Prisoners being let out of jail to go mountain biking and orienteering

Prisoners being let out of jail to go mountain biking and orienteeringA report - called ‘Hardly Working Out: Barriers to Physical Education in Prisons - out recently stated that exercise was ‘enormously important’ to inmatesNewsStian Alexander13:00, 18 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesA recent report found exercise is important to inmates(Image: Getty Images)Prisoners are being let out of jail to go mountain biking. Inmates at HMP Hatfield, a 360-capacity open jail in South Yorks, simply hop on the bikes and pedal out of the jail, usually with at least one officer accompanying. Lags at the jail can even choose to go on an orienteering course called the National Navigation Award Scheme (NNAS). The course, which normally costs £130, sends inmates out into the wilds with a compass and a map and told to ‘find their way home’. They are taught how to read a compass accurately and how to decode a map, figuring out how to ‘cross open country’ - and are supplied with a map, compass and head-torch. Leaders working at the NNAS teach inmates about grid references, how to figure out contours and various land features - like hills, quarries, roads and pathways - as well as the Countryside Code. Around 60 inmates sit the NNAS course every year, although they have to be home in time for ‘lock up’. Between 18-24 prisoners take part in a ‘mountain bike maintenance’ course each year, with repaired bikes used by inmates to ‘develop skills in mountain biking’.‌View 2 ImagesHMP Hatfield(Image: Google)READ MORE: Foreign Office chief Olly Robbins SACKED by Keir Starmer over Mandelson vetting scandalREAD MORE: Road speed limit 60mph change on 200,000 miles of England roads update as DfT issues responseA report - called ‘Hardly Working Out: Barriers to Physical Education in Prisons - out recently stated that exercise was ‘enormously important’ to inmates. Charlie Taylor, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, said in the report that physical and mental health were vital for inmates. He stated: “Visiting the gy...