Four different courses will be offered, suitable for all abilities from novice through to experienced orienteers. The single entry fee will cover as many of these courses as you wish to try. See the section below on Courses.

Officials will be available to help and advise you which ones to attempt.

Assembly will be in tents on an open area beside the main driveway adjacent to The Courtyard which has a café and toilets. Vehicles will be parked within 100m in the main car park.

Location

Nearest town: Wythenshawe

• Grid Ref: SJ815899
• Postcode: M23 0AB
• Latitude: 53.40491
• Longitude: -2.27930
• Google Map
• Streetmap (OS 50k)
• Bing Map (OS 50k)
• OpenStreetMap

Directions / Parking

Enter the park by the main entrance. There are brown direction signs.

By road: Leave M60 at Junction 5, or M56 at Junction 3, onto Princess Parkway; turn off onto B5166 west towards Sale Moor, then at the first traffic lights turn left towards Brooklands on the B5167, Wythenshawe Road. Drive half a mile and turn into the Park main entrance on your left. Use the Postcode M23 0AB for Satnav directions.

By tram: The nearest Metrolink stop is Wythenshawe Park, on the Manchester Victoria to Manchester Airport line. To get to the Park and Hall, walk east along Wythenshawe Road (B5167) for about 3/4 mile. Use the third entrance, which is the main access to Wythenshawe Park and Hall (25 minutes). 

Registration & Start Times

Enquiries, download, key drop and other assistance will be available at the  Assembly tent(s).

Registration opens from 10:30

Start times for all courses will be from 11:00 to 3:00 pm

Course Information

Course	Description	Suitability	Distance/Time
White	Easy following line features e.g. paths	Beginners	1.8 km
Yellow	Easy but longer	Novices	2.4 km
Easy Score	Control points will be on or near to paths	Adult newcomers / Pairs / Family groups etc	45 mins score. Collect controls in any order.
Technical Score	Most controls will be off paths requiring experienced navigation	Experienced orienteers	45 mins score with odds & evens bonus format. See below

Format

This event will offer the following courses:

• a White course
• a Yellow course
• a 45min Easy Score event (10 points per control visited, less a 20 points penalty for every minute or part of minute late)
• a 45min Technical Score event for the more experienced

On the Technical Score points are given as follows:

• 10 points for each control visited less a 20 points penalty for every minute or part of minute late.
• You get a 10 point bonus per control where an odd numbered control is preceded by an even numbered control, or vice versa.
• You can switch between odd and even as little or as many times as you like but obviously you don’t get the bonus points when you don't switch.
• E.g., 501, 560, 582, 596, 585, 553, 537, 543, 555, 200
• i.e., Controls 501, 560, 596, 585 get the bonus points
• The choice is yours, but you will need to plan your strategy

Please use the Racesignup entry system to select the first course you wish to try. Once you have completed that course, you may return to Enquiries where you can enter another course at no additional cost.

It will help to estimate the number of maps to print if you could give an indication by ticking the appropriate boxes on the entry system for any additional courses you wish to try.

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

Online entry opens via Racesignup from 20th April 2025 at 00:01

Entry fees

One fee for all courses: £6 Adults, £3 Juniors

Online entries close Sunday 4th May 2025 at 8:00 pm
Entries on the day will depend on the availablity of maps. Payments on the day in Cash or by Contactless Cards.

Terrain Description

Flat with historic and ornamental woodlands, copses, open grassland and  wildflower meadows.

Facilities

The park features several other attractions, including a playground, farm and cycle track using one's own bikes.  For further information visit the park website. Check with the park for opening times.

Dogs allowed?

Dogs are allowed in the park

Contacts / Officials

Contact: Tony Wagg,  

Planner: Alan Ogden MDOC

Controller: Marie Roberts MDOC