for Winchester, having sacked Canterbury and London.


The 18th century Gothic tower "Prospect House" was built by Richard Hull of nearby Leith Hill Place and was constructed between 1765 and 1766. He built it with the intention of raising the hill above 1,000 ft (305 m) above sea level. The tower is 19.5 metres (64 ft) high and consisted of two rooms "neatly furnished", with a Latin inscription above the door announcing that it had been built for not only his own pleasure, but also for the enjoyment of others. Hull provided visitors with prospect glasses, similar to a small telescope, through which to survey the extensive views towards London and the English Channel, each some 25 miles (40 km) away, and thirteen counties on a very clear day. When he died in 1772, at his request he was buried under the tower. Following his death, the building was stripped of its contents, doors and windows, and fell into ruin. As a result the tower was filled with rubble and concrete, and the entrance bricked up.

In 1864, Mr Evelyn of nearby Wotton House decided to reopen it, but the concrete made this difficult, and so the additional turreted side-tower was added to allow access to the top of the tower. The National Trust now run it.
It was also at this spot that I resisted stopping for an ice cream from the NT shop and we had a rain shower. After the climb though, it was remarkably refreshing and welcome. 
Obviously what goes up must come down and I had a fantastic long decent northwards towards the North Downs. It was just as I was crossing the railway line that a couple of fellow competitors went past. I stopped to take some photos and checked the map. I realised even bumbling along I'd covered a fair old distance and was at the point furthest from the HQ. After what proved to be a slog up the North Downs escarpment, it was then along the top and kind of flattish for about 13km. Of course this would leave me at the other furthest point from the race HQ ~ but I decided to go for as I could come off the ridge at any time and just head back as the crow flies if I was short of time.
Being the downs it was muddier than the Greensand Ridge to the south, so in true MTB style I got well and truly covered. I made it all the way along to Newlands Corner, venue of Race 29. At this point I had about 45 minutes to the cut off time after which you start to get penalties (in effect if you are 5 minutes late you've lost the value of one checkpoint so you've really got a fine judgement to make). I thought there were kind of two more on the way, certainly not much out of my way with the added advantage I didn't have to use the A25. With 25 minutes remaining I'd managed both checkpoints and then it was off back along the roads as fast as possible as I had about 8km to cover. One hill nearly finished me off but the advantage of having a map-board mounted on your handlebars paid dividends. It allows map reading as you go along (on smooth straight bits at any rate) and another advantage is that you can't see your front wheel. On rough down-hills in particular the tendency is to look at where you're planting the front wheel rather than scanning and planning the route ahead (as I was taught on a MTB course). Anyway it certainly proved it's worth on the way back, allowing me to actually make it with 10 minutes to spare. Could I have reached another checkpoint in that time? Nope - I was knackered! Two free cups of tea later, and swapping results and stories with my earlier 'buddy'  (Damian  Pool) I'd recovered enough to have a look at what I might have been able to reach but chatting with the eventual winner (who'd managed to reach 32 out of 34 of the checkpoints ~ phenomenal!) he had gone for it and said it had been a ridiculously steep hill. Looking carefully at the map, I realised it was Pitch Hill, one of the hills from "The Hurt" ~ I am so glad I didn't go for it! 


Some abiding memories apart from the sheer beauty of the area, is when you have a race number on you people are remarkably tolerant.  Even though cars were being held up by a road race as well us us, there didn't seem to be any conflict. Likewise off road, even though we were disturbing people's Sunday afternoon walks, they were remarkably friendly.  The only bit of minor hassle was at Newlands Corner where the 'day-trippers' were ~ the kind that never go more than 400 yards from their cars, and it was more a lack of consideration for anyone rather than targeted at cyclists or horse riders.  


