Scottish 6 Days 2027: celebrating 50 years of orienteering!
Join us in the heart of Perthshire next August
Five great forest days, additional days of urban racing, spectacular Scottish countryside and plenty of reasons to make it a holiday.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the event, Perthshire will provide an outstanding setting for a week of challenging forest orienteering, urban racing and plenty of opportunities for the whole family to enjoy Scotland.
Our Central Organising Teamhas been hard at work, and the team is growing by the week. Plans are now taking shape for what promises to be a varied and memorable week of orienteering.
Five days of great forest orienteering
Graeme Ackland, Technical Coordinator, writes:
“The mapping is mainly done, and planners have been out in the woods for Perthshire 2027 and what a treat we have for you!
“We start at Deuchary Hill, a huge new forest area deep in the Atholl estate above the Tay Valley, chosen for a classic World Ranking Event and sure to be an instant classic.
“Next up is Dowally, adjacent to Deuchary, combining parts of the Craig a Barns and Loch Ordie maps, with some previously unused forest.
“Third we move to Grandtully, venue of the recent Scottish Championship, where a middle distance will sample the highly runnable lower slopes.
“The rest day sees a Suburban sprint in Tulloch, then on to the grand finale at Tullochroisk: a small part of the area was used in the JK relays but there’s much, much more for Thursday and Friday in the shadows of Schiehallion, the birthplace of contours.
“And if that’s not enough, on Saturday and Sunday our friends at Masterplan Adventure are staging SprintScotland in Dunfermline.”
With several different forest areas and a mix of race formats, the 2027 programme will offer plenty of variety. There will also be an opportunity for competitors to extend their stay in Scotland and take part in SprintScotland at the end of the week.
Something for the whole family
The 26th Scottish 6 Days is shaping up to be a varied and exciting event for the whole family. There will be the usual range of courses for competitors of all abilities, while a Junior team is setting up string courses and a whole host of activities for younger orienteers.
Perthshire also offers plenty to do away from the competition. With spectacular scenery, forests, rivers, historic towns and a wide range of outdoor and family activities, there is plenty of reason to make the Scottish 6 Days part of a longer Scottish holiday.
Plans taking shape
Assistant Coordinator, David Steel, writes:
“We are now fixed (as much as we can be) on Days 1 and 2 having an arena based at Rotmell Farm, focusing on orienteering at Deuchary Hill and Dowally (but not on Craig a’ Barns due to forestry work).
“Day 3 is a middle distance race at Grandtully. The Sprint Day will be in the Northern suburbs of Perth (Tulloch). Days 4 and 5 will be based on Tullochroisk Farm, using the Dunalastair Estate.
“Negotiations are underway for finalising the Event Centre, which we expect to be in Aberfeldy, clearly accessible to Perthshire accommodation.
“We are still in the midst of fixing appointments for day planners (and assistants) and day organisers. It is thus a bit early to commit to naming anyone! But we have at least another three positions being ‘bid for’, so things are moving in the right direction.”
An Event Centre in Aberfeldy will put competitors within easy reach of a wide range of accommodation across the area. There are many campsites, hostels, holiday cottages, B&Bs and hotels in and around Aberfeldy, Dunkeld and Pitlochry, with further accommodation available in Perth. This gives clubs, families and individual competitors plenty of options when planning their stay.
Volunteers are making it happen
A major event like the Scottish 6 Days depends on hundreds of volunteers from orienteering clubs across Scotland.
If you are interested in volunteering at Perthshire 2027, please let your Club President, Chair or Secretaryknow and they will put you in touch with the team. There are still opportunities to become involved as the event plans develop.
A little bit of Outlander
We are also excited to announce that Days 4 and 5 are located near an “Outlander” filming site.
There is a small Iron Age fortified ring just west of the arena which was used during filming of the TV series Outlander. If you are a fan of the series, you might want to build a visit into your plans for the week.
Meet our Day Coordinator
The Day Coordinator for Perthshire 2027 is Jayne MacGregor, and she is delighted to be an integral part of the central team. Jayne said:
“My role as Day Coordinator means giving plenty of support to the members of the Scottish clubs who will be working to provide the best experience possible at Perthshire 2027. The forest areas we will be using are reasonably close together by road with arenas and parking co-located.”
The event is progressing well, and as we get closer to entries opening we will be sharing more information, including some map extracts.
For now, put the date in your diary: Early Bird Entries open on 1 December 2026.
Whether you’re travelling from elsewhere in Scotland or making the journey from overseas, Perthshire 2027 is shaping up to be a great opportunity to combine a full week of orienteering with a Scottish holiday.