This is one of the very first tasks I signed up to when I joined SFØ. I had a location in mind soon after signing up. Why then, has it taken me over a year to actually complete it?
To be honest, it was probably initially lack of botheration. Then it just faded into the background, and for a while I forgot about it. Recently, now that exams have finished, my tasking drive is getting more powerful. I looked through the long list of old tasks I have, and found this. And I knew exactly what to do. So here it is.

In Queen's Park, there is a disused firing range. I don't know how long it's been abandoned, but it's never been used while I've lived here. I remember that a few years ago my sister and some of her friends went there, climbing over the low iron fence that surrounded it. I originally thought it would be as easy as that. But then I went there one weekend last summer, and found this:


There was a new wire fence around the area, about three times as high as the old iron one. I've never been able to climb these things, although I know some people find it easy. I walked around looking for any gaps in the fence, but there were none. I contented myself with taking a few photos and retreating back home to come up with a plan. Anywhere with a "keep out" sign on the gate just needs to be accessed...


This task then gradually floated to the back of my mind, and I did nothing about it for eleven months. Then, on rediscovering it, I knew exactly how I was going to get in. Buried under piles of stuff in the garage somewhere was a rope ladder my Dad had made many years ago, when we lived in a house with a climable tree in the garden. After a bit of searching I found it.


I took the ladder, along with my camera and tripod, to the park. I also brought my sister with me. You know, the one who helps me out with tasks quite a bit but refuses to get an account herself. Anyway, we arrived at the firing range, and made sure there was nobody watching. There had been some kind of event earlier in the day, and there were a couple of official-looking men in luminous yellow jackets walking around. Luckily, the area of fence we were going to climb was quite well hidden by trees.


Working together, we managed to get ourselves over the fence. To make sure nobody would become aware of our presence, we took the ladder down again when we were inside. I then had a look around, and took some photos. Some of them are a bit blurry. I was having focusing problems.


It was a nice place. The park itself is peaceful, but the firing range was somehow more so, maybe because of the isolation from the rest of the park. It's also in a kind of artificial pit, on lower ground than most of the surroundings. I think in the firing range, I may have found Bournemouth's answer to Burgh Castle. Except that it's harder to access.

I'll probably go back there. If I perfect the technique, I could probably be over the fence in a minute and take the ladder with me. Nobody would see me trespassing, and even if they did, I doubt they'd care really. The land is unused and difficult to access, and I hope it remains that way, because that's why I liked it so much.