Mini orienteering fun day for families in Inverness

Families with a taste for adventure are being invited to a fun mini orienteering day in Inverness tomorrow (Saturday, May 25).

The event, which is raising funds for Highland Cross, sees children find their way around a simple course through woodland – with the help of parents.

This is the fourth year the mini orienteering fun day has taken place and last year it raised more than £240 for the various charities supported by the event, which sees people walk or run 20 miles from Kintail to Glen Affric before a 30-mile cycle to Beauly.

Organiser John Davidson, who edits the Inverness Courier's long-running Active Outdoors series, said: "Our mini orienteering fundraiser has become a regular feature of our spring calendar and we're looking forward to seeing lots of families enjoying a fun-filled day again this year."

This year's mini orienteering event takes place at Culduthel Woods and families are invited to drop by any time from 10am to 2pm. The course is expected to take no more than an hour to complete, and there will be home baking on sale to feed any hungry youngsters afterwards.

Mr Davidson said: "The orienteering is fun and simple enough for people with no experience – it's not a competition and we can help you get started. This year for the first time we will be using an official orienteering map, along with real kites and punches, thanks to Inverness Orienteering Club.

"We'll have a short course set up that stays within the woods and a longer one with a few more controls for more experienced orienteers to try out."

Children will navigate to a series of checkpoints known as controls, where they will punch their maps with the patterned punches which are fixed on stakes in the woods. The course starts at the very small parking area on the approach to the Culduthel Christian Centre, and people are asked to park considerately in the surrounding area if arriving by car.

Entry to the mini orienteering costs a suggested donation of £3 per person.

For more information visit www.johndavidsonoutdoors.com/highlandcross or search for mini orienteering event on Facebook.

The Highland Cross, which takes place on Saturday, June 22, has raised more than £5 million since the event began in 1983. This year's benefiting charities are Birchwood Highland, Cantraybridge College, New Start Highland, Puffin Hydrotherapy Pool and Special Needs Action Project (SNAP).

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