Cammo EstateSat 17 Jan

Local event

Last updated: Mon 19 January, 2026

Local event

Explanation of event types

Local events are usually low key and in the 'localised' area, ideal for newcomers to try the sport and Training events are non competitive and used for training and coaching, aimed at members of the club, but they can attract people from neighbouring clubs, and are often ideal for newcomers to try the sport. Regional events attract participants from around the local Region, National events are high quality competitions that will attract people from far away, Major events are Major Events such as a British Championships. Virtual events are where there are no physical controls being used. Your presence at a control is registered using an App on your mobile phone, normally the free MapRun App.

Results

Results are here

Winsplits are here

Routegadget is here

Officials' Reports

Planners' Comments

As a novice planner wondering where to start, I came across some BOF guidance which said to plan the easy courses first. This seemed counter intuitive, but proved to be the correct approach, especially for a family focused event where well thought out White and Yellow courses seemed a priority. These required plenty of controls at Cammo's many path junctions to guide the Whites around, and also to provide something more challenging for the Yellow. We were a bit worried about an unmarked path we hadn't spotted until the day, so Fran deployed herself as a human ‘smiley face’ (a role she is more suited to than me) to deflect the confused in the right direction.

Knowing the controls required for decent White and Yellow courses made it easier to approach the other courses with what was left. Orange courses were the easiest to plan, with Cammo providing plenty of opportunities for corner cutting away from the main routes, but with controls never too far way from line features. The southern part of the map seemed a good opportunity for making the Long Orange a bit more of a runner’s course with simple navigation.

The question for the Light Green was whether or not to make use of the southern part of the map, but in the end I decided that it would use up quite a lot of course distance but without much in the way of tricky navigation or route choice – I didn’t think a procession of orienteers following each other around Mauseley Hill would be well received. So the general plan was for a course with plenty of direction changes, long and short legs and some route choices using the northern part of the map, although I’m sure an imaginative planner could do something interesting in the south. How much map to include in the Light Green ‘Window’ variation was difficult to judge, particularly for runners who might be less familiar with Cammo and could find themselves in the pond or canal. I though it best if it was a bit too easy rather than too hard. Feedback suggested it was sufficiently challenging but fun, and looking at the results everyone got around!

Overall, the role of planner was enjoyable and made much easier by experienced ESOC people on hand, in particular Jayne for keeping us on track, Helena for helping us put out controls, and David and Hanne for helping bring them in again. And a special thanks to Peter Halling for taking the time to provide comments on our draft courses which were very useful but at the same time not prescriptive in telling us what to do.

Andrew Daley

Organisers' Comments

It was very wet and miserable on the morning of the event, but fortunately the weather eased off for the event itself. That said, the ground was still very slippery in places but everyone respected the safety guidance throughout the day, which made it a real pleasure to organise.

It was great to see how much people enjoyed the courses which were suitable for everyone. For example, the window course received praise for how challenging it was, even for experienced orienteers with strong local knowledge.

One particular pleasure was seeing the success of the coaching. This and everything else on the day was down to the volunteers whose flexibility and willingness to adapt as needed was brilliant — the event simply wouldn’t have happened without them.

We hope to see many people again at our next event at Lauriston Castle, and also making use of our Cammo permanent orienteering course in the meantime. Visit here for more details about all our permanent courses

Robert Wylie

Lost Property - Black phone-charging cable, left on the table by the Junior Record cards. Contact email hidden; JavaScript is required to claim

Overview

Traditional January event is this lovely local nature reserve with wetland. For more information about the estate (history, wildlife etc) see the Friends of Cammo website here

There will be Junior coaching for ESOC members only prior to the event, see below under Miscellaneous.

Please note there has been a change to who is covered by Public Liability Insurance for 2026, as described in the side panel under Important Event Information

Pre-event Information

Location Info

Near: Edinburgh
Lat,Lng: 55.9594,-3.319
OS Grid Ref: NT177748
Postcode: EH4 8EE
What3Words: ///hints.camp.trying

Open an interactive map in:
GoogleMap - OpenStreetMap - AppleMaps - BingMap

Directions / Parking

The event will be based close to the Ranger Centre/Visitor Centre at the junction of Cammo Road and Cammo Walk please use Public Transport if at all possible - see section below and this graphic for all the options

By car - Please park in Cammo Road or other surrounding streets eg Strathalmond Road or the start of Cammo Walk (currently a no through road) and enter the Estate through the Lodge Gates on foot. Please park carefully and give due consideration to residents and note the double yellow lines on Cammo Walk and at the bottom of Cammo Road near the Lodge. There are 2 small, dedicated estate car parks to the South and North of the area, but these are likely to be very busy.

Edinburgh based orienteers are welcome to join the newly expanded Edinburgh Orienteers - Car sharing WhatsApp group. Please contact email hidden; JavaScript is required for the joining link.

Public Transport Options

By bus – Lothian buses (32, 31 & 47) , Lothian Country buses (43) and Stagecoach Express buses eg X55 (heading for Fife) all have stops within 300-700m. Check the Lothian Buses (Lothian Country Buses is part of same company) and Stagecoach websites for timetables and route maps. (NB Please get off the Stagecoach Express bus at the Barnton Junction, the next stop is the Forth Road Bridge!)

By rail or tram – It is an approximate 30-minute walk (along Maybury Road/Cammo Walk) to/from the Edinburgh Gateway station near the Gyle which is served by both Scotrail trains and the Edinburgh Tram.