RESULT: 11th out of 40 men (13 out of 57 total) with 220 points in a time of 4:49:58   


Monday, 11 July 2011

RACE 33 - THE HURT - 9 July

The Hurt is claiming to be "the newest and most challenging 10k trail run in the South East (I'll let you know how I rate it later). It might just hurt (again, to be confirmed!). Open to fell runners, fun runners and walkers, if you like climbing and beautiful views this one's for you. 10k trail run/walk/climb through the picturesque woodlands of the Surrey Hills. This magnificent event will offer superb scenery as you race under the tree canopy and along the tracks."   We had some indication of what the race would be like from the profile on http://connect.garmin.com/player/94281019
Peaslake where the race is based, is in the centre of the Surrey Hills area. Surrounded by acres of forest and downland, visitors come here to walk and cycle and to enjoy the views of the local countryside. Nearby to the south is Pitch Hill (sometimes called "Coneyhurst Hill") which at 843 feet (257 m) is the fifth highest point in Surrey. 3,000 acres (12 km2) of surrounding forest, the Hurtwood, is maintained by the Hurtwood Control (see the end for more information from a fascinating website). This includes Holmbury Hill, Pitch Hill, Winterfold, Shere Heath, Farley Heath and part of Blackheath Common. I hope you are paying attention as purely coincidentally, Peaslake and the surrounding area is the race venue for tomorrow's race as well. 
Peaslake retains a unique small village atmosphere. Although the whole parish has a population of around 1,500, only a few dozen houses make up the main centre of the village. Access to the village by car can only be gained by using roads which are at some point single track, which gives visitor the feel that it is more remote than it actually is. Although a popular destination for tourists, this apparent remoteness makes it quieter than other local villages (Shere in particular) for visitors. The attractive nature of the village means it is often used for TV location filming.
Peaslake is a focal point for Mountain Biking in the Surrey area, and it is not unusual to see the village crowded (relatively, its not a big place) with mountain bikers returning from rides in the surrounding hills. The nearest railway station is Gomshall, a mile to the north.
Local amenities include: a church, village hall, doctors surgery, pub/hotel (The Hurtwood Inn), a bike shop (Pedal and Spoke) and a well used village shop which also does teas and hot snacks, and incorporates a post office.
The village school is unusual in that it is owned and run by residents and parents, who bought it after it was closed by the local education council in 1994. It is free to pupils (except those in the nursery classes) and raises all its own running costs (over £100,000 a year) without council or government support(aside from "early years" funding). The high standard of its education has been praised in Education Inspectorate reports. It offers education for fifty children from age 3 to 7 and is an important focal point for community activities.

Well enough of the background ~ I picked Pete up (on time - 6:30, which considering he'd come all the way from Enfield in north London - was quite impressive) at Brixton tube station and then went on to pick up Kevin (the names may be familiar as we'd all done Race 21 - Beast in the East back in May). An easy journey down through south London, Reigate, Dorking - following the A25 which runs parallel to the M25 but has much better views.  Turning off for Peaslake, we followed deeply sunken single track lanes to the car park in a field. First impression was where were the hills? We just seemed to have long views northwards. We registered, sized up the opposition, used the facilities (it was obvious that they mainly expected us to avail ourselves of the tree cover as there were only three portaloos!) Photos taken (Pete posing ~ Kevin being 'dapper') we headed off for the 10 minute walk to the starting area. Discovering our first hill on the way (a downward slope) I got talking to a local dog walker about the conditions we could expect underfoot. He assured us that in-spite of all the torrential rain we had been having it wasn't too bad and there was no 'ankle deep mud'. Reassured, but then it is largely pine forest on freely draining sandy soils, but then you are never entirely sure that geography and geomorphology plus some ecology for good measure, don't just trap the unwary sometimes.


The race was to start at 9:00 and as I had a few minutes to kill, did  warm up jog along one of the paths.  Goodness me - it was pretty steep and I was breathing very hard in my warm up. If this was going to be the race gradients it was going to 'hurt'. The canine-cross runners went at 8:59 which much howling and barking from the dogs. Basically, these competitors run with their dogs attached to a special waist harness leaving their hands free. Some run with one dog, some two. The main skill seems to entail that the dogs keep running along the actual course and not attempt to hare off after some beguiling smells or the local wildlife/ mountain bikers/ runners/ other dogs ....etc.


