Dalkeith Country ParkSun 10 Mar

The event will be based at Dalkeith Country Park with parking in the Steel Park field close to the park amenities.

Vehicles should enter the park by the Town Gate in Dalkeith town centre off the High Street as requested by the Estate and to avoid driving past the Starts. Once in the park, follow the estate road, respecting the 15 mph speed limit, to the car park. Once parked, make your way up the field towards registration and/or your start. Signs and markers will be there to guide you.

There is a £3 charge for parking – pay online or by card when you arrive at the car park booth.

There are plenty of options for getting there. Please use public transport or share cars if at all possible, there will be a dedicated bag drop tent near registration.

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.

By Bus: Check Lothian Buses website to plan your journey. If you’re travelling from Edinburgh to Dalkeith, take Lothian Bus number 3, or number 46  from Tesco Hardengreen, to Dalkeith High Street. Dalkeith Country Park is then a short five to 10 minutes walk away. 

By Bike: Access The Park through the Town Gate, off the A6094 or Smeaton Gate, which is closest to the National Cycle Route no.196. The entrance to the Park postcode is EH22 1AD. 

By Train: There are regular trains from the Borders and Edinburgh City Centre to Eskbank Station, a 25 minute walk from The Park. 

Terrain: Dalkeith Park is managed parkland, but with some wilder wooded parts. There is an extensive path and track network with some contour detail and a number of open fields surrounded by fences. There are steep slopes in places (mostly embankments) but the courses have minimal climb, , There is quite a lot of undergrowth vegetation in parts of the woods

• There is a shallow stream with very high, steep banks running SW-NE near the NW side of the map. The stream is crossable, although its banks are 2m high in places. For an easier crossing, competitors are encouraged to use any of four bridges which are marked on the map with crossing point symbols. The marked crossings are not compulsory.
• The large rivers should not be crossed under any circumstances other than by marked bridges.
• Yellow and black tape marks a particular hazard, e.g. a sudden drop. Do not cross this tape.
• Areas marked Out of Bounds (OOB) on the map must not be entered into. These areas are designated OOB for your safety or for the protection of areas of the park or for the grazing of livestock.

Map: The park was originally mapped by Peel Land Surveys in 2007 and updated in 2014 by Stirling Surveys. Some recent corrections have been made owing to changes to paths and fences.

The map will be printed on waterproof paper, the control descriptions will be printed on the map and there will be loose control descriptions at the Start.

The maps for White, Yellow, Orange, Light Green and Short Green do not have a key to map symbols. Competitors should familiarise themselves with map symbols before starting which can be viewed here (choose Normal (ISOM 2017-2). Paper copies available at Registration

The map scale will be 1:7500 for all course except Yellow (1:5000) and White (1:4000).

Brown and Blue courses have double sided maps with the course in two parts. The control descriptions indicate where to flip the map.

Safety: General points here, please also read the important Planners notes under Terrain

• Traffic. Competitors will have to walk through a carpark to reach registration/download and will cross Estate roads during the event. Please be vigilant for traffic.
• Other Users: The Estate is very well used by the general public, including dog walkers, runners, families out for a walk, bikers etc. Please respect their right to be there at the same time as you are orienteering.
• Please slow down to a walk and give plenty of room if passing off-lead dogs and stand still if an off-lead dog is agitated.
• Well behaved dogs welcome within the rules of the park but CANNOT be taken on the courses.
• Take care when running along or crossing the estate roads, although quiet there may be traffic. All courses are in the confines of the park. There is no requirement to leave the park as part of the event.
• You must report to Download even if you do not complete your course, so we know you are back safely (and don't need a search party). Please return to Download by 3pm.
• It will be muddy so we strongly recommend that competitors on all courses wear studded or grippy shoes if they have them, as the steep slopes can be slippery in both wet and dry conditions.
• The “Maze” course is located in a fenced off area in the car parking field. Extra care should be taken getting to the Maze event area and younger children should be accompanied by an adult across the car park.
• Whistles are strongly advised, and we require full leg cover for all competitors, as per standard rules. Brambles, thickets etc may be present. Ticks may also be present in the park especially due to the presence of deer and livestock in the area. If you find a tick on you remove it as soon as possible and seek medical advice if necessary. A tick remover will be available at registration.
• Poor weather. In the case of rain please ensure you wear an appropriate rain jacket. In the event of extreme weather the Organiser will review the conditions and may cancel the event. Please keep an eye on weather forecasts and information on the ESOC website.

