Balfour was first used for orienteering during Royal Deeside 2017 and since then has only been used for a Regional Event in 2021 and a Scottish Orienteering League event in April 2024.
Balfour comprises a large area of mature coniferous plantation on the southern flank of the Dee Valley. There are four distinct hills with areas of complex glacial contour features between them. Open areas are interspersed with forest and both have localised rock features. Some areas of windblown and thinning have occurred since 2017.
Balfour is used with the kind permission of Birse Community Trust, Ballogie Estate, Dunecht Estate and a private landowner. The four areas of forest are managed differently contributing to a great variety of orienteering terrain.
For the elite classes only, this will be a Middle Distance World Ranking Event. For all other classes it will be a Long Distance event.
Location
Preliminary Details
Important Information
- Organising clubs
- Forth Valley Orienteers (FVO) & Clydeside Orienteers (CLYDE)
- Organisers
- Dave Coustick (FVO)
- Planners
- Ben Stansfield (FVO) and Klass Wynne (CLYDE)
- Controllers
- Roger Coombs (MAROC)
- Arena
- Adjacent to parking.
- Starts
- Routes to all Starts leave the arena together for 900m where the routes fork. The White Start is a further 100 (40m total ascent), the Green, Blue and Red starts are further 300m (50m total ascent). There will be a separate area for elite classes at the Red start.
- Maps
- Survey and cartography by Deeside Orienteering and Leisure Maps (DOLM) 2016 based on photogrametric plot by Stirling Surveys. Updated 2023 and 2024 by DOLM. © MAROC.
- Terrain
- Fast, contoured variable plantation forest with some rough open ground and small patches of moorland. Several complex contoured areas.
- Finishes
- The Finish is in the arena.
- BOF Registration No.: 84584
- Special Information
- Day 4 is a World Ranking Event for elite classes who will run a middle distance course.
Estimated Course Lengths
| Course | Class | Length (km) | Climb (m) | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1E | M21E | 5.8 | 240 | Red |
| 2E | W21E | 4.6 | 195 | Red |
| 2 | M20L M21L M35L | 7.9 | 310 | Red |
| 3 | M40L M45L | 7.6 | 300 | Red |
| 4 | M18L M50L | 6.9 | 285 | Red |
| 5 | M16A M55L W21L | 6.3 | 240 | Red |
| 6 | M20S M21S M35S W20L W18L W35L | 6.2 | 220 | Blue |
| 7 | M60L W40L W45L | 5.7 | 200 | Blue |
| 8 | M65L M40S W50L | 5.5 | 180 | Blue |
| 9 | M18S M45S M50S W16A W21S | 4.8 | 200 | Blue |
| 10 | M70L W55L | 4.6 | 165 | Blue |
| 11 | M55S W20S W18S W60L | 4.4 | 170 | Blue |
| 12 | Green W35S | 4.1 | 150 | Green |
| 13 | M75L W65L W40S | 3.8 | 140 | Green |
| 14 | M60S M65S W45S W50S | 3.6 | 120 | Green |
| 15 | M70S W70L W55S W60S | 3.3 | 105 | Green |
| 16 | M80 M75S W75L W65S | 2.0 | 70 | Green |
| 17 | M85 W80 W85 W70S W75S | 1.8 | 55 | Green |
| 18 | M14A M16B | 4.3 | 140 | Green |
| 19 | Light Green W14A W16B | 3.2 | 120 | Green |
| 20 | Red | 5.1 | 150 | White |
| 21 | Orange M12A M14B W12A W14B | 3.2 | 100 | White |
| 22 | Yellow M10A M12B W10A W12B | 2.6 | 85 | White |
| 23 | White M10B W10B | 2.3 | 70 | White |