A slightly different viewpoint and approach to the race can be gleaned from the photographer for the event ~ Sussex Sports Photography (http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/libraryhome.tlx). This photographer always does interesting blogs after the events he covers and even more importantly his downloads are cheap! For instance the blog on The Hurt is as follows: "When figuring out where to go to take the pictures I had a good look at the GPS map provided by the organisers on Garmin and imported it into Google Earth - which really lets you see the hills (oh dear!). Given the weather, the option of staying near the first loop and getting lots of multiple shots of people on the way out, then at 2.5 miles and finally as they returned to the finish was ruled out. It would have been lots of shots in the woods - dark, tricky and generally a bit repetitive.

However closer inspection showed the route went around the Cairn at the 6km mark on the corner of the route - where the Holmbury Hill Iron Age Fort was located. With a nice open sky, plenty of light meant for a great view in the background and a bit of context about how high the runners had managed to climb en-route.
The view was most definitely worth the run for the competitors, with about 20 "Wow look at the view" once they had turned to look from the path to the top. About 8 people stopped to take it in, one Mexican competitor (judging from the t-shirt with MEXICO across it and his accent) decided to take photos on his phone, so I concluded I'd got the right place on the course."


Getting a bit ahead of myself there, but on the stroke of 9am we were off. Pete was at the front of the pack and hared off, Kevin and I, more in keeping with our age set off somewhat more sedately about mid-way in the starting hoard. Initially, the going was gently uphill along reasonably firm surface, then it was around the corner and straight up the contours. Remember Race 4 ~ Run Rampage, with the alpine graded slopes? Well this was as steep but the going underfoot was stony and much harder going! 


Fortunately it was soon back to the 'gentle' uphill so an opportunity to go from gasping for breath to merely panting hard. This whole section was through some glorious pine woods with a predominantly bracken under-story. With the relatively recent rain you could smell the freshness of the soil, the pines and the sweetish scent of the bracken ~ if you could bottle it you could make a fortune (I know Haze air fresheners and the like claim ..... but compared with the real thing? - no!) After a loop around Pitch Hill, it was down a ridiculously steep slope (one we would return to but in the other direction) into a deeply incised 'V' shaped valley to find, unsurprisingly, we were expected to go straight up the other side. This was the first point of actually walking, it was just too steep.  It was at this point that I passed one of the runners (who'd eventually beat me) and we commiserated with each other at how steep it was. We then had a 'cat and mouse' encounter with him faster on the down-hills and me faster on the ups. Also true to form at the top of the slope was an irrepressible marshal who egged us on with a "there's worst to come!"     

It was at this point at the top of the hill, we found the photographer positioned. I'm not sure if he counted me in one of the 20 "wows" but the views towards the South Downs were incredible.  I think its partly because you come out of dense woodland and the sudden contrast exaggerates it, but it was truly spectacular. The photo shows me rounding the cairn and you can see the view in the background.  As I'm back in the area for Race 34, I'll try and get some photos of the views.


Kevin did a good spot and discovered some video footage of the race by the All About Triathlons (AAT) team - see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBMScKNigkE&feature=player_embedded or the race page at http://www.allabouttriathlons.co.uk/events_the-hurt.html. As he pointed out "[I] feature prominently - two appearances on the course, and one excellent 'Baywatch'-style slow motion running towards the camera!" See what you think?
Rather than do a blow by blow account of the race, slopes conquered, competitors overtaken/being overtaken by (including one woman who zoomed pasted me going uphill) I thought I'd just add two other abiding memories. Firstly where do AAT get the marshals from? They are all encouraging, cheerful and generally all round (for want of a better word) nice! The whole feel of a race can be made or ruined by such (relatively) small things ~ and so far all the ATT races I've done have a real "feel good" factor. Secondly, we weren't alone in these wood, there were others that had got up early to walk dogs, mountain bike etc.  Again they were all incredibly friendly/supportive when face with a sweaty, gasping athlete (I use the term loosely here) giving way, shouting encouragement and generally just being 'decent folk'.

