The first event in the 2020 Saturday series will take place on 25th January 2020 at Tandle Hill Country Park.

These local Saturday afternoon events are ideal for newcomers to the sport, as well as offering a technical course for more established orienteers.

Tandle Hill Country Park consists of approximately 110 acres, a combination of beech woodland and open grassland. The park contains a countryside centre, picnic areas, children’s play area and numerous trails and paths. The open woodland is some of the most pleasant runnable forest you will find – if it were a bit bigger it would one of the UK’s premier orienteering venues!

Location: Tandle Hill Road, Royton, OL2 5UX. Parking is at the end of the road. 

Registration: 1130-1300 at the cafe adjacent to the car park (turn right as you come into the park)

Starts: 1200-1400.

Entry Fee: £4 for adults, £2 juniors, SI card hire is free (though there is a charge for lost cards)

Courses 

As usual, there will a choice of three courses:

• Yellow (ideal for newcomers and younger juniors)
• Orange (slightly longer and slightly more tricky navigation, ideal for older juniors and adults new to the sport)
• Technical (offering more navigational challenge and length for those who have orienteered before

The start is near the café so a great opportunity for post-run refreshment!

New to orienteering?

It’s a trail run (and often an off-trail run!) with a difference – an orienteering race doesn’t follow a set route. Instead you have to visit a series of checkpoints and register each one with an electronic timing chip. The checkpoints are marked by flags on the ground and may be along paths, earth banks, streams or anywhere in the woods or around the woods. The challenge is to race between each one, choosing your own route between the checkpoints, using a special orienteering map (which you get to keep too). Why not come and give it a go?