Orienteering at COAM
Explore our orienteering courses suitable for families, Museum visitors, schools, and uniformed groups. Opt for a route that suits your preference, with options ranging from 1k to 2k, each offering a different level of difficulty.
All markers are strategically placed within the Museum's expansive grounds, ensuring a seamless transition to exploring the site after completing the course. Download our free orienteering course maps or purchase them for £2 each at our onsite shop. Embark on a navigational adventure and make the most of your day at the Museum.
What is Orienteering?
Orienteering is a dynamic sport that seamlessly integrates outdoor adventure, map reading, and navigational skills. Participants embark on a journey through parks or woodlands, armed with specially crafted maps. The objective is to locate checkpoints, known as controls, strategically positioned on diverse features, ranging from tree stumps to signposts. This engaging activity challenges individuals to navigate efficiently and explore the natural surroundings while enhancing their map-reading prowess.
Orienteering Map Skills
Firstly, orienteering maps utilise distinct colors and symbols, with a corresponding key to assist you in understanding them. The map serves as a valuable tool for planning your route between controls, featuring descriptors like "Tree canopy – fast running" and "Thick vegetation" to indicate the terrain's ease of coverage.
Setting the Map
"Setting the map" is a crucial skill, involving the rotation of the map until it accurately reflects the features on the ground. Once set, following paths and tracks becomes more straightforward, with buildings aligning precisely with their positions on the map. Locate your current position on the map, and if you're on a track or path, rotate the map until it aligns with the direction of the path on the ground. This process ensures that various features, such as buildings, match their real-world locations and directions on the map. Using a compass, if available, helps align the map gridlines with the north.
Embarking on Our Orienteering Courses
All courses share a common starting and ending point, marked by a start/finish post situated behind Northolt Barn along the main spine road, opposite a bench. Recognisable on the map as a red triangle, this point serves as the reference for your orienteering journey. The objective is to visit each control indicated on the course map in numerical order. Each control is labeled with a yellow letter, and you have the option to record these letters on the provided control card for self-verification. The finish is denoted by a red circle, completing the course.
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Easy Orienteering Course
Embark on our Easy Orienteering Course, a delightful 0.9km adventure suitable for all ages and skill levels. Discover the joy of navigating through our scenic grounds, marked by strategically placed checkpoints, and enjoy a leisurely exploration with family and friends.
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Medium Orienteering Course
Embark on a navigational adventure with our Medium Orienteering Course, spanning a distance of 1.4 kilometers. Suitable for all ages, this course offers an engaging exploration of our grounds, combining outdoor adventure with map reading skills.
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Hard Orienteering Course
Embark on an orienteering adventure with our challenging 2km course. Test your navigation skills as you explore the Museum's grounds. The hard orienteering course promises an invigorating experience for participants seeking a more demanding challenge.
Finding Us
You can find us just a short drive from Junction 17, M25.
Newland Park, Gorelands Lane
Chalfont St Peter, HP8 4AB