21/11/2026 - WNL 2026-27 - 3 and Army Night Championships - Symonds Yat
Dated 06/10/2026
On the 21st November - day 1 of our Carol Stewart Memorial Weekend - we are pleased to be hosting round 3 in the 2026-27 Western Night league, and alongside it the Army Night Orienteering Championships. We can promise a truly humming night of racing, with WNL score intermingled with the Army's linear courses.
We are grateful to Forestry England for use of the area and car parking facilities
The WNL course is a standard 60 minute score course with controls of varying value. There will be a mass start at 18:00, at which time starts on the Army courses will be paused for 10-15 minutes.
Note that there will likely be around 150 runners in the Army Night Champs, and perhaps an increased WNL turnout, given the Orienteering Foundation training event during the day on the 21st. Bear this in mind when planning our trip to Symonds Yat.
Entries will open soon on Fabian4.
Officials
- Organiser/Planner: Andy Creber, NGOC
Queries? email Andy.
Directions and Parking
The parking is in the Symonds Yat Rock car park, off the Coleford to Symonds Yat East road. There is a one way system in the car park, with exit at the far end. You may encounter later Army runners crossing the exit road if leaving early after your run, so care is required on the long single track road back to the public highway.
Grid Ref: SO564157
What 3 words: ///buying.hangs.racing
Nearest Postcode: GL16 7NZ
Arrangements for parking fees have yet to be settled, given that the car park is normally closed at 17:00 in November, but be prepared to have to pay for parking. You can find details of fees and payment methods at https://www.forestryengland.uk/symonds-yat-rock
The car park is fairly extensive (and expensive!) but with our expected numbers it may be tight, so please share transport wherever possible.
icon to get directions to the course.
The Area
A typical mix of hard and softwood forest, where there has been extensive thinning, particularly towards the southern end of the map. You are likely to encounter brashings in places, together with unmapped extraction lanes. As it's a tourist hotspot there are plenty of good paths, and a few rocky and rooty ones. Generally speaking, though, the going is reasonable, with relatively little undergrowth. Along the western edge of the area there are high and very dangerous crags, fenced only in the vicinity of the car park with a somewhat less than robust fence. Apart from one other high deer fence surrounding an area of Fight, there are no other fences on the map. So the key rules are: Do Not Cross any fences, and pay very close attention to your direction of travel, if going West towards the western edge of the event area.
The Map
The map is A4, waterproof, 1:7,500 scale with 5m contours. Control descriptions printed on the map and available loose at Registration.
Start and Finish
Registration, Start and Finish are all close to but beyond the furthest parking bays, and adjacent to the exit road.
Courses
Standard WNL 60 minute score course with 30 controls, with variable points value.
If all controls are visited within the time an extra 1 point per 6 seconds will be awarded. Penalty of 1 point for every 6 seconds late
We will use SI Timing, in contact mode only. All runners must punch the Start and Finish and all controls; this is for safety reasons. If you are hiring a dibber DO NOT select TF hire, as it costs more but will be ineffective for this race.
The 10 controls with a value of 10 points are of Yellow/Orange standard will allow a more simple course to be followed but there are other, higher value controls which you may wish to visit.
Spare headtorch and a whistle are compulsory. Leg cover strongly recommended.
Timing and Fees
Starts: Near Mass Start at about 18:00. Please note that the Army Night Champs are all on linear courses, with 1 minute start times. Their start window will run from about 17:30 - 17:50, followed by a 10-15 minute break to allow the WNL mass start to disperse, before Army courses restart.
Course closes at 19:15
Fees
| Pre-entry | Entry on the Day | Non-member Supplement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | £8 | £10 | £2 |
| Juniors | £3 | £4 | £1 |
| Family (2 adults + their children) | £16 | £20 | As above for any non-members |
SI dibber hire: Standard dibber £1 Adults, Juniors free
Touch Free dibber: not appicable - touch free punching is disabled for this event, for safety reasons.
Pre-entry is strongly preferred. Entries will open soon on Fabian4.co.uk.
Entry on the day is available only while maps last, but note the premium price to discourage this. EOD payment by cash only.
Refunds
The standard Fabian4 terms and conditions offer an automatic refund up to 2 months before the event date, and we do not normally vary this specification. That means that in most cases no refunds are possible, as we do not publish details until less than 2 months before the date of the event.
However, for all except large events we hold entries open until only a day or so before the event, so you can delay entry if unsure whether you can run, until very close to event day.
Dogs
Dogs are permitted on the courses, but must be ‘under control’.
Facilities
The Pub of the Night is TBC.
Toilets may be available, subject to checking with Forestry England.
Safety
There are dangerous and mainly unfenced crags all along the western edge of the competition area. Particular care is needed when visiting controls in that area, although control sites are selected so as to minimise where possible any risk of navigation errors there.
As with all Western Night League events it is compulsory to carry a backup light and a whistle. It is advisable to carry a mobile phone too.
Orienteering is an adventure sport. All runners take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety.
A risk assessment has been completed, and a copy will be held at Enquiries and Download in case competitors wish to consult it before their run.
A first aid kit and trained first aiders will be available at Download.