Orienteering at Lough Key

Site Name: Lough Key Forest Park

Location: Boyle, Co. Roscommon

Where to Start?

Decide whether you will undertake the short , medium or long course. For Schools choose from the Primary or Secondary Courses. Then, download and print your map through the links below:

Course Maps

Download Short Course Map (PDF 503 KB)
Download Medium Course Map (PDF 510 KB)
Download Long Course Map (PDF 524 KB)

Control descriptions are listed in the control boxes on your map. When you finish, you can check your answers against the Answer Sheet for the course.

Download Answer sheet (DOC 31KB)

Schools Course Maps

Download Primary Course Map (PDF 503KB)
Download Secondary Course Map (PDF 510KB)

Other Educational Resources

Work book, based on the primary science curriculum. Download Primary Workbook (DOC 3.4MB)

Download Primary answer sheets (DOC 40KB)

More advanced workbook for second level, junior cycle students. Download Secondary Workbook (DOC 727KB)

Download Secondary answer sheets (DOC 111KB)

Do I need a Permit?

If you are running an organised orienteering event of 10+ people, you should apply online for a permit via our permits/licences page.

What to bring with you

You will need:

Comfortable clothes that you don't mind getting dirty
Walking or running shoes
A waterproof jacket if the forecast is poor

Not essential but may be useful:

A compass
A safety whistle (this will be compulsory if you attend a competitive event)
A plastic zip lock bag for your map to keep it dry.

What Next?

Try to identify some large features, can you find the car park? The triangle symbol indicates the start of the course and the double circles indicate the end. The start and finish are often in the same place. Work your way through the legend and try to identify the various roads, tracks and paths on the map. Did you notice that black features on the map are made of rock or are man made, such as stone walls? Brown features are made of earth, blue features represent water. Now have a look at the contours, where are the steep parts? Will you begin your course going up hill or downhill? And can you locate the building at the top of the hill?

It's time to go orienteering! Set Your Map

Beginning at the triangle symbol, rotate your map so that the features on the ground and on the map are aligned, this is called "setting" your map. You can use your compass to do this if you have one. Or stand with your back to the main entrance and rotate your map until the forest road in front of you lines up with the road on the map which takes you to the first control. Now go to control number 1. At each control point, you will find a wooden stake with a plaque on it depicting the international orienteering symbol and a numerical code. As you go around the course, you need to write the code on each plaque into the appropriate control box on the right hand side of your map. When you finish the course, you can check your answers against the Answer Sheet for the course.