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UK MEGA EVENT


John NW

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I think it may be best that I left this thread to carry on, without any more input from myself. I think the concept is a good one. But whoever takes up the reigns please remember that there is more to the UK than just England.

 

p.s. Scotland is within reach of Harrogate, or is that Harrogate is within reach of Scotland...

 

I had the pleasure of meeting HH (Haggis Hunter) at one of my meets recently

 

HH (Harrogate Hunter)

 

p.p.s. There must also be flights from Ireland to Leeds/Bradford !!! LOL !

 

p.p.p.s. Leeds/Bradford also flys to a certain Cornwall Airport daily !

 

well thats pulled us all together...

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OK I am up for it !!!

 

So how does anyone fancy Harrogate.....

 

10 mins from A1.....A1 linked to M1......

 

30 mins from Leeds

 

Leeds / Bradford Airport 20 miles away !

 

As you know I have been involved now with the North Yorkshire Meet for 4 years which I believe is the largest DAY event at present in England which does not include camping etc etc

 

So have a bit of experiance with organising....

 

BUT I NEED HELP !

 

Not only do we need a general committee members but we also need all the cachers in Britain with contacts and their individal skills..

 

e.g. in order to keep costs down we need people with PA systems to borrow for the event, marquees, food wagons etc etc

 

So...

 

Keep the thread going and those interested keep me informed....

 

 

Harrogate sounds like a great option. Not only for the reasons stated by HH but for the sheer number of caches in the area.

 

The Harrogate events are always extremely well organised and great fun. The weather is always fantastic too.

 

Sadly, I won't be able to help out due to an ever expanding family, work and house moves.

Good luck to the brave people who take up the organisation.

Chris

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This sounds great and we should really try to make it happen. We're happy to help organise, my job is programme management.

 

An organising team would be the best way to bring together skills and knowledge, how about:

Local coord (co-ord new caches, liaise with site)

Publicity/marketing

Daytime events co-ord (with individuals owning separate activities)

Evening co-ord (BBQ etc)

Website

Attendance co-ord (track numbers, get everyone to sign logbook)

Travel co-ord (find cheap accommodation, share lifts

 

Another possibility to increase logbook numbers would be to run an event like Swindon which was describing/demonstrating caching to the public; if the public want to sign the logbook and better still open a geocaching account / log the event whilst at the event (via Lactodorum's WiFi connection) then we'll push up our numbers.

 

I've started a Poll on GAGB for people to indicate their preferred date and also preferred location.

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i really hope this takes off and dosnt just stop at the talking about it stage.it would be something really fantastic event.

and for my pennys worth i think yorkshire would be the best place to hold it.

i would be pleased to lend any assistance.

SO COME ON THEN WHOS GOING TO TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS AND GET THE BALL ROLLING.

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If you host it, they will come. I don't think it would matter when you held the event I'd be there for the icon come hell or high water :unsure:.

If you have it in Yorkshire, you could use the airstrip the Hamster tried to kill himself on and you could invite the chap over to say a few words. If you're the charitable type you could invite the chopper crew to show off their machine and take dudes for rides :ph34r:

Is that a big enough "PULL" I know chickenpooooo thinks the hamsters rather sweet :rolleyes:

 

Aiiiiii

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i really hope this takes off and dosnt just stop at the talking about it stage.it would be something really fantastic event.

and for my pennys worth i think yorkshire would be the best place to hold it.

i would be pleased to lend any assistance.

SO COME ON THEN WHOS GOING TO TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS AND GET THE BALL ROLLING.

It's worth getting this right - we don't have to do it all today.

 

OK - LET'S GO FOR IT! I'M IN!

 

Things to be decided (V0.1) -

1 - Go for it? ... Darn right!

2 - General location? ... Accessible to lots of Brits and more...

3 - Specific location? ... Amenities, caching potential and more...

4 - Organised by? ... small group of willing people: some localish, some with events experience, some experienced cachers, some with kit/skills to offer and more...?

 

I think it would be good to base it on a successful existing event - Maybe I'm wrong?

 

Now I'm cr4p at managing projects - lucky if I remember to take my GPS when I go caching :rolleyes: but I can do my bit as part of a team - I have a winning combination of natural enthusiasm and learnt cynicism.

 

Not everyone is going to like whatever is decided but c'est la vie. We do our best.

 

So - General and specific location?

These kind of go together. We want something in central UK - not forgetting that the SE has a huge population (and I'm speaking from Cheshire), and that there is still 100's of miles going North of Manchester!

 

So Cumbria, Lancs, Yorks, Derbys, Staffs, Leics, Warwickshire area would be good. In my opinion Cumbria and Yorks is too far North.

