Holyrood Park

ESOC local event in Edinburgh and Lothians (part of World Orienteering Day)

Wed 15th May 2019

Info updated: 24th Sep
Type of event: Local
Type of terrain: Parkland, Moorland

Results

The timing issues have been sorted out, so you will be pleased to see that the anomalous negative times have all been corrected. The results are here.

Winsplits are here. If you are new to orienteering, these splits allow you to compare how you did over every leg with the others on your course. Hopefully if you have a look it should be self explanatory.

ORGANISER’S COMMENTS: Janet writes - There's not much to beat a run around up on Arthur's Seat on a lovely sunny evening; perfect for World Orienteering Day.   The Results show a great mixture of regular orienteers, who would know what to expect, and relative newcomers who seemed to enjoy it just as much.  The large group of Beavers, who appear in the Results as Groups 1-8 were real stars with their excited enthusiasm.  
Coming after a morning spent down near Holyrood Palace introducing school groups - and an MSP - to orienteering through activities and games, some of the volunteer helpers put in a twelve-hour day; but the lovely sunshine and the appreciation of the competitors makes it all worth while!

 

General Information

Dress: Please check the weather forecast and dress appropriately.  Even though this area is very close to the centre of the city of Edinburgh, it is very exposed.  If the weather is poor it is essential to make sure you are dressed appropriately.

Terrain:  Open hillside within Holyrood Park, with plenty of rock (including crags) and contour detail, some well-mapped gorse and a good path network; very steep in places.

Other Users: Holyrood Park is very accessible and accordingly is very well used by the general public including tourists, other runners and dog walkers.  Please respect their right to be there at the same time as you are orienteering.

Dogs: Dogs are allowed and should be kept under close control at all times. 

Course Closure Time: Please note that courses have a closure time of 8pm after which controls will start  to be brought in. This is especiay important for an evening event. 

Medical Conditions: You have the option of downloading and completing this Medical Form. It could be life saving if the organisers are aware of any existing medical conditions in the event of an incident. You can leave it at registration/enquires in a sealed envelope that will only be opened if required and destroyed after the event.

Location

Nearest town: City of Edinburgh

• Grid Ref: NT281731
• Postcode:
• Latitude: 55.95325
• Longitude: -3.18827
• Google Map (aerial) - Bing Map (OS)

Directions

Head for the small car park next to Dunsapie Loch. There is no suitable postcode for the car park but the postcode for Holyrood Palace is EH8 8DX.  Please note however that the event is not close to the car park at Holyrood Palace, you need to follow the one way road starting from the East end of the park to get to Dunsapie Loch car park. Parking is also available along the side of the road approaching Dunsapie.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: You will be able to get close to Holyrood Palace by bus - check Lothian Buses website for details of buses which stop close to the Palace.  You could also catch a bus to the Royal Commonwealth Pool and walk up to Dunsapie from a different direction.  NOTE that it will be a fairly long walk to the event from either Holyrood Palace or the Pool but very do-able for keen walkers. 

Registration & Start Times

REGISTRATION: This will be in the Dunsapie Loch car park and within easy walking distance of both the start and finish. 

Registration will be from 5.30pm to 6.30pm for newcomers or those who feel they need a bit of help and support before going out on their course.  The Registration period extends to 7pm for those experienced orienteers, whatever their skill level, who know what they are doing and can be confident of being back before 8pm course closure time.  

It is not necessary - or possible – to pre-enter for this event.  Everyone is very welcome, just to turn up.  Whether you are a newcomer or have been to a lot of events, please try to come and start early if you think you might take a long time over your course.

Registration Form - We know how time consuming, and occasionally frustrating, it can be for our competitors to have to complete the Registration Form outside in the cold and wet of a Scottish Saturday afternoon so we have produced an ESOC REGISTRATION FORM for you to complete and print off and bring with you to the event. This will save a lot of time and the forms easier to read!!  

 If you would like a little more advance information about the registration process at a local event why not read our QUICK GUIDE TO REGISTRATION?

NOTE: Current members of an orienteering club who have their own registered SI can continue to come to Registration and go through the speedy entry system.  If in any doubt whether this applies to you then it is best to complete the attached application form and bring it with you.

DATA PROTECTION UPDATES MAY 2018:  Completion of the Registration/Entry Form for this event confirms your agreement to have your entry details stored on a computer system and for your name and age class to appear in the results on the ESOC website and the British Orienteering website. More information about ESOC's Data Privacy Policy. 

START AND FINISH: both  very close to Registration.  

COURSE CLOSURE TIME: Please note that courses have a closure time of 8pm after which controls will be brought in.  You should be back at Registration/Download by 8pm.  

Course Information

There will be White, Yellow and Orange courses and also a Green course which is for experienced orienteers. 

If you would like to take part in our World Orienteering Day activities in Holyrood Park earlier on 15th May then check out the web page here. 

Explanation of colour courses

• White are very easy with all controls on paths. They are mainly used by 6-10 year olds and family groups.
• Yellow use simple linear features like paths, walls and streams. They are mainly used by under 12’s and family groups.
• Orange progress to basic use of the compass and route choice. They are ideal for novice adults or experienced youngsters.
• Light Green are ideal for improvers as the navigational difficulty begins to increase and uses simple contours and point features.
• Green are used mostly by experienced under 18’s and adults wanting a short but challenging course with a very hard navigational difficulty.
• Blue are a longer, more physically demanding course in comparison to the green. The distances are more varied between controls and the course attracts experienced orienteers.
• Brown & Black are very physically demanding and have a very hard navigational difficulty. They are for experienced orienteers only.
• Score means visiting as many controls as possible in any order in a specific time, like 45mins.

Entry Details

Entry Fees are shown below.  

Note that a Junior is a competitor who was born in 1999 or later and an Adult (Senior) is a competitor who was born in 1998 or earlier.

SportIdent (SI) electronic timing will be used.   If you would like to buy your own dibber (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.

PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE: You are only covered by our public liability insurance if you have joined an orienteering club, or are competing in one of your first 3 events. If you would like to join ESOC you can find out how to do this here.  Entry fees are lower for members of an orienteering club.

Contacts / Officials

Email:

Safety and Risk

A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.

Privacy: when entering our events your name may appear in the results section of this website or in newspaper reports.
Read our privacy policy to see how we look after your personal data.