Bonaly ParkSat 21 May

The event will be based near the entrance to Pentland Hills Regional Park just beyond the Bonaly Scout Camp and will be signed from Bonaly Road in Colinton on the south side of Edinburgh. Note that the pin on the map is at the parking area, the grid reference is for general guidance and that the postcode given is for houses nearby and should not be taken as especially accurate.

By Public Transport: It is pretty easy to come to this event by bus. Lothian Buses service 10 comes close to the Event. Some service 10 buses terminate at Bonaly shops and it is only a few minutes walk from this terminus to the event. Other service 10 buses terminate at Torphin and you would need to get off one of these buses at the stop closest to the junction of Woodhall Road and Bonaly Road. Please check in advance to make sure you are familiar with the bus services, destinations and times.

By Bike: If you live in the city or close to the city, or close by, you'll find it pretty easy to come to the event by bike. A variety of quiet cycle route maps throughout the city are available on the Edinburgh City Council Quiet Routes web pages. It should be possible to bike to the entrance to the Pentland Hills Regional Park near the registration and start/finish and lock your bike to a fence up there.

By Car: Please use the public car parking in Torduff Road (not the small car park beyond the Scout Camp) which is just to the right after you cross the bridge over the Edinburgh City Bypass. Note however that this is public car parking and may be busy on a Saturday afternoon. It is only a few minutes walk to the event from this car park. Though a dead end, the road is narrow and there are likely to be cars on it. Please take care and ensure children are kept safe at all times. Alternative parking would be in nearby streets. If doing this please be considerate to residents.

As usual for ESOC local events there will be White, Yellow and Orange courses for beginners and improvers and a Green and a Blue course for experienced orienteers.

Final course details given below:

White 1.2k, 60m climb, 14 controls
Yellow 1.6k, 105m climb, 13 controls
Orange 2.5k, 145m climb, 15 controls
Green 3.7k, 150m climb, 16 controls
Blue 5.7k, 235m climb, 20 controls

Notes for the Green and Blue course competitors: Firstly, the course maps are double-sided so have to be turned over midway through the course.
Secondly, public usage of the area through the pandemic has resulted in extra paths, many of which are not mapped.

Read more about Course lengths and Difficulty here

Pre-Entry via Racesignup is required for this event. Entries open on Monday 9th May and will close at 10am on 21st May. To be guaranteed a course map of your chosen course you MUST however pre-enter by 6pm on Tuesday 17th May.

Late pre-entries - As mentioned above, entries will remain open until 10am on the morning of the event but entries will only be accepted by Racesignup if there are course maps remaining. RaceSignUp will not accept your entry once the maps for your chosen course have sold out however it's still worth trying to enter, you could still be lucky. You could maybe even try entering a different course if your first choice is full.

You can view an entry list for all competitors and their chosen start blocks on RaceSignUp (scroll down to Start List section). Please note that you can arrive at the start any time within your block.

ENTRY FEES: As well as indiividuals the entry system also allows pairs, groups or families who wish to go round a course together to enter using a sliding scale of fees. Full details at the RaceSignUp webpage link above but a flavour of the entry fee scales is given below for advance guidance.

Note that a Senior is someone born 2001 or earlier and a Junior is someone born 2002 or later. Matriculated students will normally be eligible to enter as Juniors and pay junior fees - check out RaceSignUp as before.

SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used. If you have your own SI (dibber) please bring it with you.

We have SIs for hire free of charge via the pre-entry system but there is a £30 charge if lost. If you would like to buy your own SI-Card then a variety are available directly from SportIdent UK. The choice may be confusing and it may help you to know that the SI-Cards which ESOC hires out are very similar to the most basic model shown on the linked page - the SI-Card 8.

REGISTRATION will be open for very limited Entry on the Day (EOD) but only if maps are still available. This will be open from 1.00pm -2.15pm - see also section on Entry Details below – payment will be in cash only. Please try to have the correct money if at all possible.

WHITE and YELLOW COURSE MAPS: Please collect these from Registration before going to the Start. Course maps for other courses are collected after punching the start.

STARTS: From 1.00pm to 2.30pm with course closure at 4pm. You should be back at Download by 4pm as controls will start to be brought in by 4pm so if you think you'll take a long time to complete your course please enter early so you can choose an early start time.

The Start and Finish will both be within very easy walking distance of the entrance to the Pentland Hills Regional Park, Bonaly (beyond the Scout Camp).