LOK have three permanent orienteering courses (POCs) and several virtual orienteering courses (VOCs) which are available to anyone.
Permanent Orienteering Courses
LOK, in partnership with the park authorities, have established three permanent orienteering courses in North London, located at Hampstead Heath and Golders Hill Park and at Trent Park in Enfield. You can download a PDF of the orienteering map with the controls marked using the links below. The courses give you an opportunity to try out orienteering or train by yourself, or alternatively you can use these to turn a stroll with the kids into something more interesting.
The permanent controls are wooden posts with a small metal plate noting the control number.
Hampstead Heath
- PDF map (A3) of Hampstead Heath at 1:10000 click here
- To print on A4 paper, it is probably best to print the West part and the East part separately.
- Control Descriptions and suggested courses of varying length click here
August 2023 Controls 11 and 16 have been slightly relocated.
Hampstead Heath is now a “MOBO” permanent course. Download the free MOBO app to your smartphone/Ipad (search for MOBO orienteering) and you can see the map on your screen. At each control post, you can scan the QR code, and your punch is uploaded to the MOBO website
Golders Hill Park
- PDF map with control descriptions click here
- The Golders Hill Park Course is now a MOBO course too (see above).
Control 2 relocated slightly October 2019.
Trent Park
- PDF map with control descriptions click here
This course is currently (October 2022) being renewed
Holmbury Hill (Surrey)
- Contact Julie Cleary, LOK Mapping Officer, for a copy of this map and control descriptions. The map requires updating.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE – LOK owns the copyright in these maps and grants you a licence for single use of this map for personal purposes only. If you want to use the map for a school or club event we are happy to supply maps (with pre-printed controls on waterproof paper) for a small charge: please email Julie Cleary, LOK Mapping Officer.
Virtual Orienteering Courses
LOK also has several Virtual Orienteering courses across London. These use MapRun on the runner’s phone to record the controls you visit and upload your finish time to the course leader board. You run the course in person, but the controls themselves are ‘virtual’; your phone’s gps location will dib the controls when you take it to the correct coordinates. These MapRuns are often created for specific events and are not removed such that they can be ran again and again. We recommend downloading and printing the map because it is easier to read than the MapRun screen. Full details of how to use MapRun can be found here.