Anyway enough of that, the last kilometre was 'mainly' downhill so I found I couldn't catch the chap I'd been chatting too (well more gasping the odd sentence more like as it could hardly be called a conversation) or the 'zooming' woman, but I did manage to finish with a bit of a canter. Pete finished with an impressive sprint, while Kevin finished with an enormous grin declaring "I really loved that!"   

We had a coffee/tea at the finished line and then headed back up the hill to the car-park field.  At this point it was obv ious that Kevin hadn't put quite enough effort into the race as he managed to run up the hill - mad & bonkers! 

Drive home uneventful apart from the police closing the road we needed but not to worry, Kevin with 'the knowledge' took us on the back routes, leaving me plenty of time to get home, shower, eat and then go out to south Croydon to pick up my carbon wheels to which 'tubs' had been glued, along with some other bits and pieces ~ more of which later.

So was it the "most challenging 10k trail run in the South East" well lets just say its the only one where I've been forced to walk up some of the slopes and did it "hurt" ~ just a bit!


RESULT: 28th out of 145 in a time of 53:03


The following information is from http://www.friendsofthehurtwood.co.uk/ (an aside - this is an amazing organisation that looks after and manages this whole area for public access who have, due to recent cutbacks, had their grant slashed).
The first surprise is that the name Hurtwood may not derive – as is generally believed - from the hurts (the local name for wild blueberries) whose bushes carpet the woods and hills, but from the Old English word ‘ceart’ or ‘churt’ meaning a rough common overrun with gorse, broom and bracken.
The second surprise is that although The Hurtwood is the largest area of commonland in Surrey, it is still privately owned. Most of it lies within two of the ancient manors that make up the Shere Manor Estate – the Manor of Gomshall Towerhill and part the Manor of ‘Shire cum Vacherie et Cranley’, which was given to Sir Reginald Bray by Henry VII over 500 years ago and has remained in the ownership of the Bray family ever since. Legend has it that the knight found Richard III’s crown in a thorn bush after his defeat at Bosworth Field and he presented the symbolic trophy to Henry. The manors were his reward.
The parts of the Hurtwood at Albury, Blackheath and Farley Heath lie within the Albury Estate, which is owned by the Duke of Northumberland.
By a twist of historical fate, the summit of Holmbury Hill, with the hillfort and Bray family memorial cairn, is part of the Ockley Estate.
PUBLIC ACCESS
At the time when elsewhere in England thousands of acres were being enclosed by their landowners, The Hurtwood remained accessible common land, where local people could exercise the rights of pasture for cattle, sheep and pigs and also goats and donkey, which were not considered ‘commonable cattle’; estovers – the right to cut underwood or bracken; and turbary - the right to dig turf or peat for use as fuel in the commoner’s house. The land was used and lived in by the cottagers and by Romany gypsies; it provided them with their daily necessities and was a busy place.
Only a few of these rights were ever formally registered but from time immemorial local people exercised unwritten rights and privileges and the Lord of the Manor honoured them: “I am not anxious to sell dead trees, as I want to leave plenty of dead trees for the cottagers to cut up as fuel”; “No stone should be dug where there is grass.  What grass there is, besides being ornamental, is very useful for grazing goats. I am most anxious to protect this.” Those words were written by RA. Bray, the Lord of the Manor of Shere not so very long ago - and it was R.A. Bray, ‘Reggie’ to his friends, who gave us The Hurtwood that we know today.
More than 90 years ago, Reggie Bray granted the public a ‘right to roam’ on The Hurtwood – one of the first estates in England to do so, thereby setting a pioneering example of a landowner welcoming the public on to his land and finding a way of working with the public that would benefit both the land and the people. The way to achieve this infinitely desirable goal was to create Hurtwood Control.
THE HURTWOOD CONTROL
Why Control? It sounds so fierce today, but in the early 1920s when it came into being, ‘control’ was what The Hurtwood most urgently needed, to protect it from the triple perils of Gypsies, motorists and fire. All three problems came to a head after the First World War. First to be tackled were the Gypsies.