By bike – It is less than 1km from Cammo to join one of the Edinburgh City cycleways, please see this map on the Edinburgh Council Quiet Routes website. You will be able to lock your bike close to Registration

Map / Terrain

Terrain: Parkland with some wooded areas and a good network of paths. There are 2 large bodies of water, the canal and the new wetland pond (with associated boardwalks).

Course Maps: Based on the 2022 version by Peel Services Ltd and updated in 2025.The maps will be printed on waterproof paper, the control descriptions will be printed on the map (no loose control descriptions) and the map scale will be 1:5000.

Safety Notes

General Safety

Other Users: Cammo Estate is very well used by the general public, including dog walkers, runners and bikers. Please respect their right to be there at the same time as you are orienteering.
Dogs: Competitor’s dogs are allowed and should be kept under very close control at all times.
SAFETY NOTE RE DOGS: Please give any dog walkers you encounter whilst running on your course extra space ie don’t run too close, especially if their dog/dogs are off lead. This applies to all competitors, not just those running with a dog. We always need to respect other people's right to be there.
Water safety: Do not allow dogs or children to enter either of the big bodies of water ie the canal (water quality unknown) and the large wetland pond which is sometimes covered by dangerous pond weed.
Weather: Please check the weather forecast on the day and dress appropriately. This event is on the edge of the city, but the weather is unpredictable in January and could be very cold, windy and wet. We recommend full leg cover for all competitors.
Ice and mud: Please check the weather forecast in case there may be ice, but it will be muddy and slippery especially on the wetland boardwalk.
Course Closure Time: All courses have a closure time of 3pm after which controls will start to be brought in (before it gets dark. All competitors should be back at Download by 3pm.
Download: You must report to Download even if you do not complete your course, so we know you are back safely, and we don’t have to mount a search for you.

Course Information

Courses available to enter ..

White, Yellow and Orange courses for beginners and junior improvers.
Long Orange for beginner adults and older juniors
Light Green course for adult improvers and more experienced juniors.
A Windows course for more experienced orienteers, a variation of the Light Green course. For a Window course most of the map is removed apart from sections of the course around controls and selected parts of the map to help with navigation. Runners need to use compass and pacing to navigate between the windows.

Course	Length	Climb
Light Green (Window)	4.2km	100m
Light Green	4.2km	100m
Long Orange	4.1km	100m
Orange	3.1km	75m
Yellow	2.1km	40m
White	1.4km	20m

The Junior OZONE stall with some O themed games and exercises, open to all juniors, will be in operation.

Entry Details

Pre-entry using RaceSignUp will be required for this event. Entries will open at 10am on Monday 5th January and will close at 6pm on Friday 16th January.

However to be guaranteed a course map on waterproof paper for your chosen course you MUST pre-enter by midnight on Monday 12th January

On the RaceSignUp page (first time users will need to create an account) you can view an entry list for all competitors and their chosen start blocks (scroll down to the Start List section). Please note that you can arrive at the start any time within your block.

Entry Fees:

Category	BOF Members	SOA Members	Non Members
Seniors (26 and over)	£4.50	£5.50	£6.50
Juniors/Students/Young adults(21-25)	£2.50	£3.50	£4.50

As well as individuals the entry system also allows pairs, groups or families who wish to go round a course together (sharing one map and dibber) to enter using a sliding scale of fees. Full details of how to enter pairs and groups (or as a Student) are on the RaceSignUp entry page. NB The RaceSignUp entry process for these categories has also changed for 2024

Category	BOF members	SOA only members	Non members
2 Seniors	£5.50	£6.50	£7.50
2 Juniors	£3.00	£4.00	£5.00
1 Senior + 1 Junior	£5.00	£6.00	£7.00
1 Senior + 2 Juniors	£5.50	£6.50	£7.50
2 Seniors + 1 Junior	£6.00	£7.00	£8.00
2 Seniors + 2 Juniors	£6.50	£7.50	£8.50
2 Seniors + 3 Juniors	£7.00	£8.00	£9.00

SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used.

We have SI dibbers 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 and Start times

Registration: Will be open from 11:45am -1.15pm in a tent or gazebo close to the Lodge near the estate entrance off Cammo Road.

Entry on the Day (EOD) if maps are still available. Payment by cash or by card/contactless. Please try to have the correct money if at all possible.
Collection of hired dibbers, White and Yellow maps:
Advice and help for beginners

Start Times: From 12.00pm to 1.30pm with course closure at 3pm. You should be back at Download by 3pm as controls will start to be brought in by 3pm 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.

Download only will be in the Lodge, please remove muddy shoes before entering. There will not be enough room in the Lodge to leave bags please use the red tent behind Registration.

Facilities

There is one toilet in the Lodge, (please remove muddy shoes before entering) but there are options for visiting shopping centres on the way eg The Gyle

A Leaf & Bean coffee van should be open during the event serving hot drinks and snacks, bring you own cup if you can. Contactless payments only.

Dog restrictions

Well-behaved dogs on a lead welcome

Contacts / Officials

Advance enquires: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Entry enquiries: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Nearest A&E Hospital

Please see under Important Event Information in the side panel.

NHS Urgent care search

Miscellaneous

There will be coaching for ESOC juniors for 1 hour prior to the event (11:00-12:00) aimed at TD (technical difficulty) levels 1-3 ie for any juniors who would normally enter, White, Yellow or Orange courses. Sign up forms will be circulated to members via ESOC Matters and WhatsApp. Enquiries to email hidden; JavaScript is required