Night Orienteering for beginners

When the nights get longer and the weather turns chilly? Harlequins Orienteering Club (HOC) has just the thing to stay active and meet new people!

We host evening orienteering events that are perfect for beginners and seasoned navigators alike. There are two main types:

SMApp (Street Orienteering) Events

These are relaxed, friendly evening events where you can walk, jog, or run around local streets, trying to visit as many checkpoints as you can in an hour. All you need is some hi-vis clothing, a headtorch or handheld torch, and a smartphone with the MapRun app. Afterward, we always meet up at a local pub for a chat and refreshments. Everyone is welcome—including families! (Just remember, anyone under 16 needs to be with an adult.)

Find your next SMApp Event

Winter Evening Events (WEE) - Night Orienteering in Parks and Woodlands

If you’re up for a bit more adventure, we offer night orienteering events in country parks and woods. You’ll navigate using a map and find controls marked with orienteering flags. Beginners are very welcome, and we can lend you the equipment you need to record the run. Just bring sturdy shoes and a good head torch. There’s one course for everyone, and you choose how many checkpoints to visit in the hour. Friendly club members are always on hand to help.

Find a Winter Evening Event

We hold at least one SMApp event and one WEE event every month, and both are always popular and well attended. These gatherings are a great way for newcomers to try orienteering for the first time, and for those who’ve enjoyed the sport before to get back into it. Everyone is welcome!

HOC's Top Three Tips for Night Orienteering

1. If you are not sure what to do, please don't hesitate to ask someone - we were all beginners once!

2. Unsure of where you are? The best thing to do is STOP. Take time to work out where you are, and look for landmarks that should be on the map.

3. Download the What Three Words app on your phone- it's free and works all over the world, so if you are unsure where you are, you can let people know your exact location!

Images below: Map reading at night, and a group shot at an SMApp event. Image credits: John Leeson and David Williams. 

West Cumberland Orienteering Club hold weekly Thursday night orienteering events, and these don't stop just because the clocks have changed and the nights have drawn in!

Our Club Development Officers have worked hard this year to make our spring and summer events appealing to those new to orienteering, including local fell runners. So how do we get these newcomers to come along to the night-O?

We have always had an Easy course at night, but new for this year is the Red course (a longer easy course) - this has proved popular in the summer series with local runners, so we are carrying this forward to the winter series.

The first half of the series in November and December is on easier areas - local meadows and small fells.

There has been some rebranding too - as newcomers won't know what a Red course it is, so it is now called Trail. Our Easy course (which is shorter, so suitable for juniors) is now called Spark.

Sponsorship has been sought from our local running shop, Kong Running, and the winner is going to be the recipient of a Silva head torch - so the winter series is now known as the Silva Night Cup. 

We have used the excellent Canva app to create some marketing posts for social media.

Check out WCOC's upcoming events

WCOC's Top Three Tips for Night Orienteering

1. Choose an easier/shorter course. Don't get overambitious as the event lengths look relatively short. Our new Trail course is ideal for adult newcomers.

2. Slow down and simplify. Break each leg down into simple chunks. Fewer mistakes + faster overall.

3. Make your compass your best friend. Reliable direction is everything!

Images below: Cinderdale event on the slopes of Grassmoor in February 2025; a flyer produced by WCOC for their Silva Night Cup events; an image taken at the British Night Championships 2025. Image credits: Catherine Wetherfield and Colin Matheson.