Ecclesall Woods is a wonderful ancient woodland. The orienteering is surprisingly complex and the more technical courses will provide significant challenge to the experienced orienteer.  There are also courses suitable for young juniors, newcomers and runners.

Parking & Travel

Main parking on Whirlowdale Road, off Abbey Lane, A621 , B6068, 4km SW of Sheffield. Nearest postcode S7 2NG. What3words: moved.finishing.mason. GR SK 296790. 

Please drive slowly along Whirlowdale Road as there will be runners crossing the road and follow the instructions of parking marshal.

Walk time to assembly 5-15 minutes along footway and bridle path.

Public Transport

Bus services 97 and 98 from Sheffield city centre (Arundel Gate) travel along Abbeydale Road (A621).

Nearest bus stop only five minutes walk to the assembly area.  It is approx a 25 minute cycle ride from central Sheffield

Assembly & Facilities

J.G. Graves Discovery Centre, Abbey Lane,Sheffield S7 2QZ, what3words dices.grain.home

Toilets, enquiries and download all at the J.G Graves Discovery Centre. There is a cafe with outdoor seating. 

Fees

Adults £12 (£10 BO members). £2 discount for entries before 5th January.
Juniors, students, adults on courses up to orange £4
Family (2 adults & up to 4 children) £24 (£20 BO members)

Family rate is for families entering separate courses. If you would like to go around in a group you pay for one entry, plus £1 for each extra map.

SI card hire £1, lost SI card charge £30

Entries

Enter in advance via  Fabian 4.  Normal entries close midnight on Sunday 5th January to guarantee a map and take advantage of £2 discount. On-line entry after this date (until midday Friday 10th January) and on the day is subject to map availability – the best way to avoid disappointment, and run the course of your choice, is to pre-enter by 5th January.

We welcome helpers from any club. Please enter on Fabian4 using SYOHELPER to receive a 50% discount. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.with any job / time preferences.

Courses are punching start and punching finish, all other controls SIAC enabled. 

To complete your entry you will need to agree to "abide by the Participant Code of Conduct".  This can be found here.

Timings, Start & Finish

Registration 10.15am – 12.00pm.

Start times for all courses:  10.30am to 12.30pm.

There is a single Start for all courses, less than 5 minutes walk from Assembly – follow signs and taped route. 

The finish is approx 5 minutes from assembly.

Courses close 2.30pm prompt.  You must retire if you are not going to finish by this time. Controls will be collected from 1430. Please start early if you are going to take a long time.

Map

1:7500, 5m contours. Updated 2024 by Ian Cooper.   Map to ISOM 2017-2

There are many out of bounds on the map, which must be observed. Please do not cross them unless there is a marked crossing as this is a requirement of our use of the area. Ecclesall Woods have a population of native white clawed crayfish in all the streams. Many populations in other areas have been devastated by crayfish plague a fungal disease carried by imported American crayfish. Do not go into the streams, use marked crossing points. Please wash and dry or disinfect your footwear before coming to the event. Thank you for keeping these at-risk animals safe. Some OOB are marked with a border, these are not taped on the ground but are to make the areas to avoid clearer on the map. Some streams have purple uncrossable boundaries on them, with crossing points marked in the normal way.  Ecclesall Woods is a fantastic area but we do need to ensure that we are able to use it in the future, so must take care of all its ecology. It is heavily used by the public so is under a lot of pressure.

The woods are mixed deciduous & holly with an extensive & complex path network, smaller paths can be difficult to see under fallen leaves. There are curiosities such as the grave of George Woodley, a woodsman who apparently now haunts the woods.  Hides which are transient & significant trees are not mapped, the latter because there are too many.

Courses

subject to final controlling

In addition to the courses below, there is a 1 hour score coure aimed at runners and newcomers that fancy a further distance than offered on the orange / light green courses. You have 1 hour to find as many controls as you can. There is a mix of hard and easier controls.

Colour	Course Length km	Climb (m)	Difficulty Level
Black	10.8	200	As difficult as the area will allow. Aimed at Experienced Orienteers.
Brown	9.0	175	As difficult as the area will allow. Aimed at Experienced Orienteers
Blue	5.9	120	As difficult as the area will allow. Aimed at Experienced Orienteers
Green	4.0	70	As difficult as the area will allow. Aimed at Experienced Orienteers
Short Green	3.3	75	As difficult as the area will allow. Aimed at Experienced Orienteers. Avoids the most physical terrain.
Very Short Green	2.7	50	As difficult as the area will allow. Aimed at Experienced Orienteers. Avoids the most physical terrain.
Light Green	3.2	65	Medium to hard difficulty. Aimed at improvers.
Orange	2.7	50	Medium difficulty. A good place for adult beginners to start.
Yellow	2.3	30	Easy navigation. Good for families.
White	1.5	20	Very easy navigation. Aimed at young juniors.

 

Road crossings and safety

Due to the 3-part nature of Ecclesall Woods, there are compulsory road crossings across each of Whirlowdale Road and Abbey Lane. 

On Abbey Lane there is a specific, marshalled and 2-minute timed out crossing point. There is a control at each side of the road crossing, and both controls must be punched when crossing the road.

Please obey the marshals’ instructions for your own safety.

Competitors take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.  If travelling alone it is recommended that car keys are left at registration.

The area is used by mountain bikers, horse riders and many dog-walkers, please be courteous.

Control Descriptions

Control descriptions are printed on the maps.  Loose control descriptions will be available in the start lanes.

White, Yellow, Orange and Short Score have text descriptions, others IOF pictorial.

Dogs

Permitted throughout the area but under control and preferably on a lead.  No dogs on courses.

Officials        

Planner - Joe Taunton (SYO)
Controller - Martin Ward (SYO)
Organiser - David Thomas (SYO)  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.