Event Areas
The main areas mapped for our events are listed below
The club has also produced a number of maps for public and private organisations which you can find out more about here
| Area | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Orwell Country Park |
 |
This is an attractive council-managed country park covering three patches of mixed woodland (Bridge Wood (which has a permanent course), Brazier’s Wood and Piper’s Vale) on slopes leading down to the River Orwell, SE of Ipswich. There is much contour and vegetation detail, and opportunities to run along the foreshore – tide permitting. The map has been further extended by the inclusion of a patch of housing - the Ravenswood estate.
The area is suitable for smaller events and for training - especially in how to read contours!!. Location: TM 186405 |
| Purdis Heath |
 |
This area, to the east of Ipswich, is a small patch of heather and gorse heathland, with additional interest provided by the many pits and trenches originating from its use as a training area during WW1.
Suitable for smaller events.
Location: TM 213422 |
| Rendlesham Forest |
 |
Rendlesham Forest A very large (12 square km) Forestry Commission coniferous plantation to the east of Woodbridge. The area includes Tangham, which was the subject of the club’s very first “re-drawn” orienteering map (1972). Whilst generally flat, contrast is provided by variations in the runnability of the forest blocks and by two valleys that cut into the area.
Currently developed into two maps: |
| Rendlesham Forest: Daisy's Wood & 100 Acre Walks |
 |
Rendlesham Forest: Daisy's Wood & 100 Acre Walks The north-western part of Rendlesham Forest - an area of coniferous and deciduous blocks of trees of various ages on either side of a small, rather marshy valley. The map has now been extended to the younger conifer plantations south of the B1084 to allow for the easier design of longer courses, though the area may need to be rested through a period of intense forestry management. This section of the map could be further extended to the west, to include an intricate area around the abandoned rifle butts.
Location: TM 345503 |
| Royal Hospital School |
 |
The private grounds of the Royal Hospital School at Holbrook have been mapped by the club; the use for orienteering is strictly by permission of the school.
The school is set in 200 acres of countryside overlooking the River Stour. The grounds include parkland, woodland, shrubberies and complex areas of school buildings and sports facilities and offers good opportunities for sprint style courses and training events. Grid Reference: TM 166 351 |
| Rushmere Heath |
 |
An area of gorse heathland and scattered woodland on the eastern outskirts of Ipswich. It is open-access common land and has previously been farmland, a drill area for the army and a decoy target for Nazi bombers.
As a golf course uses parts of the Heath it is only really suitable for training exercises. Location: TM 198451 |
| Shrubland Park |
 |
A private estate NW of Ipswich and featuring a long ridge covered by working mixed woodland to north, some formal gardens in the centre and an area of open parkland to south, all with a good path network and contour features.
Many events have been staged in Shrubland Park in the past, but a change in ownership has left access in jeopardy and mineral workings along the ridge have virtually cut the wooded area in two. Sadly, an imminent return to the area is not especially likely. Location: TM 120531 |
| Sudbury Urban |
 |
Sudbury is a medieval market town on the banks of the River Stour with surrounding residential areas of differing ages and complexities. There are also extensive water meadows on one side of the town containing, and linked to the town by, a series of complicated paths and alleys. The whole area has been recently mapped and this new map will be used for an urban event for the first time in 2023, as part of "The Mayflower Weekend", which also includes the Harwich urban event being organised by Essex Stragglers. If travelling to East Anglia for the urban weekend the Town Council's website has much additional information on local accommodation and attractions - and a visit to, for example, the newly reopened Gainsborough's House Museum may well be something to consider once the orienteering is over for the day.
The sub-section of the map known as "Sudbury Meadows" is the area of low-lying grazing meadows - also containing some patches of woodland and many water features - alongside the River Stour. This area has been mapped previously and used for smaller events both by ourselves and by Essex Stragglers. Location: TL 862413 |
| Sutton Common |
 |
Situated E of Woodbridge, the Common combines a mixture of deciduous woodland to the west and an expanse of heather-clad heathland to the east. It is flat, and at times very windswept, but its size (at its fullest extent) and landscape variation has allowed it to stage many full-scale events in the past. It has an interesting ditch system used to prevent wartime invasion landing, and two ancient rabbit warrens. Location: TM 306476 |
| Tangham Daisy's Wood |
 |
Rendlesham Forest: Tangham The southern part of Rendlesham Forest, made famous by the UFO (Unidentified Flying Orienteer?) visitation in 1980. The area is typical of East Anglian forest, with coniferous blocks of various ages on either side of the valley of The Tang.The area was last used for orienteering in 2015. Parts of the forest were thinned in subsequent years, but the forest is now back in excellent condition. There is a lot of good, clear, runnable terrain with some area of intricate vegetation detail. The size of the area and point feature detail and variety, together with the increased "runnability", makes the area ideally suited to larger events, such as the 2023 East Anglian Championships. Location: TM 354484 |