Start at Chinley Churn moorland event, 2020.

Derwent Valley Orienteers is the orienteering club for Derbyshire

We are a friendly, active club with members of all age groups throughout Derbyshire. We offer a programme of regular events covering a range of challenges, from parkland in towns and cities, through urban events, to more challenging events in woodland and moorland areas.

Learn more about joining DVO

Help for newcomers

DVO welcomes beginners and new members – whatever your level of experience or age. We can help you learn orienteering and improve, either informally by tips from club members at your first events, or through coaching.

Often, people will try their first events in parks like Markeaton or Darley Park in Derby and then try more challenging woodland or moorland courses.

Many newcomers are families who can walk or run together or separately. Orienteering starts are usually timed at 1-minute intervals, so there is no pressure of a mass start. You can go at the speed you want to navigate to the controls on your map, with or without a compass.  Your overall time and split times are recorded through a dibber (electronic timing chip strapped to a finger) to record your progress. It’s fun to work out where you may have lost time or could have improved your choice of route.

Darley Park Finish

Others are from a running or fell-running background and enjoy the challenge of running across a range of techniques while navigating with a map. The fastest runners aren’t necessarily those at the top, but speed certainly helps and you will need to run fast to win your age class. Most winners of the Men’s Open class have 5K Parkrun times of well under 20 minutes.

If you have any questions do Contact us via our form or ask us a question via Facebook.

We’re supported by the Orienteering Foundation

In 2023, thanks to a grant from the Orienteering Foundation, our Club is focusing on offering training courses for newcomers and help at local events in the Derby Area and beyond, but open to people from across Derbyshire.

Club history

DVO was formed in the late 1960s as part of the initial surge of interest in orienteering based on its popularity in the Nordic countries. Since then, DVO has put on events throughout the county. Early events were naturally along the Derwent Valley in wooded areas such as Shining Cliff and Crich Chase and up to the moors in the north of the county.

Since then, many more areas have been mapped and used for popular events attracting orienteers, from across the county and beyond. More recently, areas mapped include Belper, Buxton and Matlock for Urban events and further north, Longstone Moor and Chinley Churn.

Read more about club history.

Future events

Thursday 21 March 2024
Mackworth

Monday 1 April 2024
Stanton Moor

Thursday 18 April 2024
Markeaton

Recent results

Sunday 3 March 2024
Shipley Country Park

Saturday 10 February 2024
Elvaston Castle

Sunday 21 January 2024
Eyam Moor

Routegadget (view routes)

MapRun Results

Join DVO

Derwent Valley Orienteers are a friendly, active club with members throughout Derbyshire.

We welcome new members whatever your experience and can help you learn orienteering and how to improve, either informally or through coaching.

Learn more

Newcomers

You can subscribe to receive information about future events suitable for novices.

Subscribe

We’re supported by the Orienteering Foundation

In 2023, thanks to a grant from the Orienteering Foundation, our Club is focusing on offering training courses for newcomers and help at local events in the Derby Area and beyond, but open to people from across Derbyshire.