Thanks to everyone who took part, especially those of you who were grappling with this kind of precise navigation for the first time. Very impressive winning time from Neil, who showed us all how to do it. As the GPS tracks show, there was great diversity of decision making, with some people charging at the controls a bit too fast without properly digesting the available information on the map.
With most of the controls I tried to pose a choice between risky direct lines and safe, but longer, "handrail" routes. I'll admit it was satisfying to see people splintering right from the start, although I thought the higher path route was obviously the fastest. Surprised to hear that quite a few of you went AWOL at control 2; I thought both the fence and the drainage ditch would provide bomb-proof guidance. A few of you seemed to struggle with 6 and 7. Dropping on to 6 was bound to be tough; there was no clear attack point. But if you skirted right to the path/plantation intersection it was possible to contour in quite precisely. As for control 7, I felt this was one of those occasions when that little magnifying glass on your compass might have come into play. A look through it would have revealed that neither the stream nor the inlet actually continued to Burbage Brook. Both were largely concealed by the tree line, but once you had broken through that it was a quick hop to the boulder.
Most people seemed to have most trouble getting from 4 to 5 if the talk afterwards was anything to go by. I tried to dangle the option of taking a straight line on a compass bearing and along the line of planting. When I put the control out I found this fast and pleasantly accurate. From what I can gather, only Pete Gorvett did it on the night. I should imagine he gained a huge advantage.
Anyway, it was great to hear people arguing the toss for so long afterwards and smiling through despite their torments. Hope to see you all next time. The format will change again but the map will stay the same, so some of you may want to spend some time studying it between now and then. No names mentioned, of course.
Dave