Thorncombe Wood Permanent Orienteering Course
established by Wimborne Orienteers with the permission and support of Dorset Council, May 2019
Part of Hardy's Egdon Heath, here is a beautiful mixed woodland of oak, sweet chestnut and beech. It extends to Black Heath and Rushy Pond to the east and patches of hazel coppice in the south. Numerous swallet holes shape the terrain, and the area is crossed by the Roman Road that once ran from Dorchester to Badbury Rings.
How to get there
Thorncombe Wood is 4 km NE of Dorchester in Higher Bockhampton. It can be approached from the A35 at grid ref SY 725 929 or from the Stinsford Roundabout at SY 708 912.
The car park is close to the Visitor Centre at SY 724 922. There you will find seating, toilets, information and the delightful 'Under the Greenwood Tree' cafe.
Find out more on the Hardy's Birthplace Visitor Centre pages.
The area was surveyed and mapped by Mike Kite (Wimborne Orienteers) in 2019 and updated in 2020.
The permanent course uses fixed markers. You can do it just with pen or pencil.
We also have UsynligO virtual courses for your smartphone, tracked and timed by GPS!
Orienteering with the fixed markers
Control markers are fixed to wooden structures like gates, posts & benches. They look like this:
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At the top is a 2-letter code, like 'MU'.
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Download and print the Courses List -
Courses List
Print the map of the Course you want to do -
Course 1 (1.6 km easy) Course 2 (1.9 km medium) Course 3 (2.2 km medium) Course 4 (2.5 km hard)
On the Courses List there are three columns for each course.
The first column lists the controls.
The second column describes the location of the marker.
The third column is to write down the 2-letter code when you find the marker.
When you've finished, check the codes you found against the answers to see if you got them right.
Answers |
GPS orienteering with the UsynligO app
Four courses are published on the UsynligO website (Norwegian: "oo-seen-lee-o" meaning "invisible orienteering"). The All events tab shows a map of what's available.
Find Thorncombe Wood and click your preferred course to download a printable pdf map. Alternatively, download your map below. You can also view the map on your phone screen while you're doing the course. It's up to you.
You need to install the UsynligO app on your phone. It can be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
The app uses your smartphone GPS. A how-to guide is here. In brief:
- Register and Login
- Tap UsynligO Events
- Find the event location, Thorncombe Wood
- Select the course you
want to do
Then tap the cog wheel top right. The default control radius is 15m which is fine in open terrain but GPS signals under trees can be patchy. Selecting 20m or 25m is advisable.
The app gives lots of audio cues: countdown bleeps to start, a tune when you find each control, a different tune if it's the wrong control, and a fanfare to celebrate the finish! With a 15m plus radius, controls often register on approach.
Course A is a fairly easy path walk, similar to Course 1 above. The straight-line distance is 1.6 km.
Course B is 1.8 km. It's mostly on paths but some route decisions are needed.
Course C is 1.9 km, a little harder since it goes off paths & requires route choices.
Course D is a harder 2.2 km. It involves good map reading and navigating off paths.
In case of comments or queries, email Mike Kite mike.kite@hotmail.co.uk
Feedback is also useful, especially if using UsynligO which is a fairly new app to UK orienteering.
Wimborne Orienteers thank Dorset Countryside team for enabling this permanent course to be created, with a special mention of Ranger Claire Platten for her help and advice.