Orienteering Courses at Needham Lake

Why not explore Needham Lake using one of the simple orienteering courses found on site? It is great fun for all the family and may lead you through parts of the site you have not explored before.

Orienteering is a sport where you have to navigate around a course of control points using a map. The control points are identified by red and white markers and are hidden around the lake. The locations of these are shown on the map – but how good are your map reading skills? Can you find all of the controls? In competitions the fastest person to find all the controls, note the letter found on each and get to the finish line wins - but you can also just follow the course for fun.

Two courses are available at Needham Lake. The Short Course (1km) closely follows the path round the lake whilst following the Long Course (1.8km) takes you into all parts of the site. Both courses start in Mill Meadow and end near the car park by the lake.

Why not devise your own course? Download the ‘All Controls’ map that shows the location of all the control points and make up your own route to challenge yourself, friends and family.

No special equipment is needed – all you need is a copy of the maps downloaded from this page and off you go. Have fun!

Orienteering for Schools and Groups

Orienteering is a great way of keeping fit and can help youngsters develop team working and decision making skills. Schools or groups visiting the site as part of a Ranger led visit may chose orienteering as one of the activities. Three short loop courses have been created to introduce children to the activity in a safe and enjoyable environment.

To find out more about available school activities, prices or to arrange a school visit, please visit the Discovery Project Environmental Education page on this site.

Orienteering Maps for you to freely download