Tag: SOL

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 fourth and last Scottish Orienteering League event of 2025 saw us all off to the East Lothian seaside. Interlopers (INT) had timed the event to avoid the bird nesting season, updated the map and worked hard to engage with the four landowners to make sure control placing/car parking was possible.

Well done to East Lothian Orienteers (ELO) who pulled together to host their first every Scottish Orienteering League event (SOL) at Hartside Hill. The Hartside Hill event was ninth event of the 2025 Scottish Inter Club Championships and as well as the third SOL of 2025.

Not only was it the first SOL that ELO had ever hosted but they also offered us the challenge of fresh terrain in an area mapped for the event. Whilst for some it brought back recollections of Limeriggs, it proved to be as promised a large plantation forest with deep cleughs, varied rides, and an extensive ditch network. For most the errors were of our own making and certainly there were quite a few sticks carried home by those whose hair had provided some protection.

Issues with permissions might have meant that we headed for Airdrie for our 2nd Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) event of the year instead of the Trossachs but it didn’t mean we had any less fun! Forth Valley Orienteers rose to the last minute restriction of permissions in the Trossachs to bring us a new area at Limeriggs. The planner went as far as to say it had Swedish parts and while only some may have travelled far enough to reach them there was plenty to challenge.

After the sunshine in Dallaschyle, we were treated to the orienteer’s dream and the east end of Culbin. A vast expanse of sand dunes featuring terrain rich in complex contour detail, cloaked with pine forest of varying openness and runnability.  The rarely used north eastern part of Culbin was a delight with soft moss underfoot as we ran up and down and in amongst the dunes with small pockets of lower-visibility forest to catch the unwary. 

The last weekend in October saw Badenoch and Strathspey Orienteering Club (BASOC) hosting the fifth and last Scottish Orienteering League event of the 2024 season at Alvie near Aviemore. The offering of a area not used recently in the Speyside area meant that over 320 competitors had the opportunity to experience a stunning location in the delightful autumnal colours.

Masterplan Adventure hosted the first Scottish Orienteering League (SOL) event of 2024 as part of their Scottish Spring Weekend. The weekend saw over 200 hardy souls test themselves against the delights of the Kintyre terrain. Masterplan Adventure provided the opportunity on Saturday for everyone to pit themselves against the knolls, boulders and crags of Torinturk for a middle distance event followed by an ultra sprint round Tarbert before the sun shone on the oak forest of Corranbuie on Sunday for the longer distance of the SOL. Sunday’s event was also the third event in the Scottish Inter-Club Championship.

All those from the North were glad to be travelling south to escape the weather for the third Compass Point Scottish Orienteering League Event (SOL) of 2023, where Tayside Orienteers (TAY) had managed to organise the sun to shine! There may have a been a nippy wind whistling round the car park but Dunalastair’s mix of open moorland and natural forest proved warm and welcoming.

The orienteering was technically challenging and plenty of people struggled with their route choice to despite the open terrain! For those that mastered the navigation and managed to find their way through the bog myrtle and across the bogs there were some great results which can be found together with routegadget via the TAY website

The overall SOL results have been updated and you see how you fare after 3 events on the SOL page of our website here

People had travelled from all over the UK for the event, which as well as being SOL 3 was also the last selection race for this year’s Junior Regional Orienteering Squad (JROS) Camps which offer opportunities for juniors from the twelve orienteering regions to gain further training and experience. JROS was established to nurture junior orienteering talent and runs camps, which aim to provide training whilst enthusing athletes with a sense of fun and purpose, for juniors between the age of 15 and 20.

Many thanks to TAY, their members and all others involved in staging the the event with a special mention for all the hard work for ensuring such a great event for the organiser Mike Pearson, the planner Alan Downie and controller Terry O’Brien BEM (STAG). The Scottish Junior Orienteering Squad (Scotjos) Cake Stall seemed to go down quite well too!

Well some may say that the best things come in small packages and perhaps the same could be said about this weekend as it certainly packed a big punch, with the Scottish Middle Distance Championships counting towards the Scottish Inter-Club Championships on Saturday swiftly followed by the 2nd Compass Point Scottish Orienteering League event of 2023 on Sunday. Add to that the convergence of lots of students from as far afield as Cambridge for the 2023 BUCS individuals and relay orienteering event meant lots of excitement!

Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) held off the weather on Saturday to take us to Beecraigs Country Park near Linlithgow for the Scottish Middle Distance Championships. Full results can be found here with a full list of the Scottish Middle Distance Champions

The start may have been muddy but there was plenty of variety and the abundance of students made for a great atmosphere. The selection of cakes being sold certainly seemed to go down well with all in attendance!

The Scottish Middle Distance Championship was the third of the monthly events which form the Scottish Inter-Club Championship. This month’s results can be found on the Scottish Orienteering Championship’s page and using this link here

What a way to start the 2023 Compass Point Scottish Orienteering League (SOL)! There was snow, some great terrain (albeit the snow hid some of the marshes a little too well) and the sun even deigned to show its face after a cold start at Errochty.