Orienteering Anytime at Permanent Courses

A permanent orienteering course means you can go at a time that suits you! Our permanent courses are detailed below. To see a list of all (i.e. not just CHIG) permanent courses near you, click here.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Newham

The park has both North and South orienteering maps with courses for all ages and abilities on each map, all courses have route choices that enable use of paths for the full course and are wheelchair friendly. enabled.

Hard copy maps and answers are also available from the information point in the south of the park (opposite the London Aquatics Centre on the bridge next to Westfield Stratford City) open daily from 10am – 3pm.

The courses are set up for Mobo orienteering you can download the app to your smartphone and use it to navigate around the courses. For more information visit the MOBO website.

North

The North courses start just to the north of the Copper Box Arena and cover the northern half of the park including the Velodrome, Timber Lodge Cafe and the Olympic Rings.

Course Controls Length
(km)		 Difficulty Estimated
Time (mins)		 Map download
Yellow 11 1.8 Suitable for beginners as an introduction to orienteering 15-35 ‘Yellow North’
Orange 16 2.3 Suitable for families with young children who are familiar with map reading or have done orienteering before 25-50 ‘Orange North’
Red 17 2.6 Suitable for those who are familiar with map reading or have done orienteering before and are looking for a longer activity 35-60 ‘Red North’
All Controls Suitable for those who are familiar with map reading or have done orienteering before and are looking for a longer activity ‘Score North’

South

The South Courses start at the information point near the Aquatics Centre and cover the southern half of the park including the Olympic Stadium, Arcelormittal Orbit and Mandeville Place.

The South courses are being updated following park redevelopment and are currently out of use.

Course Controls Length
(km)		 Difficulty Estimated
Time (mins)		 Map download
Yellow 11 1.6 Suitable for beginners as an introduction to orienteering 15-35
Orange 15 2.6 Suitable for families with young children who are familiar with map reading or have done orienteering before 25-50
Red 13 2.6 Suitable for those who are familiar with map reading or have done orienteering before and are looking for a longer activity 35-60
All Controls Suitable for those who are familiar with map reading or have done orienteering before and are looking for a longer activity

Harlow Town Park

Map Downloads are available:

Paper copies of the maps are also available from Pets’ Corner shop and Spurriers House Café.

The Harlow Town Park course has been designed by Chigwell & Epping Forest Orienteering Club, with the co-operation of Harlow Council and financial assistance from Harlow Recreation Trust and from Awards for All.

River Lee Country Park

34 controls available at this course. You can join the course at any one of three start points:

  • Waltham Abbey Gardens, Abbey View, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1XQ
  • Fishers Green car park, Stubbins Hall Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex  EN9 2EF
  • Pindar Car Park, Windmill Lane, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN8 9AJ

Maps, post descriptions and a score card cost £2.50, which you can obtain from the Lee Valley website – just click here.

Fairlop Waters, Redbridge

Paper copies available from Fairlop Waters Country Park from the Bar at Fairlop Waters or from the Outdoor Activity Centre

Hainault Forest Country Park, Redbridge

Paper copies available from the Visitor’s Centre open Monday to Friday.

Grange Paddocks, Bishops Stortford

From Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre (Rye Street, Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 2HH) use just through the gate in the north east corner of the car park as your start and finish point.

Southern Country Park, Bishops Stortford

From Thorley Lane Car Park (Thorley Lane East, Bishops Stortford, Herts, CM23 4BH) go through the gate in the South West Corner of the car park and you will find a post with a ‘Friends of Southern Country Park’ plaque attached. This is the start and finish.

Other Permanent Courses

There are other permanent courses around the south-east of England – full details here.

How it works

  1. Get a copy of the map (see details opposite), a small charge may apply. Bring a pen and paper with you.
  2. Find the Start on the Map (The Triangle).
  3. Using the map, decide which orienteering posts (See example in picture above) to find. Each post is marked on the map with a Red Circle.
  4. Go orienteering!
  5. Use the pen and paper to keep a record of the markers you have found and to write down the unique letter for each control.

Top Tip

A key skill in finding the control markers is setting the map. This means turning the map until the symbols on the map line up with the corresponding features on the ground. This helps to ensure you set off in the correct direction. Use tracks and paths to help navigate to the control markers.