 

We need a great venue? The ideas we had like Billing Aquadrome are promising but a bit South maybe? Harrogate seems popular? The Peak District is a good central location with plenty of caching potential but untried...?

 

Organisers

Well I'll do my bit at least until the event planning is well underway, and if it's feasible I'll stick with it to the end.

 

The important thing is that the organisers can be relied on to deliver a successful event.

 

And wherever is chosen, we can always try moving it to a new location in 2009 (2010?) The more the merrier!

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Lots of opinions, so here are some of mine

 

It is already too late to organise an event of this scale for next year, 2009 would be more realistic.

 

To have the best chance of cachers being able to attend, the event needs to be over a couple of days (3 at least), obviously people would only need to pop in and sign the book to be classed as attended.

 

There is no way that this can be organised without some finances up front, so people may need to put their hands deep in their pockets to enable the organisers to pay up front for marquees, portaloos and the venue.

 

As far as recouping the outlay, geocoins, T-shirts etc would need to be designed and sold.

 

This will all need to be organised by a comittee, with someone who has strong management skills.

 

Rather than all these opinions and random thoughts, someone needs to act and put themselves up to lead the comittee, the rest of us will follow (I know I am not up to the leading job, and anyway am based too far south)

 

Having said all that, put me down for contributions of time effort or money to help get this one done.

Edited by The Royles
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What's wrong with 500 people in a field? I don't get all this money thing guys, I mean if I know we're headed for a field I'll bring along a hot drink and a hip flask. Unless ofcourse you need to be inside and need food vans and need cotton wool.

Can't we just meet up, get a smile and an icon?

 

Aii

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What's wrong with 500 people in a field? I don't get all this money thing guys, I mean if I know we're headed for a field I'll bring along a hot drink and a hip flask. Unless ofcourse you need to be inside and need food vans and need cotton wool.

Can't we just meet up, get a smile and an icon?

 

Aii

 

I am up for meeting in a field, but I seriously doubt that you will get 500 people to agree to that, and the local authorities may want a say in it.

 

It isnt about "cotton wool" it is about making it more appealing, as well as ensuring it is run responsibly and safely.

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What's wrong with 500 people in a field? I don't get all this money thing guys, I mean if I know we're headed for a field I'll bring along a hot drink and a hip flask. Unless ofcourse you need to be inside and need food vans and need cotton wool.

Can't we just meet up, get a smile and an icon?

 

Aii

 

Whatever way you look at it 500 people is a big gathering and we will have all kinds of busybodys wanting risk assessments, public liabilty insurance etc... which costs money of course. Not to mention people will be travelling a long way so we should really make it special.

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There is a location which would be free, has lots of space inside or out, offer free camping, parking and free WiFi. I think I could persaude the manager to allow us to have the MegaEvent there, particularly if we offered to run a demo event for the public in addition to our own activities. If we had geocaching education seminars on a variety of topics, that would also help. Lacto could approve the new caches as fast as people can place them nearby. And we could sign up suitable members of the public to GC.com on the spot, helping towards our total of 500.

 

Unfortunately it's near Swindon (the Science Museum).

 

If that's too far South, has anyone got suitable locations elsewhere?

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Hello I'm new to all this, but I was thinking. Why does the Mega event have to be in one location?

 

If you centre it around the signing of 1 single cache, the organizers can organize 3 coordinates in the uk that the cache will be placed in one weekend.

 

The aim of course to achieve 500 signatures and a Mega Event.

 

Addition: 500 Special Addition 2008 Geocoins for every participant would be a great incentive to join in.

Edited by arlowa
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There is a location which would be free, has lots of space inside or out, offer free camping, parking and free WiFi. I think I could persaude the manager to allow us to have the MegaEvent there, particularly if we offered to run a demo event for the public in addition to our own activities. If we had geocaching education seminars on a variety of topics, that would also help. Lacto could approve the new caches as fast as people can place them nearby. And we could sign up suitable members of the public to GC.com on the spot, helping towards our total of 500.

 

Unfortunately it's near Swindon (the Science Museum).

 

If that's too far South, has anyone got suitable locations elsewhere?

 

good idea, choose a location that is already set up to cater for those sort of numbers removes a large amount of planning.

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The Center point of the Great Britain is somewhere in Lancashire, so wouldn't it make more sense to think about somewhere within reach of Manchester?

Good transport links, and the biggest airport outside of London.

Is that the demographic or geografic centre point?

