Ampthill Park

Near: Ampthill
Event Type: Local parkland
Postcode: MK45 2HX
Google Map: View map

On-line entry: Online entry not open yet
Entry on the day: Yes
Registration location: Near car park
Entry fees:

• Juniors (U21)/students: £ 5 (member) / £ 5 (non-member)
• Adults: £ 10 (member) / £ 12 (non-member)
• Timing chip hire: £ 1
• Payment: Contactless payment preferred. Cash OK

Ampthill Park provides an interesting mixture of hills, complex path networks, woodland and open land.

There are courses suitable for all ages.

This event will form part of WAOC's club league: the WAGAL.

Directions / Parking

Take the A507 from M1 Jct 13. Ampthill Park is at the Western end of Ampthill next to the junction of the B530 and the A507. It will only be signed from the B530/A507. 

Alternatively take the A421 to Bedford, taking the B530 to Ampthill and turning towards the West in the centre of Ampthill keeping to the B530.  SatNav: There is no exact postcode for Ampthill Park, but MK45 2HX will take you to a point about 700m East of the west car park entrance. The west car park entrance is at TL024382.

By car: Parking will be on grass adjacent to the west car park.  Please follow marshall's instructions. (Please note that Ampthill park has 2 car parks, the central and the west car park, but WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE CENTRAL CAR PARK). Competitors should drive to the west car park.

If you are planning on bringing a coach or minibus, please contact the organiser beforehand.

By bus: Sunday service may operate.

By train or train and bike: Travel to Flitwick Station, which is 2 miles from Ampthill by bike.

Course Information

Colour coded courses from White to Blue. There will be a punching start. SIAC (non-contact) punching will be enabled for all course controls. Start and Finish controls will NOT be in beacon mode and must be contact-punched by all competitors.

Entry Details

Schools and other groups may enter in advance using the Group Registration form. Please complete the form and send by email to entries@waoc.org.uk. We appreciate your providing as much entry information as possible in advance, as this helps us ensure enough maps are available and prevents delays at registration. Payment will be taken on the day (cheque/cash/credit card) so we can deal with any amendments and you will only be charged for those who actually take part.

Individuals and families are encouraged to enter in advance online online entries will be set up shortly. (On-line pre-entry helps us avoid queues at registration). Advance entry will close at around midnight on the evening of Thursday 10th September. Entry on the day will be available for all courses, subject to availability of maps.

Helper Discount A £5 discount will be offered to adult members of WAOC volunteering to help on the day. Please contact the organiser (via entries@waoc.org.uk) to obtain the discount code in advance of entering.

There will be no additional car parking charge - Entry fees include the cost of parking.

Registration and Start Times

Registration for entry on the day, enquiries and hired dibber collection will be open from 10 am to 12 noon. Registration will be adjacent to Parking.

If you have entered in advance and have requested a hire dibber, please collect it from enquiries before heading to the start. Remember to return the dibber when you download. If you have registered a school or other group, please go to registration to confirm your entries, make payment and collect the hire dibbers for your group.

Starts will operate from 10.30am until 12.30pm. Starts and Finish are both a short distance from the car park.

Terrain and map details

Ampthill Park is mostly fast open, with detailed contour and some patches of runnable forest canopy. Full leg cover is strongly advised, as there may be nettles in parts of the wooded areas.

Out of bounds areas on the map are denoted by purple vertical hatching. One fence to the North of the park, indicated by a thick purple line, must only be crossed at Mandatory crossing points: -)(-

There may be cattle in the field enclosed by this fence. White and Yellow courses do not enter this area.

Map scale is 1:5,000 with 5m contours. All course maps are A4 sized with pre-printed courses, printed on waterproof paper. Blue and Green course maps will be double-sided with courses split into Parts 1 & 2. Part 1 will be on one side, with the continuation onto Part 2 on the opposite side.

Control descriptions will be included on maps and in addition loose control descriptions will be available in the start lanes. For White and Yellow courses, control descriptions will be in text format. For courses Light Green and above, symbolic control descriptions will be used. Control descriptions on the Orange course will be provided in text on maps and in both formats for loose descriptions.

Dog restrictions

Well behaved dogs are welcome at Ampthill Park

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ampthill Town Council for allowing us to use Ampthill Park for this event.

Please make sure that your shoes are clean before you travel to the event.

Facilities

Toilets are situated at the Hub cafe in the park, which will be serving takeaway hot and cold drinks.

To be confirmed

Organiser: Chris Rampton, WAOC
Planner: Mark Hopkin, WAOC
Controller: Steve Hardy, SMOC
Welfare: Helen Hague, WAOC

Safety and Risk: A risk assessment is carried out by the organiser in advance of each event, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.

Insurance: Our events and activities are registered with British Orienteering, and have been risk-assessed. Our event officials have appropriate training for the level of event involved. This means our events are covered by British Orienteering's public liability insurance. For insurance purposes, we ask that when you register for an event that you provide full names of anyone who goes out on a course, even if just accompanying a junior or part of a group (these additional names won't be recorded in the results - for example they can just be noted on the back of your registration slip).

Please note: By entering an event, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. From 1st January 2026 onwards, participants who are not members of British Orienteering are not covered by British Orienteering’s public liability insurance. If you are not a member of British Orienteering and were to, for example, accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered.

Privacy:

WAOC process entrant information on the basis of legitimate interest to produce competition results, to provide participation and results information to British Orienteering, and we retain details for a period to meet our insurance requirements. Published results may include (but not limited to) name, any club affiliation, race times and age group. Read our data protection page for further information about how we look after your personal information.

Welfare and Safeguarding:

We want everyone to feel safe and welcome at our events.

If you would like special assistance, such as a quiet start or other request, please do let us know. Ideally by contacting the organiser in advance, otherwise ask on the day and we will help if we can.

As a club, we support and follow British Orienteering’s safeguarding policies,which can be found via the links below:

• Child Safeguarding Policy
• Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policy

We also have our own child welfare policy. See also our Safeguarding and Welfare page.

Taking Photographs

In line with the policies of British Orienteering, the organisers of this event request that any person wishing to take photos or videos showing children should register their details with event volunteers before taking any such photos or videos. The event organisers reserve the right to ask people to refrain from taking photos or videos and may, if such warnings are ignored, refer the matter to the police.

Club's use of Images

We may sometimes publish photographs of event participants in news items or publicity. At events where we have arranged for photography we will advertise this at the event and in advance in the event details.

We aim always to obtain the permissions of parent or responsible adult before we publish any picture showing a junior participant as the main focus. Although we cannot guarantee that an event photographer will not take photographs of any given individual, we will do our best to avoid publishing images of individuals who have told us they do not wish to be photographed and will remove images that we are notified about.

Read our data protection page for further information about our policy on photography and use of images.