Report from Karen Parker
The annual Coast and Islands orienteering week for 2026 has just finished. I’m writing this sitting in our campervan in the rain being buffeted by wind gusts, on a campsite where the water system has failed. That might sound a bit miserable, but in fact it’s been a great week.
We are on Coll, an island 13 miles long and 3 miles wide, situated to the west of Mull with nothing except the Atlantic Ocean between us and America. There have been 5 days of top quality orienteering with a mixture of confusing sand dunes, complex open fell, and coastal areas with deep chasms and bare rocky spurs. Common to all areas was the lack of line features, except I suppose the edge of the sea but even that moves depending on the tide. Constant contact with the map seems to have been the key to a good run as relocation is extremely difficult. There were 4 courses each day – Long, Medium, Short and Orange. In theory you do the same course each day, but in practice there is scope for moving to something shorter (or less likely, longer) as the week progresses. Three days were described Middle distance and two as Classic (with an epic 10km for Long on Day 4).
Pictures from members of the event WhatsApp group
As well as the orienteering we have had time to explore more of the island. It’s famous for its twenty or more golden white beaches with turquoise water separated by rocky headlands. We challenged ourselves to visit all 5 trig points on the island, which included one on (almost) the highest point, Ben Hogh – a mere 104m. We succeeded but it required battling through some extremely deep heather and tussocks.
A big feature of the week has been the weather. Unsettled is probably the best description – we’ve had a lot of cloud and rain, some sun, and plenty of wind. Start times are not pre-allocated so with careful study of the forecast it’s generally been possible to find a good weather window within the three-hour start period. Nevertheless, our van is full of wet clothes and shoes and we can’t wait to get back to a washing machine and drying facilities
Coll has a population of only around 160, so the organisers have been extremely careful to work with the local community in order to allow nearly 200 orienteers to visit. For instance, you had to find accommodation before entering, and with only one small shop on the island (restocked just twice a week) orders and special requests could be made in advance. Parking at events has been very restricted so we were encouraged to cycle if possible. Everything seems to have gone well except lack of water (and the excess of mud) at the main campsite. Fortunately, those staying in nearby self-catering accommodation have been able to help out (Thank you Jeff and Isabel). We have great admiration for the competitors who came on their bikes, carrying all their kit for the week and camped in mountain-marathon style tents.
Six BL members plus a fair few other Lake District orienteers attended. The best BL result came from Isabel who was second woman overall on the Medium course. Well done to her! Keith, Jeff, Dan and I all did Long every day, and Christine did Short.
Speculation has already begun about where next year’s event will be. We’ve heard Mull mentioned a few times, but it’s probably just guesswork. Wherever it is, entries are sure to fill up very fast so if you are interested look out for announcements; the end of October 2025 was when entries opened for Coll.
Even though the orienteering is over, we are still obsessively watching the weather forecast, because if it’s too windy the ferry back to Oban tomorrow could get cancelled. Coll is an amazing island but we really do want to get back home! Fingers very firmly crossed!
Results and maps can be seen here
(PS – the ferry didn’t get cancelled so we are now back home sorting out wet clothes, shoes and a muddy van)
Border Liners Orienteering Club 