Haberdashers, 5th December 2026
Welcome to Haberdashers’, 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, but don’t forget to download between runs!
Location & Parking
Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School coach park, Aldenham Road, WD6 3AF.
Public Transport
Nearest station is Elstree & Borehamwood, 3.7km away.
Terrain
Runnable parkland with wooded areas and buildings.
Map
1:4000 with 5m contours to Sprint orienteering standard ISSprOM 2019-2. Please familiarise yourself with the symbols used, in particular the features that must not be crossed, either for reasons of safety or because we do not have access. A guide to the full symbol set for urban orienteering is available at https://maprunner.co.uk/resources/Maprunner-sprint-map-symbols.pdf
Note that the dark green colour is used for uncrossable hedges, and there are several purple out of bounds areas, one of which – the formal lawn – is not taped on the ground. Do not cross it.
For map of a previous event see here.
Course Timing
Sportident punching will be used.
For those with ‘contactless’ dibbers, SIAC will be enabled for controls, but you must punch the Start; the Finish will be “fly-by”.
Facilities
Toilets
Dogs
Not allowed as these are school premises
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 | Daniel Hitch |
| Organiser | TBA |
| Controlling | Hedley Calderbank |
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 | 2.0 km | Fairly easy – navigate along line features such as paths, walls, streams. Some turns with no control flags. |
| Orange | 2.5km | 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. Only for over 16s due to road crossings. |
You may enter any course and will automatically be entered in the club’s Saturday League unless you ask not to.
Course Notes
- Please respect the Out of Bounds areas marked by purple cross-hatching or olive green shading and don’t cross features that are not to be crossed (thick lines for walls, fences, hedges etc.). Buildings must not be entered. All water is not to be crossed other than at mapped crossing points; you should not cross water using stepping stones as they are slippery and dangerous. You risk your own disqualification and the club’s future use of the area.
- The area consists of 2 adjacent schools with school buildings, playing fields, tennis courts, car / coach parks and a path / road network. It is a mix of paved areas, grassy parkland and pockets of woodland. Shorts and running vests may be worn, but you may wish more protection if you want the option of bashing through the undergrowth in the woodland. Trail or running shoes are recommended; metal studded (dobbed) shoes must not be worn. Please stay within the school grounds and do not use the external public road which is marked out of bounds. There is minimal climb.
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
Entries are will be 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.
| Up to midnight on November 29 | From November 30 |
|---|---|
| BOF members: Adults £5, Juniors £2, HH juniors free | BOF members: Adults £7, Juniors £4, HH juniors £2 |
| Non-members: Adults £7, Juniors £4 | Non-members: Adults £9, Juniors £6 |
Dibber hire £1. Charge for lost dibbers £35.
Dibber Collection: from the Event Centre which is about 200m from the parking and will be signed . Please collect before going to the start.
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.
Photography
Please note that we may take photographs during the event and these will be published on our website and / or Flickr. If you wish to opt out of this on behalf of yourself or your children, please contact the Organiser who will brief the photographer accordingly. For reference, here are links to our safeguarding policy and British Orienteering’s photography policy.
The small print
This event is registered with British Orienteering, number TBA.
Your personal data is used for results and insurance, see our privacy policy.