GYPSIES
There had been Gypsies on the common for generations. While numbers were limited, they lived in harmony with the woodland and with their village neighbours. But when The Hurtwood became overrun by Gypsies, some of them criminal, action had to be taken. Reggie Bray allowed a maximum of 100 to stay in what became known as ‘the camp’. He issued a five shilling (25p) licence to each head of a family, allowing them to stay provided they behaved and disposed of their rubbish. The gypsies spent their money on drink and there were subsequent fights – so much so that the Windmill Inn was forbidden to serve them, as the men used to encourage the women to fight each other outside, resulting in crowded magistrates courts the following week.
There were valiant attempts by Cranleigh men to educate the gypsy children and in 1926 Surrey County Council founded the first gypsy school in England near Wickets Well, due north of Jelley’s Hollow, in what is now part of Winterfold Forest. It had a round 70 children.
Hurtwood cottagers whose memories go back to the early 20th century recall the gypsies of Peaslake and Holmbury as friendlier folk. These were the settled gypsies, but the sheer number of travellers moving into The Hurtwood after the war created real problems, terrorising local residents and despoiling the common to such an extent that the landowners, led by Reggie Bray, formed a committee to organise a patrol of the common, with a retired policeman to enforce order and keep the Gypsies under control. The committee was enthusiastically supported and was soon a great success though an article in Cranleigh Afternoon Women’s Institute’s scrapbook in 1949 begins:
A line of larches defines the boundary between the Manors of Shere and Albury. The ranger of the Shere Manor would chase the gypsies of the common and they would go through the larches and be safe on the Albury side. The Albury ranger would chase them away and they would mover their camp back through the larches to the Shere side and so it went on.

THE NEW THREAT WAS THE ADVENT OF THE COMBUSTION ENGINE.
Cars and motorcycles poured out of the London suburbs into the nearest unspoiled countryside and – as common lands are not permitted to be enclosed - they drove wherever they pleased heedless of the destruction in their wake. Reggie Bray wrote: “At present they come only to disfigure and destroy: by their reckless carelessness in throwing down lighted matches and cigarettes, or by lighting fires and boiling water, they are steadily devastating the commons. In a relatively short time the lands will be bare of trees and in a state they were 100 years ago when planting first began. I am afraid we regard the general public as destroying angels who come in motor cars.”
By 1924 the ‘angels’ had destroyed by fire more than a quarter of the entire forest -  including the south side of Holmbury Hill, much of Pitch Hill and part of Reynards Hill – all the most popular, and most beautiful, parts of The Hurtwood. How could this havoc be controlled?
The answer lay in the Law of Property Act 1925, which gave landowners the power to regulate public access to common land and particularly to prohibit motor cars and cycles except in authorised places; in return for these restrictions, the land would be dedicated to the public ‘for air and exercise’, for the purpose of ‘quiet enjoyment’.
SUMMER OF '76
Fire continues to be a hazard and the fire-breaks across Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill were created in the late 1960s early 70s. They proved their worth almost immediately when the 1976 drought wrought havoc across Surrey’s heaths and woodland. The Hurtwood escaped largely unscathed. The very wide rides from Hammonds Pond up to Holmbury Hill were created in the 1920s however, not as fire breaks but as racehorse gallops and the straight track from Blackheath Car Park to Farley Green was known as ‘the gallops’ and in the 1960s was regularly harrowed for the strings of racehorses that used it in the early mornings. More recently the rides were used for Husky rallies.

