Here's some of the nice things folk have had to say about the Purple Thistle in the past
Purple Thistle 2010:
Jon Hollingdale posting on Nopesport
Just back home from an excellent Purple Thistle: great area, fantastic weather, very tough courses, especially on Day 1 - not very many folk going sub 10 mins / km (too distracted by the views, I guess). "And in the best of 2010 thread:
best planning: I thought both days of the Purple Thistle were excellent - very challenging, & I was glad I opted for "medium". Good atmosphere too."Martin Dean
" Vvery tough and technical orienteering and, given the great weather, fantastic views of the Isle of Skye and surrounding hills and lochs. I ran the Mighty Thistle which [...] more than lived up to its name!"Andy Dale on Attackpoint
" More runnable than yesterday and the orienteering was trickier, so it felt more like racing... What a weekend - absolutely destroyed!"Shearer family on the Ecko website
" Having never been to the “PT” before I really enjoyed the easy going attitude of everyone involved and found the weekend very relaxing. To be recommended to anyone who’s never been."Janet Clark
" Thanks very much for a great weekend - much enjoyed (in spite of our v bad results on Day 2....) - fantastic location."Tim Sowood
"Heartfelt thanks for staging the Purple Thistle in our “backyard”. Brooner's pre-race warning to us locals “If you thought you knew Balmacara – think again....” proved all too true. What we do know is how lucky we are to have such a wonderful though tough area with fantastic views and what a pleasure it was to be able to share it with like-minded people from further-a-field."
Purple Thistle 2008:
Iain Webb posting on Nopesport
"Just to add my thanks to the Nope organising/planning team as well as the SI crew and the few extra helpers - a perfect demonstration of how to organise and run two days of top-notch orienteering on cracking areas, plus a sprint thrown into the mix as well, with minimal fuss and without the need for dozens of volunteers. Most definitely worth the long weekend up in Scotland - would highly recommend it to everyone!"Mike Garvin posting on Nopesport
"Big cheers to brooner, wattok, ed and everyone else involved. Best weekend of the year, just as it was in 2006."Dave Schorah on Attackpoint
"White Rose? You should have been at the Purple Thistle...it was amazing, really tough, challenging areas rather than 12km of brashing running..."
Purple Thistle 2006:
Dave Godfree posting on Nopesport
"Another excellent day's orienteering today.Roger Jackson posting on Nopesport
A great weekend.... tough, exhausting, wonderful terrain.... many thanks for the opportunity to run there."
"Very technical, very tough. Well done Brooner & Co."Mark Nixon posting on Nopesport
"An awesome weekend, many thanks to many people, especially brooner and becky, wattok et al,Steve Watkins posting on Nopesport
One of the best weekends of orienteering I have ever done."
"Here's some more heartfelt thanks to everyone for organising a great weekend. Tough but absorbing orienteering meant the (extended) times out in the forest just flew by. Definitely worth the drive!"Ben Roberts posting on Nopesport
"congratulations on being responsible for my worst mins/km ever....
nevertheless i did enjoy it! "
Purple Thistle 2005:
Robin Strain posting on Nopesport
"Thanks to Brooner, Pyrat, Wattok and the rest of [Nope] for a most enjoyable weekend. There was not a lot they could do about Sunday's weather which meant that only the keenest, most foolish, or most masochistic ventured back onto Arisaig's challenging terrain. Too challenging for me anyway!"Helen Palmer posting on Nopesport
"It was class. I only wish it was bank holiday in Scotland so I could've stayed up there.Rob Hickling posting on Nopesport
Running on Arisaig was a real treat, even on Day 2 the orienteering was fantastic"
"Thanks for a really enjoyable couple of runs on Arisaig."Martin Ward posting on Nopesport
"Good crack down the pub on Saturday night..."
"Thanks guys - we enjoyed the weekend, despite Sunday's weather. Looking forward to PT'06"Steve Watkins posting on Nopesport
"Great event, very big thank you to all involved in putting it on.Stephen Granger-Bevan posting on Nopesport
I really enjoyed both the individual days. Physical terrain plus demanding courses required plenty of concentration."
"The event was brilliant, you made a great choice of area, the relay format was inspired and made good use of a small area. Shame about the weather but it made Day 2 that bit more of a technical challenge.Roger Lott e-mail
Hoping to be back next year!"
"great idea, great area and well done for putting it on."Peter Haines e-mail
"Thanks for putting it on, a heroic effort by you all, and I hope one you will be able to repeat."Simon Willis e-mail
"The Purple thistle was my first orienteering event and I thoroughly enjoyed it, so thanks for the organisation. I learnt a hell of a lot - particularly the map!"Lindsey Esson in Gramp Newsletter
"Full marks to Ally Brunton and Co for the foresight to organise a weekend to this lovely part of Scotland.
...2 and a half hours after I began I had completed the 4.9km short course and had enjoyed every minute of it.
The weekend was well worth the long journey and perhaps next time the weather will be better for both days. Grateful thanks to all the Organisers and Planners for a job well done and appreciated by me."
