Sundial trails competition 2012
entry regulations and guidance

Draft notes on writing sundial trails and entry requirements

• That the trails should include some interesting sundials
• That there should be clear description of how to find the start point, and then how to get from one sundial to another
• And that the text should encourage anyone (whether interested in sundials or not) to spend a half-day or more doing the trail.

Mandatory requirements.

1. You must submit your sundial trail by Email to info@sundials.co.uk before noon GMT on 31st January 2013.
2. The entry must be in the form of a document in Microsoft Word, a document in a .txt file, an HTML document, or a pdf document
3. Word or text files must indicate where pictures are to be inserted (e.g. picture 1 here). The picture itself may also be inserted in a Word file if you wish. We will recast Word and txt files as HTML documents which you can inspect and comment on before they become publicly available.
4. Documents in HTML will be topped and tailed to incorporate the house style of sundials.co.uk
5. A pdf document must incorporate a header and footer to make it clear that it belongs to the sundial trail family. If you intend to submit a document in this formation, you must notify us before 10 January 2011, and we will send you the necessary images to incorporate in your entry
6. Except for entries to be submitted in pdf format, pictures must be in jpg format, and numbered consecutively with a title reflecting the name of the trail (e.g. nottingham01.jpg etc). Images should if possible be resized to 350 pixels wide (please ask if you need help doing this)
7. Sundial trails must be complete in themselves. (I.e. They must not require reference to any other web page to convey the basic requirements of the trail) They may have links to other pages for such matters as maps, opening hours, additional information on the dials or places visited, and in the acknowledgment to the author)
8. By submitting a trail, the author gives unlimited permission for www.sundials.co.uk to use the text and pictures in its web pages, subject to due acknowledgment to the author and to their copyright of the material
9. Sundials must be accessible to visitors, though not necessarily at all times. For example, they may be accessible only during the opening hours of a museum, park, or other facility. If there is a charge for access, this should be stated (e.g. adult tickets £4 in 2010)
10. Sundials, which can be easily vandalised or stolen, must not be included in sundial trails. (This applies, particularly and unfortunately, to horizontal sundials of historic interest.
11. The prizes will be allocated by the judges in their absolute discretion. One or both of the prizes may be withheld if the entries do not attain a sufficient standard. The prizewinners will be notified as early as possible after the closing date, and their names posted on www.sundials.co.uk. No correspondence will be entered into.
12. Entries may be in any language, preferably in the language of the country where the trail is located. Entries in languages other than English should have an English translation. Both will be posted on www.sundials.co.uk

Suggestions

1. Research your trail. If you live in the UK, the British Sundial Society register gives lists of all the sundials we know about, divided by county. (If you are not yet a member, it is worth joining, see www.sundialsoc.org.uk) If you are looking to do a trail elsewhere, there are some early trails in France and in England listed /here/ which are so far from current standards that a revision would be accepted as a valid entry in the competition.
2. It is best not to have too few or too many sundials in a trail. Normally, between 4 and 12 is a good number. Depending on mode of travel and distance, these can usually be covered within a day. But some places, such as Tasmania, do not have as many as 4 dials, but it is still worth having a sundial trail for it, particularly since one of the dials is very unusual. If there are more than 12 dials on a trail, it is usually best to pick the best, and to refer very briefly to the others (e.g.. There is also a badly weathered vertical dial nearby on the church porch at......)
3. Choose a sunny day and visit all of your sundials in order, taking several pictures of each, so that you can choose the best one. Also make careful notes of your route (street names, conspicuous buildings, road numbers, etc) as you go.
4. Your text will be easier to follow if your descriptions of the sundials and places are separate from the route information. (Some people italicise the route information, which seems to work well)
5. You do not have to include a map, though it may make your trail easier to follow if you do. If you have a map, the position of each of the sundials and any street names mentioned in the directions should be included in it. Also, it is best to number the sundials on the map and in the text, so that everything is absolutely clear.
6. It is helpful to some readers to include some geographical information. Dials in the UK can have their Sundial Register numbers, National Grid references, and/or at and long details included. If you have a Santa, you may be able to save a track file for your sundial trail. If you are conversant with Gaggle Maps, you can create a track there and put the BURL address of the track in your trail. Another possibility is to create a waypoint for each sundial on http://www.waypoint.org/. This is a fast developing field; these aids to finding the sundials in your trail are not essential, but can make it easier for people following your trail