Maps

If you have an area you would like to get mapped, please do contact me! In particular, if you work with a school, having an orienteering map of it made is a fantastic way to get children learning outdoors - it can be used to bring other lessons, like maths and science, out of the classroom, as well as being used for orienteering in PE.

Bughtlin and Dalkeith

New urban maps for Edinburgh University Orienteering Club.

Bughtlin and Dalkeith

It’s hard to believe I made my first urban map 12 months ago - Corporation Park, which coincidentally PFO are finally using for an event in two weeks’ time. Since then I think the count is ten, plus a few more half-finished ones. Five of those have been in Edinburgh,

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Hardcastle Crags

A challenging project mapping a rocky forest close to where I grew up.

Hardcastle Crags

The upper Calder Valley and its off-shoots are all very steep, very narrow and mostly wooded. And, usually, heavily populated and industrialised. Between the valleys are wide, flat moors, a mixture of tussocks and heather. The majority of the orienteering happens on the moors, for example at Castle Carr, used

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Poltonhall

Read the story of a small informal event from start to finish - finding an area, making the map and planning the courses!

Poltonhall for AROS sprint relay - start to finish

What do you need to go orienteering? 1. A good area I was sitting at a EUOC pasta night when my friend Jim and I got onto the topic of whether there were any decent sprint O areas in the Edinburgh area that hadn’t yet been mapped. So, we opened

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Cnoc Na Cloiche

A joint effort with Steve Smirthwaite for Coast & Islands, this map was a new challenge as it didn't have any LiDAR data for the contours.

Cnoc Na Cloiche

So, did anyone notice the difference between the two halves of today’s map? Here’s the story of an unlikely collaboration between me and Steve Smirthwaite. When Chris first asked me if I wanted to help make the maps for Coast & Islands, the first thing I checked was whether LiDAR data

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Bold Venture and Whitehall Parks

Two new maps of parks close to each other in Darwen, near Blackburn, for Pendle Forest Orienteers.

Bold Venture and Whitehall Parks

Another two parks for Pendle Forest Orienteers, supporting their efforts with the Find Your Way project and following on from Corporation Park which I mapped in January. Bold Venture and Whitehall are both Victorian style parks in Darwen, near Blackburn. They’re separated by about a mile and have ve…

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Leith Docks

A new sprint map for Edinburgh University Orienteering Club as they continue their build up towards the 2024 World Orienteering Champs. Read the article:

Making a World Champs training map - Leith Docks

In July 2024, the World Orienteering Championships are coming to Edinburgh, which is not only incredibly exciting, but represents a massive opportunity to promote and develop orienteering in the UK, particularly Scotland. So, when my friends at Edinburgh University Orienteering Club asked if I coul…

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Todmorden

An update of a 10-year-old urban map for Pendle Forest Orienteers. Read the article:

Todmorden

Instinctively, updating a map feels like it should be an easier and smaller job than creating a new map, but that’s often not quite how it turns out. I’ve heard good mappers say that if they’re asked to update a map, they will actually start from scratch instead. The reason

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Corporation Park

A new sprint map for Pendle Forest Orienteers, to support their ongoing work with the Find Your Way project. Read the article:

Corporation Park

The Find Your Way project is an initiative to get more young people into orienteering. Pendle Forest Orienteers are actively engaging with it and are keen to get new maps made to support the project, particularly in places where there traditionally are not so many orienteers. The reached out to

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Scalpay

My first professional mapping project. Read the article:

Scalpay

My friend and colleague Chris Smithard organises the amazing Coast and Islands orienteering week, which next summer is on the Isle of Harris. All of the maps are brand new for the week and in October 2022 we spent a week making one each. My map was on the Isle

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Broadhead Clough

My first forest map, of the nature reserve close to home. Read the article:

Broadhead Clough

I’ve always wanted to make an orienteering map of the nature reserve close to home and this summer I decided to commit to doing it - my first forest map. It’s a very small area, around 0.5 km2 , but full of contour, vegetation and rock detail. It’s also managed

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