Brodie Castle Permanent courses
The Permanent Orienteering Courses at the National Trust for Scotland's Brodie Castle are series of marker posts spread around the Castle and the Estate, shown on a map available from the Welcome Centre or available to download. Posts are usually on obvious features such as path junctions and fence corners. Your challenge is to find these controls, following a route drawn on the map. Each post will have a number and a unique letter and number on it. Posts should be visited in the order shown on the map. Match the post code with that shown on your map, and note down the matching letter as proof you’ve been there. Navigation around a course is a great fun - you can run or walk between posts from the start to the finish.
Two courses are available:
Short - Castle and Gardens (1.0 km)
Longer - Avenue and Pond (2.3 km)
The start and finish for both courses is close to the Welcome Centre, where maps can be obtained. Opening hours for the Welcome centre can be seen here. The Estate is open when the Welcome Centre is closed, in which case you will need to download the map and view on screen or print out. Control codes - note down the unique letter at each control and check against the control code list to see if you have visited each control.
The equipment you need: a map with your course marked on it, available from the Welcome Centre or downloaded. A pen or pencil; a compass is optional - you could download one on your mobile phone. And of course suitable clothing for the weather on the day!
Safety: Some of the paths may be uneven, muddy and slippery; take care. If you are following the longer ‘Avenue and Pond’ course, take care crossing the road at the end of the avenue.
These permanent orienteering courses have been set up as a partnership between the National Trust for Scotland and Moravian Orienteering Club to give people new to orienteering an opportunity to try out the sport. The two courses are designed for people of a wide range of ages and abilities. Routes take in the castle gardens as well as woodland tracks and paths. These courses are suitable for individuals, families and small groups. The shorter course is more suitable for buggies - the paths on the longer course are more uneven. The distances shown for each course represents the straight-line distance between the controls. The route people actually follow will often be longer!
If you have any comments about using this course, or if you find any of the controls damaged or missing, please email: club@mor.scot or inform the staff at the Welcome Centre.