Orienteering

ORIENTEERING

Follow the map, find the orange and white flags and discover your way through the woods together. Every family needs a navigator.

What is orienteering?

Orienteering is an outdoor navigation sport where you use a map and compass to find a series of checkpoints, called controls. You choose your own route between them, and you can walk or run. It's a brilliant family activity because it's part adventure and part puzzle, and children often turn out to be the best map readers.

How do you read an orienteering map?

Orienteering maps are very detailed and use colours in a special way. White means open forest that's easy to walk through. Green means thicker plants that slow you down. Yellow is open ground, blue is water, brown lines show hills and slopes and black shows paths, rocks and other things you can spot.

Each control is drawn as a circle on the map. In the forest it's marked with an orange and white flag, and when you find one you record your visit, often with a punch or an electronic tag. Children love that bit.

How do you use a compass?

Orienteers usually use a baseplate compass, which is see-through with a turning dial. The first trick is orienting the map, which means turning it until north on the map matches north on the compass. Then the paths and trees in front of you on the map are in front of you in real life too.

After that you can take a bearing, which means pointing the compass towards where you want to go and following the arrow. Following a path or stream, called a handrail, is another easy way to stay on track. Keeping your thumb on the map where you are, called thumbing, stops you getting lost.

What kinds of orienteering are there?

On a classic course you visit the controls in a set order. In a score event you collect as many as you can in a set time, in any order. There's also orienteering in parks and towns, night orienteering with head torches and even orienteering on bikes or skis. Many parks and woods have permanent courses that families can try any time.

Is orienteering good for kids?

Yes. Children love being in charge of the map and leading the way, and every flag they find feels like a small victory. It's a gentle way to learn real skills like reading a map, using a compass and making decisions together. It suits families who like a walk in the woods with a bit of a mission. Wear shoes with a good grip, as forest ground can be rough and uneven.

FAQ

DO WE NEED ANY EXPERIENCE?

Not at all. Your Activity Leader explains the map and compass before you start, and all the kit is provided.

IS ORIENTEERING SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE?

You will need to be able to walk over some rough, uneven forest ground, with roots, slopes and fallen branches. Wear sturdy shoes and watch where you step. Keep children in sight and stay within the area your Activity Leader shows you. Do not cross any marked boundaries.