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There is a location which would be free, has lots of space inside or out, offer free camping, parking and free WiFi. I think I could persaude the manager to allow us to have the MegaEvent there, particularly if we offered to run a demo event for the public in addition to our own activities. If we had geocaching education seminars on a variety of topics, that would also help. Lacto could approve the new caches as fast as people can place them nearby. And we could sign up suitable members of the public to GC.com on the spot, helping towards our total of 500.

 

Unfortunately it's near Swindon (the Science Museum).

 

If that's too far South, has anyone got suitable locations elsewhere?

 

Sounds like a great suggestion. A ready made location just waiting for us.

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The Center point of the Great Britain is somewhere in Lancashire, so wouldn't it make more sense to think about somewhere within reach of Manchester?

Good transport links, and the biggest airport outside of London.

Is that the demographic or geografic centre point?

 

That's geographic.

 

It might be a more sensible idea to look at the center point of all UK caches - I've just had my computer calculate it from gsak, but the fake coords for a few puzzles which are in the atlantic have thrown it off "slightly".

 

Give me half an hour and I'll have a better answer.

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There is a location which would be free, has lots of space inside or out, offer free camping, parking and free WiFi. I think I could persaude the manager to allow us to have the MegaEvent there, particularly if we offered to run a demo event for the public in addition to our own activities. If we had geocaching education seminars on a variety of topics, that would also help. Lacto could approve the new caches as fast as people can place them nearby. And we could sign up suitable members of the public to GC.com on the spot, helping towards our total of 500.

 

Unfortunately it's near Swindon (the Science Museum).

 

 

We appreciate that Swindon is a long way south, but it is very handy for the M4, rail links and Bristol airport. We've been to the venue and it seems ideal in many ways, also the local hotels are not expensive and it doesn't get full of tourists in the summer months. If Swindon was chosen, we'd gladly help out and would definately place some new caches to coincide.

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OK.

The center point of all UK caches should be a good indication of the center point of where all UK cachers live.

 

Excluding the Shetland Islands, but including Northern Ireland, the center point is within a mile or two of This Cache - slap bang in the middle of The Lake District.

 

I'll run the Centroid calculation again, but for mainland Britain only this time, and see what that comes up with.

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We'll I'm stuck down in Cornwall so anywhere is pretty much a long journey for me.

 

In a previous life I used to run a large campsite for the Scouts and organise events for up to 20000 kids a day.

 

It may be worth thinking that the UK Scouts do own some large campsites with some amazing facilities in numerous locations around the UK. But, a) I expect it is now too late to get a booking in :ph34r: August would be their most busy time anyway.

 

What about some of the County Agricultural Showgrounds? Certainly the Cornwall one has loads of space, a good infrastructure in place, toilets, showers buildings etc.

 

I'm sort of happy to help organise things, if doesn't involve meetings in Harrogate!

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OK.

The center point of all UK caches should be a good indication of the center point of where all UK cachers live.

 

Excluding the Shetland Islands, but including Northern Ireland, the center point is within a mile or two of This Cache - slap bang in the middle of The Lake District.

 

I'll run the Centroid calculation again, but for mainland Britain only this time, and see what that comes up with.

 

I think the Lake district is a bad idea if it's going to be anytime during school holidays. It's going to be packed, there will be difficulty finding accomodation, and many places won't take weekend bookings during the peak season anyway.

 

In terms of finding the geocaching centre I think Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man should both be excluded like the Shetlands; after all people coming from both places would have to use an airport or ferry so it's more imortant for them that the location is near these facilities rather than being geographically close to their home.

 

Of the options mentioned so far I think Swindon has a lot going for it 'cos there is already lots of infrastructure in place there, we probably wouldn't need marquees or anything sophisticated 'cos the place is covered with aircraft hangers. Swindon is just off the M4 and on the mainline London<->Westcountry/Wales rail line, Bristol airport isn't far away and is served by cheap operators from the UK and Europe and you can get from the airport to Swindon by trian.

 

Edit to add: As part of the organisation we could arrange for a few people to run a shuttle service from the station to pick up anyone arriving by train?

 

After Swindon I'd go for the Harrogate option as being more central for everyone. I did vote for Harrogate on the GCUK poll but that was before Swindon was suggested.

 

Wherever it is it sounds like a great idea, and we're up for it (4 of us with 3 gaching names between us), if it's Swindon we might even bring Grandma along :ph34r:

Edited by MartyBartfast
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Harrogate has a large showground where the Great Yorkshire Show is held every year, so the facilities should be there.

 

I've recalculated the caching center of mainland England, Scotland & Wales.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/gmnearest.a...;zm=12&mt=m

Obviously not a good spot, but it's not too far from the M6.