DEDICATION OF THE HURTWOOD
On October 13, 1926, the deed of dedication of The Hurtwood was signed by R.A. Bray and the Bray family has upheld the dedication ever since. The Duke of Northumberland also signed a deed of dedication.
Soon afterwards, the Hurtwood Control Committee was formed; a few basic rules and regulations were adopted, and subscriptions invited; tree planting resumed. The Hurtwood, as we know it, was reborn. In over three-quarters of a century since then, Hurtwood Control Committee has gone from strength to strength. It became a registered charity and established a network of Friends, whose loyal support makes it possible to maintain the beauty of the The Hurtwood and its access to a higher standard than ever before, for the benefit of an ever-increasing number of people. Most recently the Hurtwood Control renamed itself  Friends of the Hurtwood to better reflect the importance of Friends to the Hurtwood.
In 2000, the CROW (Countryside & Rights of Way) Act gave everyone the legal right to walk throughout common land – but The Hurtwood dedication goes further. It gives people permission to ride over The Hurtwood, either on horseback or on bicycle – and in recent years mountain bikers have become some of our most active supporters.
With no statutory funding, the committee relies on people who love The Hurtwood to contribute financial support so that this beautiful landscape can be maintained, the paths and views kept open and wildlife habitats protected.
The Hurtwood is dedicated to the public, and in return, we ask that our visitors respect  its forestry, its wildlife, and one another – and that, whenever possible, they become our Friends, to help the Friends of the Hurtwood to preserve and share the enjoyment of this unique place, in partnership with its landowners, and fulfil Reggie Bray’s vision for generations to come.
Archeology
The Hurtwood has been common land throughout the historic period, undergoing little change in land use until the late post-Medieval period when Scots pine were introduced and rapidly naturalised on the poor sandy soils. There was also a gradual cessation in traditional common rights such as turbary, grazing etc, which controlled the development of woodland and kept the commons open as heath and rough grass. In the Modern period The Hurtwood was used for military practice in both World Wars, resulting in the common being pockmarked by trenches and other types of military earthworks.
PREHISTORIC ACTIVITY
Isolated finds of flints of axe, spear and arrowheads indicate that Neolithic people (early farmers) were managing woodland and hunting across the Hurtwood area. However, the most striking evidence of prehistoric activity can be seen in the two rampart earthworks of the hillforts of Holmbury and Felday. These form part of a chain of such earthworks located on the Surrey Greensand Hills and overlooking The Weald.
Holmbury is the more substantial, comprising double ramparts to north and west which had stone revetments on the inner slope. The date is uncertain but the main ditch began to silt up between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The use and function of Holmbury is also unclear; remains of broken quern stones, used for grinding flour, suggest that these were used by those constructing the hillfort. No evidence of long-term occupation has been found within the enclosure made by the ramparts, suggesting that this single-phased structure was in use for only a short period. See Surrey Archaeological Societies Field report May 2009 for additional information
Felday Hillfort lies about half a mile to the north of Holmbury, overlooking the small hamlet of St Mary’s. This hillfort is dated from pottery recovered from ditch fill and dates it to about 100BC to AD70. It comprises a single rampart and ditch forming a C-shaped enclosure of approximately seven hectares on a north-facing promontory of the Greensand Hills and overlooking a north-south valley linking the Tillingbourne Valley with The Weald. The ramparts are slight and not well formed, suggesting that they may be unfinished. The absence of occupation evidence from the interior suggests that this may have been constructed as a stock enclosure. The two hillforts were not in use together and it is possible that Felday is unfinished. Several well-defined hollow ways lead up to the hillforts, indicating routes to them.
In the Medieval period the extensive area of The Hurtwood was laid claim to by a number of manors and utilised as common or manorial “waste” – a valuable commodity for grazing livestock and exploiting for fuel, food, woodland and minerals.
Manorial waste was land which was inferior to the arable, pasture and meadow in farming terms but which was used in common by the tenants for specific resources. The land itself belonged to the Lord of the Manor. The rights of the tenants were generally attached to property and not to the person. The administration of the common and its rights came under the jurisdiction of the Manorial Court. The main rights at The Hurtwood were those of cutting turf for fuel, furze and heath for bedding and also for fuel, digging of stone and the grazing of stock.
Characteristics of commons include funnel-shaped droves along which animals were driven, and the entrances to the common marked by a “gate” or “hatch”. Two gates are recorded in the 18th century at Holmbury Hill – Deacons and Joldens (Joldwyns) after the adjacent farms which probably had grazing rights on the hill. Another feature of commons are small enclosed coppice woods which appear to have been enclosed from the common (lying within its bounds) - for example, Spurfold and Ridings. These coppices were probably enclosed to prevent stock grazing the new coppice growth, and originally the underwood and timber may have been used to fence the common, mend gates and also provide wood for tools such as broom handles.
The earthwork banks and ditches bounding the coppices appear to be of considerable antiquity, given their size and shape.
Hurtwood Memories
These memories of the Hurtwood come from people who lived and enjoyed it during the 20th century. Beattie Plaw’s memories were recorded for the Heathland Countryside Management Project with funding from WWF. Tales were also provided by Nin and Jinx Tickner and Alice and Gerald Madgwick.
“The people up above Gasson weren’t real gypsies, they called themselves Heath-ers – ‘the people who lived on the heath’ and they were always there from generation to generation. They were supposed to be descendants of the Danes who were defeated at the Battle of Ockley and took to the hills, but they weren’t fair-haired people, they were mostly dark, so that answer was open to doubt – but it’s a lovely story.” Beattie Plaw.
“The gypsies were lovely people on the common – the old gypsies – one was called Dark Liza. They made clothes pegs and they used to come down in the village and sell them quite cheaply and everybody in the village used to keep a cup and saucer specially for old Dark Liza when she called – she was never turned away.” Nin Tickner.
“They lived in tents – under the benders – that’s where ‘come under the benders’ comes from. You bend the branches over and then throw a bit of tarpaulin or somebody’s old mac over it, and then leaf it again (with the leafy parts of the branches) and then it gradually mouldied down – almost like thatching in a way. It was always safe as houses to go up where the gypsies were.” Jinx Tickner.