Usual courses for a SoSOL plus we will have a free “Maze” course for very young juniors (and everyone else).

Please note that the course information given below is now final. Note too that whilst the length given is straight line, the climb given is based on optimal route choice.

Read more about Course lengths and Difficulty here

Pre-Entry via RaceSignUp is required for this event, direct link will be updated near the time. Entries will open on Saturday 24th February and will close at 8pm on Friday 8th March To be guaranteed a map of your chosen course you MUST however pre-enter by 2pm on TUESDAY 5th MARCH.

Late pre-entries - late entries may be available after 8pm on Friday 8th if there are maps remaining by emailing email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Entry on the day (EOD) - will be accepted at registration (10.30am – 12:45pm) on the day of the event assuming maps are still available. Payment by cash, bank transfer or card.

The RaceSignUp page will display the number of maps available (as entry limit-number of entries) on each course from Tuesday 5th March at approx 3pm.

Pairs: To enter as a pair provide the details of one person as normal, in the appropriate Pairs comment box add the name of the second person and, at the bottom of the entry form, select whether the additional person is an adult or junior,. For a pair of juniors ensure the lead person on the entry form is a Junior.. If a map and dibber is required for each individual then please enter as two individuals and select the same start block.

Juniors: Juniors may be shadowed if they are just to be "followed". If they are to be helped please enter as a pair.

Entry Fees: For this Regional event, unlike our Local events, we are only taking entries from individuals and pairs (sharing a map or dibber).

For 2024 we have a new range of Individual entry fees following membership restructuring by British Orienteering and increases in levy charges by British Orienteering and Scottish Orienteering for all competitors.

SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used with the course controls SIAC enabled. Start and Finish units must be punched normally.

SI card hire can be requested via the entry form,

- Free standard SI card hire but there will be a £30.00 charge if lost.
- Hire of SIAC (touch-free) cards is £2.50 and a charge of £60 will be made if lost.

REGISTRATION: Registration and Download will both be in the Parking field and Registration will be open from 10.30am until 12.45pm

• For the collection of hired dibbers and White & Yellow maps
• To leave car keys (lone runners should leave in a named envelope)
• EOD if maps are available (no fee surcharge).

There will be a dedicated bag drop tent at Registration. for those coming by bike or public transport.

STARTS and FNISH

There will be 2 Starts close together ~300m from Registration and taped from there . There will be a main Start for all courses except White, whilst White will have a separate start and co-located Finish.

The route to/from the White Start/Finish crosses the main drive and will be marshalled.

The main Finish for all courses except White will be close to Download

START TIMES: Starts will run from 11am to 1pm. Please choose an early start block (if you think you might take a long time out on your course. You must be back at Download by 3pm when courses close.

1. Entrants can select a 15 min start block from the range available at the time of making the entry on Race Sign Up.

2. Please arrive at the Start in time to start within your chosen time block. It is not however necessary for everyone to be there at the beginning of their chosen block.

You can view an entry list for all competitors and their chosen start blocks on RaceSignUp (scroll down to Start List section).

There will be portable toilets in the parking field.

The Kitchen Cafe at Restoration Yard is usually busy on Sunday afternoons but booking is available. Tel 0131 322 2572 email email hidden; JavaScript is required

Check out all the other facilities at Dalkeith Country Park