Taunton - Pyrland

• Orienteering is a workout for body and mind. It gets you out into the fresh air and takes you off the beaten track.
• Suitable for individuals or families, it is perfect as a socially-distanced activity.

What to Do

• First off, download the map. See the links below to get the one you want.
• Next, print it out (or if you don't have a printer, save it onto your 'phone). I'd recommend printing on waterproof paper or putting it into a polypocket.
• Familiarise yourself with the key - if you've not used an orienteering map before, the hardest thing to get used to is woodland being white.
• Get to the start. Directions to the park are below.
• Run/jog/walk your chosen course.

Courses Available

There is a 40 minute Long Score course available.

Get the course for free here

Scoring

Score events do not have a prescribed order to visit the controls. You don't even have to visit all of them. What you have to do is score as many points as you can in a set time.

The point value for each control is the control number rounded down to the nearest ten. So 11-18 each score 10 points, 21-26 each score 20 points, and so on.

You will lose 30 points for each minute you return after the set time. So 40m01s would cost you 30 points and 41m28s would cost you 60 points. So unless you can grab more than 30 points per minute you overrun, don't be late back!

Blocks

There are two blocks of controls - red and blue (you'll also notice that reds are odd numbers and blues are even numbers). You have can change colour once and once only. So, if you started by doing reds and then switched to blues, you couldn't go back to reds.

A single punch of the wrong colour is ignored due to the possibility of accidentally running through the punching zone for a GPS control. If you did red, red, red, blue, red, red it would be as if you never punched the blue and all the reds would count. If you did red, red, red, blue, blue, red, red the first five would count but the last two reds would be ignored as you had switched to blues.

Getting There

Sited in the north of Taunton.

Taunton Green Park, Cheddon Road, TA2 7BA

Social Distancing

• Do not go if you have any symptoms of COVID-19.
• Wash your hands throughly before going out.
• Park carefully, avoiding getting too close to others.
• Please leave at least 2m between yourself and others not in your household. Remember that when running, you could be spreading virus further than when standing still, particularly in your wake.
• If someone is already at a control, wait. You can pause your time if you want.
• Overtake carefully. Perhaps wait for wide grassed areas instead of trying to do it on a narrow path.
• Be respectful to other users who may be there for a gentle walk or sit down.
• Wash your hands as soon as possible afterwards.

Results

Long Score