LEICESTERSHIRE ORIENTEERING CLUB

Permanent Orienteering Course Watermead Country Park and Riverside

Watermead/ Riverside lies partly in north and partly in Charnwood Borough. The area is managed by Leicester City Council and the northern section is managed by County Council. The Permanent Orienteering Courses for River Soar/ Riverside (Watermead to City Centre) is the most extensive in Leicestershire and have many starting points.

Many of the courses are suitable for cycles and some can be done in boats or paddle craft. The paddle courses have some courses where paddlers need to land and find controls on foot away from the water as well as ones where the controls are visible from the water.

The main starting points are:

Starting point Grid Reference

North Watermead County Park Car park SK605106

Central , Mill Lane SK609094

Central Birstall, Meadow Lane Car park SK602095

South Watermead, off Alderton Close Mammoth Car park SK602085

Old Bridge, Thurcaston Road, Belgrave SK591073

National Space Centre SK587065

Abbey Park -Pets Corner, Abbey Park Road SK583061

Abbey Park -Pay & Display car park, Abbey Park Road SK590057

West Bridge, King Richards Road SK581043

Directions and courses for Watermead North alone can be found in the Watermead North download. Similarly for Watermead South and Abbey Park.

The long distance routes can be joined in the middle at the Old bridge, Thurcaston Road, Belgrave just north of Belgrave Hall to create courses 20km long. As the courses are circular they can be started anywhere on the loop.

The list of courses and the possible starting and finishing points is show at the end of these instructions. Where S marks the starting point on the map. There are shorter courses for Watermead North, Watermead South and Abbey on other downloads from this site.

Financial Support

Highcross Bursary was used to support the production of the map and the course markers.

The Maps

Orienteering maps are drawn to an international standard using specific colours and symbols and unlike most maps, use white to show woods which are easy to run through. Darker shades of green are used to show that a wood is harder to run through. Orienteering maps can be very detailed and the Watermead/Riverside maps are drawn to at a scale of 1 to 10,000 where 1cm on the map represents 100m on the ground or 1 to 15,000 where 1cm on the map represents 150m on the ground.

Control descriptions and courses

Over a hundred control sites have been created within the park using markers (see specimen to the right). These are fixed on small posts or existing features such as fence posts or benches. The ones in Watermead North have two letters and the second letter is the main one.

All courses are of a similar standard and are suitable for Accompanied Juniors or Adult novices. Virtually all courses are circular so that they may be started at any point on the loop. The courses available are:-

Further courses in Abbey Park are available from the Parks Service at Abbey Park. For further information please telephone 0116 233 3028 or email [email protected]

A list of the controls used for each course is printed on the map and you must visit them in the specified order. For each control there is description of the feature where the control is located and a letter or number which should correspond with one you will find at the corresponding control site. When you visit each control site you will also find another letter which is a check letter which you should record on the Control Card in the relevant box.

Bear in mind that permanent posts can suffer from deterioration and / or vandalism so some posts may be missing. In addition, some of the posts might be obscured by long grass or undergrowth during the summer period.

You will probably be able to complete all of the courses without the need for a compass providing you follow the map carefully. Orienteers are taught to hold the map so that it is horizontal and rotate the map so that the arrows on the magnetic north lines on the map always point north. This means that when you are going south the top of the map (north end) will be closest to your body. This ensures that features on the ground are in the same relative position as features on the map.

If you want your course letters checking please send all the details from your control card to the Permanent Course Co-ordinator.

Safety

All courses start near a road, some courses are along or cross roads – watch out for vehicles. Most course are close to or on the water – watch out for flooding and other craft . A full risk assessment should be carried out having regard to the abilities of the people undertaking the courses and the need for appropriate supervision. The Club cannot accept responsibility for any accident, loss or damage incurred by any person undertaking these courses.

Further information

The Leicestershire Orienteering club (LEIOC) website www.leioc.org.uk has details of forthcoming events and information to assist newcomers to the sport. We organise more than 50 events per year and these are generally open to non-members. Information on orienteering in general can also be found on the British Orienteering website www.britishorienteering.org.uk

Feedback

We would welcome any feedback on the courses or on this information particularly if you find plaques posts vandalised or missing. There is a feedback form on the LEIOC website. Course Start & Finish Options Course Length Number North Central Central South Leicester Old Bridge, National Abbey Abbey Park West (km) of Watermead Thurmaston, Birstall, Watermead, Outdoor Thurcaston Space Park - -Pay & Bridge, Control County Park Mill Lane Meadow off Alderton Pursuits Road, Centre Pets Display car King sites Lane Close Centre Belgrave Corner, park, Abbey Richards Abbey Park Road Road Park Road Water_Central 2.1 7 x x S Water 3.2 10 x x x S Water_and_Land 4.2 14 x x S

Orange 1 4.5 12 x x S x Orange 2 7.6 15 x x x x S Orange 3 3.6 12 x x X Orange 4 7.6 16 x S x

Orange 10 3.7 13 x x S Orange 11 9.5 20 S x x x x x Orange 12 10.3 20 x x x x x S Orange 13 5.2 16 x x S Orange 14 3.7 15 S x x S= Starting point on Map