Planning Your Route

When planning your event please consider the following:

• Start / finish time – take into account daylight hours and also any diversions on the route at the time of your event (click here for details)
• For larger events ensure you have staggered start and finish times
• Start / finish locations – need to be easy to access, locate and accommodate the expected number of participants. If you are organising a linear event, do you need to return participants to the start?
• Time your event to allow for the slowest participant to complete
• Look at possibility of providing a circular or figure of 8 route to allow different finish locations for differing abilities / user types
• For horse events, ensure watering points / troughs are available
• Build in regular check points, refreshment stops or options to visit places of interest along the route
• Provide a map of the route indicating start / finish points, check points, refreshment stops, access controls, diversions and road crossings
• Take into consideration the possibility of adverse weather and shelter options.
• Consider traffic free sections for younger participants
• Finally, don’t be too ambitions – to ensure success your event should be one that everyone will enjoy
• Parking facilities – if you need parking facilities for participants please remember to park vehicles safely without causing obstruction. Consider parking facilities for horse boxes and users with mobility aids. For larger events it may be necessary to arrange additional parking
• Average walking speed is 3 miles per hour (5km per hour)
• Average cycling speed is 9 miles per hour (15.5 km per hour)
• Average speed for a horse to canter is 10 miles per hour (16 km per hour)