Sherrardspark Wood, 3rd January 2026
Welcome to one of our monthly Saturday Series events. Beginners are very welcome and there are courses for all standards.
Beginners
First timers are very welcome. Look for our greeters in hi-vis jackets.
You can go around individually, in pairs or in a larger family group. From an entries perspective, pairs and groups are treated as a single runner – it’s one entry, you get one map, one timing chip (“dibber”) and one finish time listed in the Results. We charge per “entry” not per person and it’s easiest to enter in advance – see Entering for the first time for more info on how to do this.
If you’ve not orienteered before, we suggest most people start with the yellow course. Young juniors, say primary school age, and family groups are better on white. People confident with a map and compass may start on orange. If you find your course too easy, club policy is to offer you a run on the next course up at no cost, provided there’s enough time and there are maps available.
Don’t forget to download between runs!
Location
Sherrardspark Wood, Welwyn Garden City.
Parking
Campus West, Welwyn Garden City. Please note parking charges.
Public Transport
Welwyn Garden City station is nearby. Many bus services.
Terrain
Deciduous managed woodland with intricate path network and some interesting ground features with steeper slopes to north.
Map
1:7500 pre-marked maps for all courses on waterproof A4 paper. The Short Blue map is double-sided.
White and yellow course maps are available to review before you start.
Control descriptions will be on the map.
For a previous event on the area see RouteGadget.
Course Timing
Sportident punching will be used. SIAC will be enabled for those with ‘contactless’ dibbers, but you must punch start and finish.
Facilities
Toilet facilities and a cafe will be available in Campus West. No muddy shoes please.
Dogs
Keep under control and clear up behind you.
Safety
By participating in this event, you acknowledge that you do so at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety.
Members of British Orienteering—which includes those who have joined an affiliated club such as HH—are covered by the organisation’s public liability insurance. Please note: If you are not a BOF member, if you accidentally injure someone or damage property during the event, you are not covered by this insurance.
A full risk assessment has been carried out.
Officials
| Planner | Dan Hodson |
| Organiser | Roger Moulding |
| Controlling | TBA |
Courses
Courses for everybody from beginners of any age to experienced orienteers.
| Course | Straight line Distance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| White | ~1.5 km | Easy – all along paths. Control flags when you need to decide whether to turn. |
| Yellow | ~2.5 km | Fairly easy – navigate along line features such as paths, walls, streams. Some turns with no control flags. |
| Orange | ~3 km | Moderate – start cutting across country, some controls a bit away from line features. |
| Light Green | ~3.5 km | Harder – a range of navigational skills needed to find controls on any mapped feature. |
| Short Blue | ~5.5 km | As hard as we can make it on the area. |
You may enter any course and will automatically be entered in the club’s Saturday League unless you ask not to.
Course Notes
Some sections on the paths may be quite muddy and there will be some recent minor paths that are not on the map.
The brambles have done well over recent years. On the longer courses, you may find a few patches more than are mapped but these should not affect navigation.
Courses close 12:45.
Starts
When you enter, you can choose a 15 minute start block between 10:00 and 11:30.
Courses close 12:45. Please choose a start block to allow yourself plenty of time to finish before then.
Entry & Fees
Entry only via SI Entries. You must enter on line. Online entry will remain open until 11:15 on the day, while maps and start slots are available.
Entries up to midnight on Sunday 28th December:
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Entries from Monday 29th December:
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Dibber hire £1. Charge for lost dibbers £35.
If you cancel more than 7 days before the event we will refund your fees less an amount for admin and transaction costs. There is no refund for cancellations less than 7 days in advance.
If we have to cancel the event we will try to reschedule it. We will transfer your entry to the rescheduled event unless you ask for a refund.
Results
Interim results will be published direct to the club website every few minutes during the event. There will be no printed results (apart from your own splits) or WiFi available.
Full results will be published to the same location and to Routegadget; we aim to do so on the day of the event.
The small print
This event is registered with British Orienteering, number 87748.
Orienteering is a great sport for youngsters. If you bring children, please help us to keep to our safeguarding policy and British Orienteering’s photography policy.
Your personal data is used for results and insurance, see our privacy policy.
