Four Fave Features of Go Orienteering
Finding fun, free activities can be tough and kids' summer clubs cost a fortune! Which is why we're loving Go Orienteering this summer. Powered by British Orienteering, Go Orienteering is a fantastic way to keep active and enjoy the beautiful weather we're having right now.
It's not just about competing. Of course, if you're particularly competitive like some of our team members you can absolutely challenge yourself to complete the course as fast as you can! But Go Orienteering, much like us here at The Outdoor Classroom, have drawn on the best bits of the sport so it can be enjoyed by everyone!
'A Permanent Orienteering Course is the perfect way for getting active, enjoying the scenery and green spaces with your family, or a chance to get outdoors for a competitive time trial. The combination of physical and mental exercise often in stunning locations is like no other, as you can find, navigate and complete courses at any time, at your own pace.'
Source: https://goorienteering.org.uk/permanent-orienteering-courses
Rebecca, one of our team members, has been visiting her local Permanent Orienteering Courses through Go Orienteering to explore her local area. Here are her Four Fave Features of Go Orienteering from her adventures.
Easy to Use
Honestly, before I joined The Outdoor Classroom, I just remembered orienteering through those dreaded rainy P.E. lessons in my awkward teenage years. I think it's so refreshing to see how the sport has been opened up and made more accessible in the years since, and the massive impact this has on creating active communities.
Often I'm stuck in the office looking at the fantastic pictures of events my colleagues get to do, and I wanted to try my hand at this new wave of orienteering myself. I find Go Orienteering really easy to use. I just popped in my postcode and the site came up with so many options in my area.
I was pretty surprised at how many courses there are, too. I've been to a lot of these places on my weekend walks anyway and never even noticed the orienteering plaques!
You can also filter your searches by categories and pick how far you'd like to travel. Now that I've visited a lot of the courses closest to me I'm starting to branch out a bit more as well. It's like I'm challenging myself to do as many as I can, like collecting mini achievements.
Take your time
I like to convince myself I'm pretty active. I go to the gym… sometimes, but really I struggle sticking to a harsh training regiment and often get disheartened when I can't stick to it. However, I've always enjoyed my weekend walks. Since I moved out to a more rural area from the city, I like to take advantage of the beautiful scenery that surrounds my little home now.
I love that Go Orienteering doesn't push you too far. There's no time limit unless you decide to challenge yourself, so it was really easy to integrate into my existing routine. I've actually managed to keep up with this one!
I've started challenging myself to do longer courses, and I like to take my sketchbook with me and scribble little doodles of things I find interesting. Last weekend, a group of us took a picnic on one of the Go Orienteering trails and enjoyed it half way before completing the rest of the course. It's that freedom that I really love, it encourages me to stay outside a little longer and really soak up the scenery.
Fun for Everyone
I think a huge issue with a lot of sports is the difficulty to make them accessible to any ability. Obviously, with that freedom of taking your time the trails are a bit more accessible, but Go Orienteering have taken it one step further.
When you search for your nearest courses, you can filter by loads of categories to find a course that suits all your participants. You can choose the difficulty of the course based on your experience, including wheelchair access and pick whether you'd prefer woodland, parks or urban areas. So there really is an option for any physical ability.
You can choose how far you want to travel, so if you don't have a car you can find a way to a course nearby without worrying about transport.
FREE!
The website is completely free to use, no sign ups, no subscriptions, so you're not being charged for access like some other sites.
There's also a fabulous filter for free courses which I've been taking advantage of! We're all feeling the pinch right now, so being able to choose courses completely free to enjoy is a wonderful feature especially for families who would likely have to fork out a small fortune to keep the kids engaged in activities during the summer holidays!
You can choose how far you want to travel, so if you don't have a car you can find a way to a course nearby without worrying about transport.
Overall, I just think Go Orienteering is amazing. It's helped me to engage with and explore my new local area since moving house and just added that new dimension to my weekend wanders. With all this in mind, I'm super excited for some upcoming plans we have at The Outdoor Classroom. I can't reveal too much just yet, but definitely keep an eye out on our social media in the next week for a sneak peek at the new ideas we're exploring…