Harden Moor with Bingley St Ives

I hope you enjoyed your run around Harden Moor and Bingley St Ives on a crisp Autumn day. Most of the comments I heard at the finish were along the lines of "Phew, that was tough" or "I spent a lot of time in the old quarry", both of which I count as a success! I thank the organiser, controllers, mappers, SI and equipment officers for their considerable work and help leading up to the event, and all the on the day helpers.
Sam planned the junior courses up to and including light green. He was keen to set challenging courses, at the upper end of BOF technical difficulty, with plentiful controls in the old quarry (6 on the light green!). The leg re-entrant 174 to knoll 184 was a favourite as it required careful contour navigation if a direct route was chosen. This set the precedent for the senior courses. After the quarry, all the senior courses made a bee-line for the wooded valley which has some great rock features set within more runnable terrain. I particularly liked the characterful boulder 154. Blue and brown then headed to Bingley St Ives for some longer faster route-choice legs through the estate. Between the quarry and the valley there is an area of moorland with two sets of transmission lines. The green course had a long leg here for route choice. The other courses had controls here as I think navigating this network of indistinct paths is particularly pleasant, especially on a sunny day. The boulder field 151 was another favourite. Photos courtesy of Sam.

Rolf and Sam

PS: Adjusted results on Brown due to a negative split time showing in error

Pre Event Info

Safety Information

A significant part of the area is open moorland and cagoules/head cover may be compulsory if the weather conditions are poor. Look out for notices.

Directions / Parking

Please refer to the parking plan above.

Parking is primarily linear and roadside. Please follow the directions of the parking team.

The event will only be signposted from the B6429 Cullingworth to Bingley Road at the junction with Ryecroft Road at SE081381, at the west end of Harden Village.

If you approach the event from any other direction please park on Goff Well Lane, west of Keighley Road/Shaw lane at the Guide Inn crossroads. Follow the directions of the parking team.

Take care crossing Keighley Road at the Guide Inn. Traffic is occasional but often speedy.

Wherever you park you will have to walk along pavementless roads. Please take care and supervise children.

Please do not park in The Guide Inn car park or park on Keighley Road/Shaw Lane. –

Facilities: Portable toilets will be at the roadside entrance to the Registration/Download area; Point C on the parking plan.

Registration & Start Times

Registration from 10.00 -12.00

Start times from 10.30 to 12.30

Courses close at 14:30. Please have an early start time if you need extra time

Start times are NOT being allocated - turn up and run.

Entry Details

Enter using the Fabian Link -

We now have Brown 4, Blue 6, Green 4, Short Green 7, VS Green 9, Orange 11, Yellow 15, White 12 available for EOD

If you are helping on the day please contact the organiser for a helper code to give you discounted entry.

Senior BO members = £10; on Brown to Light Green and £5 on Orange, Yellow and White (plus £2 supplement if not a member of British Orienteering).
All Juniors & Students courses Brown to Orange = £5
Juniors on Yellow & White = £0
Dibber hire is £1 apart from juniors on Yellow and White

Closing date for pre-entries at these prices is 23.59 on Sunday 23rd November

Senior BO members = £12; on Brown to Light Green and £7 on Orange, Yellow and White (plus £2 supplement if not a member of British Orienteering).
All Juniors & Students courses Brown to Orange = £5
Juniors on Yellow & White = £0
Dibber hire is £1 apart from juniors on Yellow and White

After this date, online entries will remain open until midnight on Wednesday 26th November at EOD prices. There will also be limited entry on the day (EOD), subject to map availability. We hope to update you after entries close on Sunday how many maps are available.

