Ace of Herts 2026 Egypt Woods

Welcome

We welcome you to what is normally our biggest event of the year, the Ace of Herts, a National Middle distance event which is a round of the South East Orienteering League. It’s not just for experts, there are courses suitable for everybody and help for newcomers.

This year the event is part of the British Night Championships weekend, the morning after the Night event.

Location

Egypt Woods, near Beaconsfield Buckinghamshire.

Parking

Harehatch Lane, Egypt, nearest postcode SL1 8PQ, OS Grid reference SU948872, What3words care.punks.cone. You must approach from the A355, which runs between Beaconsfield and Slough. Other routes involve narrow lanes, some with width restrictions, so using them would cause congestion.

Public Transport

Burnham and Beaconsfield stations are each about 5.5km away

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!

Terrain

Egypt Woods is a mixed commercial woodland on either side of a broad valley. It is mostly very runnable, though with bracken and brashings in some areas. There are relatively few paths and at night many will be less distinct. Hangings Wood and Jennings Wood have similar terrain but with much less plateau running.

Map

1:10000 (1:7500 for courses primarily for 65+ competitors) pre-marked maps for all courses on waterproof paper. For a previous event see Routegadget.

Map completely reworked in Feb-Mar 2025, with revisions in winter 2025/26, by Simon Errington.

Loose control descriptions available in the start lanes.

Course Timing

Sportident punching will be used. SIAC will be enabled for those with ‘contactless’ dibbers, but you must punch start. Finish is ‘fly by’.

Facilities

TBA

Dogs

Sorry but no dogs allowed in either the car park or Egypt Woods.

Safety

Orienteering is an adventure sport. You take part at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety. A full risk assessment has been carried out.