Orienteering is a wonderful sport in so many ways, and is a perfect way to develop your map and compass skills for both the individual and the competent navigator. The aim is to navigate between a series of pre-defined ‘control’ points on a map as quickly as you can, using a map and compass, and of course, your legs!

Courses vary in difficulty, with the easiest courses covering shorter distances with easy to find control points (e.g. large track junctions), and harder courses covering larger distances with difficult to find control points (e.g. hidden features), requiring route planning, use of bearings and pacing to find the control points.

The course may involve visiting the control points in numerical order, or, it may be a ‘score’ course, in which the individual has to visit as many control points as possible within a given time frame. The control points will be given different point values, depending on where they are. So, a control point located at a great distance from the start point, or in a difficult location to find, will be given higher value than a control point located near the start at an obvious and easy to find location. The added excitement to score courses is that points are deducted every minute the competitor runs over the allotted time.

Orienteering events occur all over the UK and are brilliant and great fun to take part in, pitting oneself against other likeminded folk.

Check out https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/home for more info.