The first two Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) events of 2026: Dunachton and Glen Dye
Thank you to BASOC and GRAMP for their stellar work in hosting the recent Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) events which provided very different areas to test our skills. Results can be found on the Scottish Orienteering League page
Dunachton (BASOC)
This area provided a lovely mix of birch woodland, grazed farm land and open moorland with areas of intricate contour detail, crags and boulders, dense juniper and ruins to test our concentration. Despite being the weekend after the JK the organization was seamless. Thank you to the Organiser Janette MacLeod, Planner Jane Chisholm and Controller David Esson (GRAMP).
The event day weather was blustery with the download tent lifting off at one stage. A coffee stall and ScotJOS cakes kept everyone going even when the snow decided we had forgotten the previous JK weekend! Rebecca Morris planned a challenging string course over rough ground, steep in places, through bogs and crags that was enjoyed by 20 of our youngest orienteers.
As ever good relations with the landowner, Dunachton Estate, meant that access and parking was obtained and the movement of livestock enabled the event to go ahead.
Glen Dye (GRAMP)
Another fantastic day in the woods, proving once again that the North East boasts some of the finest orienteering terrain in the country which has the power to test our navigation and fitness. Thank you to Organiser Paul Duley, Planner Bob Daly and Controller Eddie Harwood (Moravian Orienteers).
Good planning avoided the worst of the windblow and made sure we enjoyed the best of the forest with varied woodland and terrain. The weather was kind and ingenious work by the parking crew meant that everyone was parked on the forest tracks.
Thanks to Glen Dye Estate for permissions.
Events of this scale don’t just happen. They are the result of hundreds of “invisible” hours—mapping, planning, controlling, and hauling stakes through the forest. To every volunteer who stood in the Sun/rain/sleet, chased tents in the case of Dunachton, patiently parked up some tricky forestry tracks in Glen Dye or sat behind a computer screen: thank you.
Presentation of 2025 SOL Awards
With the Dunachton SOL happening so quickly after the JK, the 2025 SOL trophies were delayed until the Glen Dye event. Well done to all those who won awards and here are the photos of those we managed to capture.