“The main animals that were kept on the common were goats and sheep probably - and ponies or donkeys, and those were always tethered. The goats and the sheep were looked after by the children or the wives – when they weren’t tethered they were always kept an eye on by the womenfolk while the men were at work. They used to mind the cows around at Walking Bottom. The young boys, the farm hands, tended the cows. The cows went up on to the common for a time, but then people complained about the mess they made and it was stopped. There was too much mess!
Everyone had a few animals – not many – each cottage had one or two. The animals did a lot of good because the tethering chains used to get tangled around the fern (the bracken) and pull it up by the roots and that destroyed a lot of it.” Beattie Plaw.
“When people used to cut the bracken all along the back of their boundaries – at the back of their gardens – they cut it for apple pies. No, not that sort of pie! For storage through the winter – apple pies and potato pies. They used to bury them. They’d dig a hole - because you can’t dig very deep up at Holmbury before you come into sandstone – so they’d just scrape away and dig down about a spit (that’s the depth of a shovel) and then pile it up round the side to make a ring. Then they would line the hold with bracken and put their potatoes or apples in and cover it up with lots more bracken and then put earth on top of it and that was their store for the winter. Even if they stored their apples in a shed, it was always stored in bracken ‘cause that was just as good as straw and straw was a job it get.” Gerald Madgwick

“There was lots of juniper all over the commn. It began to die out quite soon after the First World War. I know the women used to make an ointment from juniper and make a drink that was good for rheumatism from the berries.” Beattie Plaw
“The heather was very tall. They used to use it quite a lot for thatching the outhouses. The men used to split the tree-trunks down into lengths like planks and make log shed and thatched them with heather. It lasted for a good many years, because I can remember people renewing the thatch but it wasn’t a thing that happened very often.” Beattie Plaw