 

I've no personal agenda in this, but I think somewhere along the M6 corridor would make sense.

It's central to all UK caches, and therefore all UK cachers (not just the small number who use this forum), and has good links to Scotland.

A venue closer to Preston could be better, as Preston is a main hub on the East Coast Mainline, and is not too far from Manchester Airport.

 

Just my two-pence-worth.

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There is a location which would be free, has lots of space inside or out, offer free camping, parking and free WiFi. I think I could persaude the manager to allow us to have the MegaEvent there, particularly if we offered to run a demo event for the public in addition to our own activities. If we had geocaching education seminars on a variety of topics, that would also help. Lacto could approve the new caches as fast as people can place them nearby. And we could sign up suitable members of the public to GC.com on the spot, helping towards our total of 500.

 

Unfortunately it's near Swindon (the Science Museum).

 

If that's too far South, has anyone got suitable locations elsewhere?

 

There's an awful lot to be said for a tried and tested site.

 

Goodwill is priceless ...

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I don't mean to put a downer on this but until someone puts there hand up and volunteers to lead/own this event then we're all wasting our time trying to work out the wheres and whens.

 

I've scanned the previous replies and no one jumps out at me as the person willing to do this.

 

So, please, who's leading this event? :ph34r:

 

I'm with the Lavender Hill Mob on this. We're all suggesting lots of different locations, and because we're all human, they'll all be for mildly selfish reasons. An area of the country we particularly like, an area of the country we can easily get to. It needs to be the organiser to stipulate where it will be, as it will the organiser doing all the liaising with which ever venue is chosen to host the Mega-Event.

 

And people will travel! We all tend to put miles on our cars and incur public transport costs whilst going to hunt out little boxes of tupperware. We'll do the same to attend a Mega-Event. Wherever the organiser decides to place the Mega-Event.

 

So maybe we're all getting excited over nothing - and I'm not volunteering - but who is actually going to step forward and organise a Mega Event?

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but who is actually going to step forward and organise a Mega Event?

We can talk (or type) until the cows come home but someone needs to own this.

 

If no one's willing to do it then the thread might as well be closed.

 

I have no experience of events but I'm willing to help like a lot of other people but as scottpa100 says

 

"who is actually going to step forward and organise this Mega Event?"

 

Once that's established then it can move forward.

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OK I am up for it !!!

 

So how does anyone fancy Harrogate.....

 

10 mins from A1.....A1 linked to M1......

 

30 mins from Leeds

 

Leeds / Bradford Airport 20 miles away !

 

Harrogate - BRILLIANT!!

 

GO FOR IT!!

 

Excellent location for all.

 

Swindon to Harrogate - 4 hours by car

 

Perth to Harrogate - 5 hours by car

 

Both 'doo-able'

Edited by perth pathfinders
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Exeter,No................

 

Have to agree - it's 300 miles each way, and would turn a weekend event into a £200+, 4 day, expedition from here.....and unfortunately my addiction and lust for new trackable icons just doesn't stretch that far... :ph34r::ph34r:

OK if I were going to turn it into a holiday, but that's already planned for next year :D

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I am still watching and listening......

 

So if it is Harrogate, the next step is to organise a meeting and get some people on seats around the table and trash out the basics....

 

So if you want me to make the move shout and I will organise first meeting in very early January...

 

lets say second Saturday....

 

I have the facilities for a meeting, I own my own business and have my own board room, parking etc etc which can cope with up to 20 attendees !!!

 

So If you want me to chair this.... pop your suggestions down here and email me...

 

robin@harrogatehunters.org (same as my profile)

 

BUT

 

Keep the suggestions and this topics open... the more posts from all around the country the better.... I have learnt so much and I have jotted down some great ideas tpo discuss

 

Dont forget no matter how good the organisers are we still need ALL the cachers in this country.... not only to attend, but ideas for the day/days/weekend/field event etc etc

 

Robin

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Harrogate seems ideal to me ....

 

but then again I do live there :ph34r:

 

But on a serious note it is a fairly good location to get to by rail, road or plane.

 

It has a lot of a wide range styles of accomadation for those who want to make more than a day of it.

 

Also a high density of caches in the area so a good reason to get there

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Look.

 

I'm something of a new player. I recognise that experience in events means a lot if we are going to graduate from "event" to MEGA EVENT. So, I propose that we centre our efforts on an existing regular event. I have no axe to grind. Even though I want to be involved in quite a big way.

 

I'd be willing to play a part but we need a real eventer to take on what will be a huge responsibilty. And that person would best have i) experience and ii) be local-ish to the event.