Course Information

Courses	Distance (k)	Climb (m)	Controls	YSL Classes
Brown	8.1	290	30	M18, M20, M21, M35, M40, M45, M50	W21
Blue	5.6	205	23	M16, M55, M60, M65	W18, W20, W35, W40, W45, W50
Green	3.9	155	18	M70, M75	W16, W55, W60, W65
Short Green	3.2	150	12	M80, M85	W70
Very Short Green	2.7	120	12		W75, W80, W85
Light Green	2.9	90	13	M14	W14
Orange	2.7	75	12	M12	W12
Yellow	2.2	40	12	M10	W10
White	1.3	20	12

Map scale: W, Y, O, LG and VSG 1:5000; all other courses 1:7500

Maps updated 2025 by Tony Thornley (Harden) and Chris Burden (St Ives)

The White course has some face signs to guide competitors through complex junctions. Follow happy faces and avoid sad faces. Competitors on other courses (including Yellow) should ignore face signs.

The Brown and Blue courses have a timed out road crossing on Keighley road into, and out of the west part of the St Ives Estate. The road is not very busy, but cars travel at speed. The road crossing will be timed out. You will have one minute to cross the road safely. Ensure that you punch the controls either side of the road on both crossings. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

The age class to course mapping is consistent with the Yorkshire Super League. Note that you can in fact run any course you wish and still receive YSL points, but they may be reduced. See YSL website for details:

Yorkshire Superleague - Yorkshire and Humberside Orienteering Association (YHOA)

A string course will be available located near to the finish.

Terrain Description

Harden Moor is an excellent small orienteering area with varied terrain. The south west part is primarily heather moorland with detailed old quarry workings requiring careful navigation. The north east part is primarily runnable forest and includes a valley with plenty of rock and contour features. All courses above orange visit both these parts. There is also an extensive path network for junior courses. The undergrowth screen indicates vegetation that is likely to slow competitors, including bracken, heather, brambles, and brashings. Bracken cover has increased over the last few years, but courses have been planned to avoid the worst of it. A black circle on the map represents a bronze-age stone circle.

St Ives West is a mix of heather moor and forest with some rhododendron cover. Due to the phytophthora ramorum virus present in St Ives woodland, ALL competitors are advised to wash their footwear after running.

There are some large dangerous crags which courses are planned to avoid but take care in the quarry areas.

Some parts of the area are used extensively by the public (especially dog-walkers). A link path to the Pennine Bridleway starts in St Ives and crosses Harden Moor and is well used by horse riders and mountain bikers. Please be courteous and considerate (and take care where dogs are concerned).

There is also a small area used by a model aircraft flying club, which is marked as Out of Bounds on the map. You must go round it rather than across.

All other out of bound areas are bounded by walls and fences and all open fields are out of bounds.

Dog restrictions

Dogs under control on the courses. Please clear up any mess.

Contacts / Officials

Organiser: Dave Shelley dshelley AT btinternet.com

Planner: Rolf Crook (assisted by Sam Crook)

Controller: Leon Foster

Important Information

Safety and Risk: A comprehensive risk assessment will have been carried out by the organiser, but participants take part at their own risk and are responsible for their own safety during the event.

Insurance: Everyone is welcome to take part in this event. However, from 1st January 2026, participants who are not members of British Orienteering will no longer be covered by British Orienteering’s public liability insurance. For example, if you were to accidentally injure a member of the public or damage property during the event, you would not be covered by our insurance. By entering any event from 1st January 2026, you acknowledge that you are taking part at your own risk. British Orienteering’s public liability insurance used to cover non-members at events before this date.

Privacy: Please note that by entering our events you are treated as giving your consent to:

your name and your children’s names appearing in the results section of this website or in social media. Read our data protection page to see how we look after your personal data.
being photographed or filmed during the event and for these images being used on our website, social media or other publicity to provide information & to promote our sport and the club. You can withdraw your consent or your children’s consent by completing BO’s Right to Object Form (Appendix A of BO guidance found at https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/doc/policies-and-guidance/safeguarding/photo-and-filming and giving/sending it to the organiser of the event or sending it to chairATaire.org.uk. For more information see our photography and filming guidance.