Berkshire Orienteers’ (BKO) organised Swinley Forest orienteering event took place in Bracknell on Saturday the 24th of February. Over sixty people participated across four levels- Short Blue (5.2km 45m), Light Green (4km 40m), Orange (2.7km 30m) and Yellow (2km 20m). Here is what embarking on a trail as a first timer was like for me and why I would highly recommend giving a BKO orienteering event a try! 

The Yellow route, being the shortest, was the most ideal one for beginners like me. With a map and compass at hand, the task was to reach eight checkpoints across the forest before completing the route. After receiving detailed explanations on how to use both pieces of equipment, off I went, my goal to successfully complete the trail.   

Along the way, I surprised myself by beginning to understand the map and becoming more observant of my surroundings. Finding my way around the route was incredibly rewarding, especially since orienteering is very much outside of my comfort zone. Overcoming what at first seemed like daunting obstacles was my proudest achievement.  

While journeying across the forest at a leisurely pace, I noticed there were participants who were trying to make it out as quickly as possible. This was because more experienced orienteers partook in a race, to see if they could complete their routes the quickest. For some, not only was this a challenge to beat others, it also may have been a personal obstacle to overcome and accomplish new personal times and/or goals. 

Afterwards, BKO members, John Methven, Lisa Methven and Steve Waite very kindly gave their input on the successful trails and orienteering as a sport. 

John Methven, BKO Club Captain had this to say about Saturday.

“After a frosty start, we were blessed with sunny weather which made excellent conditions for navigating around the forest and then chatting about it afterwards at the download tent. Well done to Trish and Jon for planning the courses. The northern part of the area was in mature woodland which was highly runnable beneath the large trees. They were excellent courses, made more challenging on Light Green and Short Blue by the volume of water in the ditches and ‘minor streams’ at the southern end of the area. It was great to see quite a few people trying out orienteering for the first time and enjoying the challenge, which shows how important the local events are at bringing people into the sport.” 

Lisa Methven, fellow member of the BKO expressed her enjoyment for orienteering. 

"I'm a keen member of BKO orienteering, despite not being brilliant at running or navigating, I love the sport, and have found my navigation and my running to both improve over time. I started orienteering when my kids were little as it was something we could all do together. Now we all go to events, but all run our own courses and compare our runs afterwards. Orienteering is really, open to everyone of all ages, for those that like a wander in the woods to those that are super competitive. At bigger events courses are in age categories, so whether you are 18 or 80 you can easily get hooked into trying to get that podium position." 

And finally, I asked BKO committee member Steve Waite why he thought it beneficial for people to take part in orienteering events such as this one.

“It’s a personal challenge. You just get given a map and then it’s down to you exactly where you want to run and there’s lots of different routes you can take and then you compare yourself against everybody else.” 

If you are interested in participating in upcoming orienteering events (with the next one taking place in Rushall Woods on Sunday, 17th of March) to try something new, to push yourself or to enable your competitive spirit, check out the BKO website below!  

https://www.bko.org.uk/