 

I like the idea of the event on more than one location if that's in the rules whatever they are:

 

How about this: "NORTH AND SOUTH"

- one site in N England (sorry Scots) and one way down South?

 

And as somebody already said in this thread: build it and they will come!

 

GO TEAM UK!

Edited by Dizzley
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Our annual Cornish get together attracts 80 or 90 for lunch in a Pub, so surely half the country should be able to get to 500?

 

Why not do Swindon and Harrogate - North and South - I for one wouldn't drive to Harrogate, but Swindon's drivable in a day - there and back if needed.

 

And if we're not careful this is going to be another "Big Quest" when we need a "Little Quest" approach me thinks.

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Exeter,No................

 

Have to agree - it's 300 miles each way, and would turn a weekend event into a £200+, 4 day, expedition from here.....and unfortunately my addiction and lust for new trackable icons just doesn't stretch that far... :):)

OK if I were going to turn it into a holiday, but that's already planned for next year :)

 

Grouping local cachers together to hire a minibus and get 17 of us to the Mega Event location (tents included) for a day or two would make it quite affordable. I have a contact at a minibus hire place so when we know where the event is, I'll happily organise a "locals" group visit. It would be a right laugh I think!

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Having been to a couple of Harrogate Hunters events I can confirm that they were well planned and in my opinion Robin would be well qualified to head up the team for the event.

 

As with everyone else I would help as much as I can (currently scheduled for being off the first week in August) and would attend the meeting in January but am going to Dublin for an event there (50 pound return for 2 on Ryanair). :)

 

As for the location I would suggest keeping it near Harrogate mainly for Robin’s local knowledge of the area and fairly central location. While this will not keep everyone happy but no place would, it is a good place to start. I remember reading the forums about the Geowoodstock events and similar comments about where to have it (east coast or west coast remembering that it’s 3,000 miles apart not 300 miles) and it gets moved around the US every year. We could look at 2009’s Mega event to be held elsewhere (Swindon, Scotland, Cornwall ???) plus the knowledge gained from 2008 would prove invaluable. While I might be accused of being biased being 2 hours away, I have attended 5 events over 200 miles away and would more than likely attend this one if it was further south.

 

Robin is spot on about the planning and to start as soon as possible I know they start at least a full year ahead of the event for the Geowoodstock events. Having been fortunate enough to attend one there are a lot of people to be catered to but was pretty well organized overall. The main stopping place was the campground but there were people in various local motels and other camp grounds. We spent more time running into other cachers finding caches than at the actual meet but did meet up with a few at the meet.

 

As for two events held the same time I believe it will be a no goer as the recent Flash Mob events held worldwide attracted over 4000 people and it was still a normal event icon even as we all met at the same time.

 

86 teams attended the Shrops 2006 event with72 team attending the 2007 Shrops event even the London bash It’s Pay Back Time albeit there was short noticed only attracted 85 teams (any other widely attended events I missed?). I’m not sure about the actual numbers at the event or if there was a head count but I think it would be difficult to come up with the numbers just from the UK and would need to bring cachers from neighboring countries. There are large caching communities from Norway, Sweden, Germany Denmark and The Netherlands and would need something worth their while as well as those traveling a distance from the UK.

 

Robin has offered to take up the reins and offered a location and most importantly is planning now for it. I think it is doable in the UK and offer your support, thoughts and advice to Robin to get it off the ground whether my email or the January meeting.

 

Edited to add seconder to Rutson's post

Edited by G Force
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The trick will be locating somewhere with the space, not only for the camping, but the event area itself. Buildings or marquees will be needed for catering, control/check-in, TB swaps etc. Also vendors will want an area to set up. Somewhere like regional showgrounds have all these facilities but will cost. Otherwise it is places like Billing Aquadrome that are set up to handle camping rallies.

 

The problem with marquees is cost, I will throw a idea into the mix if it works or not is another thing - GAGB is set up with a constitution, along with the committee it maybe could be to tap into some funding from Awards for All or there may be other sources available :)

Edited by Munkeh
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John O' Groats to Harrogate = 477 miles driving

Land's End to Harrogate = 414 miles driving

 

It seems pretty central for 'everyone' to me, and has a regional showground as mentioned before.

 

Robin: If you go ahead and take the reins I'll be happy to lend a hand, though I couldn't get over to any meetings until I get a car.

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So If you want me to chair this....

Thank the Lord............we now have a lead. Way to go Robin. Seconded.

 

Now we need a time and place.

 

August or June, Harrogate and/or Swindon, one event or two?

 

BTW, has anyone noticed how many hits this topic has had! this thread was started yesterday.....nearly 2,000 hits.........build it and they will come.

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