Have you tried Sussex trig bagging? Because once you have, you may find it strangely addictive. Before long, you’ll be spotting a distant trig point and abandoning your walking companions to bound enthusiastically across the landscape in pursuit of it. Then comes the evidence: a photo of the trig point, a photo of you with the trig point and, naturally, a close-up of the all-important flush bracket, all carefully logged in your trig-bagging handbook or shared with fellow enthusiasts online (on the Sussex Exclusive Sussex Trig Point Facebook group).
Trust me, trig bagging is fun. It gives your walks a purpose, takes you to places you might never otherwise discover and, perhaps most importantly, gets you outside exploring Sussex. The only problem is that once you start, you may find you want to bag them all.
What is a trig point?
According to Ordnance Survey, the familiar trig pillars found on hilltops across Britain date back to the 1930s. Designed by Brigadier Martin Hotine in 1935, these four-foot-high concrete or stone columns formed part of an ambitious project to accurately remap Great Britain. The first was used for the retriangulation of Great Britain on 18 April 1936, and more than 6,500 were eventually installed across the country. Positioned at precisely recorded coordinates and elevations, the pillars formed a network of triangles from which surveyors could take accurate measurements. In principle, from each trig pillar it should have been possible to see at least two others although sadly, these days, this is rarely true (well, in Sussex it isn’t).
The pillars also provided a stable base for theodolites, the precision instruments used by surveying teams. The distinctive brass fitting on top, to which the equipment could be attached, is known as a ‘spider’. The network became essential as Britain underwent rapid development during the first half of the 20th century and existing surveying systems were no longer adequate for the detailed mapping required. Although thousands of trig pillars survive, many have disappeared as a result of housing development, farming and coastal erosion. Those that remain are an instantly recognisable part of the British landscape — and often a welcome sign that you’ve finally made it to the top of the hill.
Source: Ordnance Survey
What is trig bagging?
Trig bagging is, quite simply, the challenge of seeking out and ‘bagging’ trig pillars. Inspired by pursuits such as peak bagging and geocaching, it turns these remnants of Britain’s surveying history into destinations in their own right and a good excuse for a walk or run. There aren’t really any complicated rules. Find a trig pillar, make your way to it, touch it and tick it off your list. Some trig baggers photograph each pillar as a record of their visit, while others also photograph the flush bracket (the numbered metal plate found on the side of many pillars).
For some people it’s simply an added bit of fun on a country walk; for others, it becomes a serious collecting challenge. Websites such as TrigpointingUK allow enthusiasts to log their visits, upload photographs and keep track of how many they have bagged. But it can become quite an obsession. In April 2016, Rob Woodall completed a 14-year challenge to visit every surviving trig pillar in mainland Britain, having bagged more than 6,000 of them. For the rest of us, however, there’s no need to be quite so ambitious. Pick a handful close to home, lace up your walking boots and see where trig bagging takes you.
Sussex trig points and trig bagging
Sussex is a particularly good place to have a go at trig bagging, with more than 130 historic trig pillars scattered across East and West Sussex. You’ll find them on the South Downs, tucked away in the countryside and on some of the county’s highest points, making them a ready-made collection of destinations for anyone looking for a new walking challenge.
For those who want to take their trig bagging seriously, The Sussex Trig Bagger Challenge Logbook identifies 137 trig pillars across Sussex and provides the information needed to find them, including the trig name, flush bracket number, height, OS grid reference, nearest postcode, what3words location and a QR code. The idea is to work your way through the collection, recording each adventure as you go. There is space to note everything from the date, distance and walking companions to the weather, condition of the trig, how difficult it was to find and, perhaps most importantly, how much you enjoyed the walk and the views.
But you certainly don’t need to complete all 137. Choose one, then another, and see where the challenge takes you. Part of the appeal of trig bagging is that it gives you a reason to seek out corners of Sussex you might otherwise never think to explore. And if you’d like to share your discoveries, Sussex Exclusive also runs the Sussex Trig Points Facebook page, where you can post your finds, photographs and trig-bagging adventures.
If you have enjoyed this post about Sussex trig bagging, you may also like:
