blog7t: January 2016

Wednesday, 27 January 2016

National Trust parkrun venues

The National Trust are great supporters of parkrun and kindly allow many of their venues to be used for parkruns. They are generally off-road courses and beautiful places to run. If you were making a 'must-do' list, then these venues would be a good place to start. The National Trust have their own webpage showing which venues are home to parkruns, you can find it here - National Trust parkrun Venues (page no longer seems to exist)

For the list below I have ordered the venues by name of the parkrun rather than name of NT venue, which may differ slightly.

As the venues are widely spread across the country, I haven't visited many of them. I'll try to tick off the odd venue every now and then, but almost all of them require a long drive and probably an overnight stay. It will be extremely slow progress.

Map: The green pins show the venues I have officially visited while the red pins are venues that I still need to visit.

Bath Skyline parkrun - Bath Skyline, Bath, Somerset
Course: A small loop followed by a big loop
Underfoot: Gravel, stone, grass
Profile:
Notes: Steps on course - not suitable for buggies
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED

Belton House parkrun - Belton House, Grantham, Lincolnshire
Course: Two anti-clockwise laps
Underfoot:
Profile:
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED

Blickling parkrun - Blickling Estate, Aylsham, Norfolk
Course: Almost two laps
Underfoot:
Profile:
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED

Bolberry Down parkrun - Malborough, nr Salcombe, Devon

Course: Three laps

Underfoot: Grass, gravel, tarmac

Profile: Flat

Notes:

Sunday, 24 January 2016

Hockley Woods parkrun

Hockley is a large village in Essex. Its name is an Anglo Saxon word that means small hill. It was a small, quiet village until 1889 when the Great Eastern Railway arrived and made it an ideal spot for London workers to settle. The village grew as local land owners sold off for their land for development into homes.

hockley woods [photo:7t]

Just to the south of the village lies a 250 acre area of ancient woodland. There are a number of different woods here which are collectively known as Hockley Woods. It is the largest area of what remains of the wild woods which covered the whole of Essex after the Ice Age 10.000 years ago.

to the start [photo:7t]

The woods have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by English Nature owing to the variety of rare plants and trees that grow in its undisturbed soil. If you spot any fallen trees, they will probably be a result of the Great Storm of 1987 which uprooted many trees in the woods. Some were cleared, but most were left exactly where they fell.

runners walking down to the start (note the uphill section in the distance) [photo:7t]

Historically the woods were owned by separate people and because of this there are a network of earth banks throughout the area marking out the old boundaries. The woods have always been an important source of building materials and fuel. Timber from the wood was apparently used in the construction of Southend Pier, which is currently the longest pleasure pier in the world.

negotiating the uphill start [photo:7t]

The woods are the focus of this post because they are now the home to Hockley Woods parkrun which had its inaugural event on 7 February 2015 and currently has an average attendance of 144.5. As we visited on their 50th event I used it as a perfect excuse to give my old 50 club t-shirt an airing. The run itself follows an clockwise, undulating course which is just under two full laps. Underfoot you will find the typical forest dirt paths which turn to mud during the wetter months, so trail shoes are recommended.

a fairly good section for the wheels (no accumulations of mud) [photo: official photographer]

As we visited in January (2016) we were lucky enough to enjoy the gloriously splashy, muddy conditions underfoot. We arrived at the venue and parked in the main Hockley Woods Car Park (free on Saturdays) which is just off the B1013 main road. The entrance is right next to The Bull pub, which has its own car park that can be used for additional parking - this currently has a fee of £2 which the pub will refund with an order post-run.

a slightly muddier section (you can see our tyre tracks if you look closely) [photo:7t]

Had we travelled by train we would have headed for Hockley train station and covered the remaining 1.5km on foot. There are also a couple of local buses (services 7 or 8) that pass the venue. I didn't spot any bicycle racks but the were plenty of wooden fences around the edge of the car park that could be used to secure a bike of necessary. There are toilets just inside the main entrance of the car park.

a nice little downhill section [photo: official photographer]

The main meeting point is right next to the car park, this is where the pre-run briefing took place. Sadly there was a lot of chatter from within the crowd when we visited so I didn't hear a single word of the briefing. It's not unique to this venue, but runners really need to have a little more respect when the run director is speaking.

follow that unicorn [photo: official photographer]

The start of the run is roughly 450 metres away from the meeting point at one of the lower points of the course, so after the briefing the runners are lead down to the start area before being despatched. As usual with runs in the woods, it is quite hard to describe the individual sections as everything looks pretty much the same. So I'll do my best to pick out the notable parts.

another section of woods [photo: official photographer]

Before I get started let's just have a look at the course shape (official course page). It clearly resembles a fish and while showing my daughter the course map prior to our visit she decided that between us this venue should be called Fishy parkrun. I doubt if it will catch on, but at least we'll know what we mean! Another key thing to note is that as this venue starts at a lower point than it finishes it is actually a 'net uphill' course.

from the top of the final incline (doesn't look that bad, does it?) [photo:7t]

Right, the opening section is uphill and a fair section of the run takes place on a bridleway which means there is always a chance that runners will encounter horses en-route. From what I witnessed, both sets of users seem to be able to co-exist pretty well. We also saw a few squirrels on our way around the course. The area is also very popular with dog walkers; there weren't too many during the run, but afterwards there were loads.

all done [photo: official photographer]

The early to middle parts of the lap consist of fairly gentle undulations and some flat sections, but the towards the end of the lap there is a longer gentle uphill section which gets very steep at the end. This steep section also has the added bonus of having some protruding tree roots and being extra muddy, which during a standard run might not be so bad. However, I was buggy running and this section was very challenging indeed.

some of the mud we picked up around the course [photo:7t]

Fortunately the finish is right at the top of this steep incline on lap 2 so after a short final push you'll soon have a chance to take a well earned breather. Barcode scanning takes place right next to the finish line and if you happen to forget to get yours scanned there is a friendly reminder (along with a very good drawing of a finish token) notice to give it back before leaving.

two queues for scanning [photo:7t]

After the run we went into the The Bull to have some toast and a drink where we were joined by fellow parkrun uber-tourist and former 'the parkrun show' host Danny Norman. If you've never listened to the show, it's well worth starting from the beginning and working your way through the 186 episodes which can all be found in the parkrun show archive.

not impressed [photo:7t]

As I mentioned above, I ran this event with my daughter in her running buggy. Although this worked out fine for us it might not work for everyone - saying that, I wouldn't hesitate in doing the same again. The underside of the buggy was caked in mud and I had to spend some time afterwards scraping it out of all the fixtures and fittings. Some of the sections were a little squishy underfoot (underwheel?) so required a fair bit of effort to get through. Also, she ended up with quite a bit of mud splashed over her which she didn't mind. However her toy unicorn also suffered and she wasn't too impressed with me for that. Ooops..

apparently i cleaned the buggy with my face [photo: danny norman]

As usual I recorded the run with my phone and my GPS data can be found on Strava [Hockley Woods parkrun], just incase you want to check out the course profile or check out the fishy shape of the route! As we were over in Essex we followed up our muddy adventure with an afternoon at Southend-on-Sea. It really was a great day!

Edit: I visited the venue for a second time in October 2017 and created a #relive fly-by video of the course, here: Hockley Woods parkrun relive video

Saturday, 16 January 2016

Tring parkrun

*** Please note that Tring parkrun has now permanently closed ***

Tring is a small market town in Hertfordshire with a population of around 12,000 people. The name is believed to be derived from the Anglo Saxon 'Tredunga' or 'Trehangr'. It essentially means 'a slope where trees grow'. It sits at a low point in the Chilton Hills known as the 'Tring Gap' which has been used as a point to cross the chalk escarpment since ancient times.

tring park

The Manor of Tring is first mentioned in the Domesday book, but it was in 1682 when the current country house, Tring Park Mansion, was built to the design of Sir Christopher Wren for Sir Henry Guy. It is widely believed that Sir Henry used his position as Secretary of the Treasurer to subsidise the building of the mansion. He was subsequently sent to the Tower (Tower of London) for accepting a bribe.

i herd the news today. oh boy.

During the 1720s the grounds were landscaped and included the addition of many of the avenues that are present here. Around this time, a summer house and an obelisk were designed and built. All that remains of the summer house is its impressive pillared entrance, and there is some mystery around the purpose of the obelisk, although local lore says that it commemorates visits by Charles II and his mistress Nell Gwyn.

pre-run mingling

The 3,643 acre (14.74 square kilometres!) estate was bought by the Rothschild family in 1872 and many structural alterations of the mansion were subsequently made. As a 21st birthday present for the eldest son, Walter, who was a keen scientist and natural historian, the family built a museum for him to keep is growing collection of zoological specimens and this was called the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum. The museum is now part of the National History Museum and is open to the public (free entry).

permanent start-finish sign

In 1938 the vast area that was the 'Tring Park Estate' was divided up into and sold off. The mansion still stands and now houses 'The Tring Park School for the Performing Arts' which has quite a notable list of former pupils. The interior of the mansion was used in the 2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron movie [the Russian ballet school dream sequence] which also featured two of the school's pupils.

dartford parkrun on tour [adam / richey / steven]

In the mid-nineteen-seventies the A41 (Tring Bypass) was constructed and this sliced its way through the old mansion grounds. With the mansion on the northern side of the road, the area to the south of the new road was sold off and is now a public park. Both the northern and southern areas are still called Tring Park (to make things even more confusing, the school is also known as Tring Park), but it is the southern side that I am referring to from here onwards.

runners ready to go

Tring Park has been grade II listed by English Heritage. It covers an area of 264 undulating acres of chalk grassland and woodland, and about half of the land is home to a herd of cows which roam and graze freely. It is also one of Hertfordshire's most important habitats for wildlife including the rare Purple Emperor butterfly. It is owned by Dacorum Borough Council and since 1993 has been maintained by the Woodland Trust. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Natural Beauty and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

the view down lime avenue from the start

On 1 November 2014 it became home to Tring parkrun. I visited this venue on a very cold, frosty January morning with some fellow members of the Dartford parkrun core team, Richey and Adam. It was event number 68 and there was a turnout of 170, this was higher than their average attendance which currently sits at 124.9. If you'd like to see my GPS data (hill profile etc) you can view it on Strava via this link: Tring parkrun.

into the valley (first glimpse of cows)

When arriving at Tring Park by car, there is a free car park (Hastoe Lane Car Park) that opens at 8.30am which is situated just off the Hastoe Lane on the northern side of the A41. Should you require parking any earlier (or if the padloack on the gate is frozen solid!) then you'd be looking at trying to find a spot at the northern end of Hastoe Lane or heading into the centre of Tring where there are a further 3 car parks; these are free for up to an hour or 90p for up to two hours. The official Tring parkrun course page does ask that runners avoid blocking local streets when parking, so please be respectful of this if visiting.

safely past the cows and heading into the forest

For other travel options, there is a train station at Tring, it is to the east of the town and is approximately 3.5km (by road) away from the park itself. There is also a bus (the Arriva 500 service) that passes close to the venue. Bicycle racks are avaialble for use in the Hastoe Lane Car Park, but I suspect you could also wheel it over to the start area if you'd prefer to leave it in sight.

the view from the top (the mansion is just left of centre)

Access to the park from the centre of Tring (and the car park) is via a footpath and a pedestrian bridge which crosses the A41 and the meeting area for the parkrun is just on the other side of the bridge in the avenue of trees called Lime Avenue - the avenue itself actually starts on the northern side of the road, but was split in two by the construction of the road. A notable point here is the lack of toilets in the park, so we had a brief pit-stop at the Forge Street car park where a block of public toilets is located (open from 8am) before proceeding to the Hastoe Lane.

king charles ride

The run takes place over one 5km lap of the park. Underfoot you'll find a mixture of grass and dirt paths, and in the winter lots of mud (unless it's frozen like it was when we visited). It's definitely a course for trail shoes and the majority of buggy runners might choose to avoid it especially in the winter (but not Harry Bryant, the day's run director, who must find the course a little easy so adds a little extra challenge!). About half of the run (including the start and finish) takes place within the area that the cows live in, so there is always the chance that you could have a close encounter of the bovine kind.

approaching the summerhouse

From the start point in Lime Avenue, the runners head off into the park. Upon reaching the end of the line of trees and entering open grassland, the route follows a dip down into a valley where I caught my first glance of the cows (all standing in a line having a breakfast of frosty grass). Now, remember earlier I mentioned that the original meaning of Tring was 'a slope where trees grow? Well, at this point of the run, you will find out exactly what that means!

and past the obelisk

Up you go, and through a marshalled gate (listen for the cowbells) into the woods where the path zig-zags and gets a little steeper. Up and up through the trees until you reach the top of the escarpment (scarp) and see the 1km marker. The next mile or so is run along 'King Charles Ride' which follows a gentle roller-coaster style path along the ridge of the scarp.

heading back down to the fields

Every now and then you can look to your left to see stunning views across Tring and into Buckinghamshire. The path continues all the way to the most easterly point of the course where you'll pass the Summer House and then the Obelisk as you start to gradually descend before finally going through another marshalled gate (again, listen for the cowbells!) and popping out onto the open grassland again. Usually at this time of year the grassland would be quite muddy underfoot, but on our visit the ground was frozen solid which meant lots of ankle-twisting hoof shaped holes in the ground to watch out for.

the undulating grassland

The remainder of the run is over the undulating grassy fields. In Walter Rothschild's day you would have seen zebras, emus and kangaroos here, but today this area is home to just the cows. The course twists around and at 4km actually passes within reaching distance of the finish area. You then carry on weaving around the grass fields until reaching the final, and possibly hardest, of the undulations which brings you out at the end of Lime Avenue where you now run the opposite way along it right down to the end to find the finish line.

more undulating grassland

Barcode scanning takes place right next to the finish line and of you think you may have run a new personal best you can pick up and ring the PB bell! After milling around and cheering on the remaining runners, we decided to head over to the post-parkrun coffee venue - The Akeman, which is a pub or bar or coffee shop or restaurant. Actually I'm not sure what it is, but they have really nice coffee and super-sized cookies!

runners back at lime avenue for the finish

Before leaving we spent a long time talking to the Event Director about all things parkrun and we headed back to the car feeling extremely chuffed that we had found an absolute corker of a parkrun venue. If you haven't visited Tring parkrun, then put it on your to-do list. No. Wait. Put it on your Must-Do list. You won't regret it!

Friday, 1 January 2016

Barclay parkrun

In Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, there was once a privately owned house and grounds called High Leigh Estate. It was the home to a Mr Robert Barclay from 1871 until his death in 1921. During his time in residence, he and his family had made a number of charitable contributions to the local community including the land at 'Lowfields' for the Hoddesdon Cricket Club and Hoddesdon Football Club. The family also commissioned an ornamental lake to be dug within the estate in order to provide much needed work to the men of Hoddesdon.

barclay park [photo:7t]

A few years after Robert Barclay's death, and in celebration of King George V's silver jubilee, the family donated a 7.4 hectare area of the estate to the people of Hoddesdon for the creation of a public park. This new park was fittingly named Barclay Park and was officially opened on 12 May 1937. It sits on a gently undulating piece of land and features open grass areas as well as landscaped outcrops of trees.

barclay park [photo:7t]

On 6 June 2015 Barclay parkrun became part of the parkrun family and at the time of writing has an average attendance of 52.3 people per event. I visited on New Years Day 2016 as part of my New Years Day parkrun double with Hatfield Forest parkrun [Link: my Hatfield Forest parkrun blog]. I think I was the only person to do this double.

a bit of pre-run mingling [photo:7t]

Participants arriving by car are encouraged to park in the free car park at Broxbourne Civic Hall, just off Cock Lane. There are some spaces on Park View but the majority of road space around the park is marked with yellow lines. I followed the official advice and parked in the suggested car park, but had I driven to Park View I would have found a space.

early on in the lap (dropping downhill) [photo: 7t]

Broxbourne station is the closest you'll get to the venue by train. It is around a mile from the park so is a perfect distance to get those legs warmed up before the run. I didn't see any cycle racks in the park, but there are always some railings or a bench to be found if required - all of the cyclists I saw had left their bikes lying on the grass near the start area.

a glimpse of the lake [photo:7t]

Once inside the park, you'll find some toilets tucked away next to the football/cricket club. Be careful in the gents though - the toilet door wedged shut so tight that I couldn't open it to get back out - fortunately I managed to hook my foot under the door to prize it open. The official webpage suggests that the meeting point is at the cricket/football club, but when I visited all of the runners and volunteers had assembled next to the start area, so if in doubt I would head to this point of the park. [edit: the venue now has a 'b course' with a different start point so try to head for the cricket/football club as advised on their webpage just in case they have to switch courses at the last minute].

a couple of happy parkrun tourists [photo:7t]

This parkrun takes place over three-and-a-bit anti-clockwise laps. It's part-tarmac-paths, part-grass, part-mud and it undulates gently throughout. The start on grass sees the runners heading slightly uphill until they reach a narrow tarmac path. These narrow paths are a feature of this park, so if you are going for a time I would recommend making sure that you are not out of position by the time you reach this point otherwise you could have trouble filtering through.

the muddiest section [photo:7t]

As they follow the path around, there is a fairly fast downhill section and at one point a very tight turn. Another turn onto some very slippery grass (now mud) brings the runners out near the aforementioned lake. Almost a full lap of the lake later, the anti-clockwise loop continues. There is now a section that was very muddy and slippery when I visited - great fun but you really need to watch your step along here.

a short climb on grass [photo:7t]

After cutting through a small car park at the southern-most tip of the park, the runners return to grass and head slightly uphill again as they pass the children's playground. They re-join the path and continue to climb gently until it flattens out, then dips, then rises. Again the path remains quite narrow so it's worth keeping an eye out for other park users and take to the grass to let them pass if necessary. This path weaves around and the lap is complete.

the narrow path weaving around [photo:7t]

At the end of the third and final lap, the runners will see a long line of small cones marking the way to the finish funnel on the grass (in a slightly different location to the start). In line with most other venues, the barcode scanning takes place right next to the finish line. Something that has really stuck with me about this venue is the very vocal support from spectators and volunteers alike. It almost felt a little bit like being at a cross-country race.

more path (towards the end of the lap) [photo:7t]

Another couple of stand-out things were the lovely conversation I had with one of the marshals shortly after arriving, chatting to a lovely lady from Panshanger parkrun [my Panshanger parkrun blog is here] as we made out way around the second lap of the course. And I had my first sighting of a fellow Cow Cowl wearer and his son (the cow cowl lets fellow uber-tourists identify each other). We spent quite a bit of time chatting and also ran our last lap together, which was great fun.

finish [photo:7t]

I ran here at event 31 and really enjoyed it. Three laps around the outside of a park can be a recipe for a dull run, but this is not the case here. The undulations and the challenge of negotiating the muddy sections really make this a huge amount of fun and it's also a pretty decent looking park too. For anyone interested in seeing the course in more detail, please feel free to have a look at my GPS readiings on Strava [my Barclay parkrun data on Strava].

Hatfield Forest parkrun

Please note: Since 23 September 2017 Hatfield Forest parkrun is no longer be in operation. Please see the following announcement - Hatfield Forest parkrun Relocation Statement. This was followed by an additional post to answer any questions - Questions about the relocation. The new venue at Castle Park, Bishop's Stortford is now live and you can read my venue blog here - Castle Park parkrun.

Hatfield Forest, in Essex, is the only remaining intact Royal Hunting Ground in the country. Its name originates from the Anglo-Saxons who, in the year 410AD, named the area Hoep-Feld meaning heath-field or 'heathland in the view of woodland'. It later became Hatfield Forest, with the 'Forest' part defining an area where deer were kept for hunting rather than the modern day definition of 'a large area covered with trees'.

hatfield forest [photo:7t]

As time moved on, the ownership of the forest changed hands and for a time became an extension of Hallingbury Place (one of Essex's finest country houses until its demolition in 1926) when landscaping improvements took place resulting in the construction of a lake. Around this time, a Grotto decorated with shells was built adjacent to the lake; this still stands and is known as the Shell House.

mist. sunrise. it was all too perfect. [photo:7t]

The forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a National Nature Reserve (NNR). It sits on one of the largest areas of land in East Anglia that has not been ploughed and as a result, the ecology of the forest is in pristine condition providing home and refuge to an abundance of wildlife. Mammals that can be seen in the forest range from deer to foxes to squirrels to rabbit, weasel and hedgehogs. It is now in the hands of the National Trust (huge supporters of parkrun - check out this webpage for a full list of NT parkruns)

one of the old oaks [photo:7t]

According to a survey conducted in 2008, the forest is home to 58 species of birds including woodpeckers, geese, swan, kestrel, kingfisher and grey heron. There are also 8 species of bat residing here. Then there is the forest itself; there are 400 species of plants and 600 different fungi. In addition to those, there are over 800 ancient trees here with some being over 1,200 years old. This is a very special place.

well. have you? [photo:7t]

My visit here came on a pretty special day in the parkrun calendar, New Years Day; the one day in the year where parkrun HQ allow runners to register two official parkruns. It was also a cold, frosty day and as I arrived at the forest, the sun was rising through a misty landscape and I found that I was mesmerised by how beautiful it is here.

briefing [photo:7t]

Hatfield Forest parkrun takes place on one of two courses (summer / winter). They are both a single 5km lap through the forest which and run in a clock-wise direction. The terrain is a mixture of hard tarmac-like roads/paths, grass and some dirt/mud trails. Overall the forest sits on fairly flat ground, so it's pretty much flat give or take the odd small change in elevation.

start line [photo:7t]

There are good road transport links to this venue, the M11 is just to the west and Stanstead Airport lies immediately to the north of the forest (in fact a Korean cargo plane crashed into the forest in 1999 shortly after take-off, killing all four pilots and resulted in part of the forest being closed-off for ten years).

about 800 metres in [photo:7t]

Upon arrival you can park in the visitors' car park near the Shell House for free by placing a copy of a parkrun barcode in your window (otherwise it's £5). I will note here that you must arrive early in order to get to the Shell Car Park as part of the run takes place on the road that runs through the forest to the car park and a marshal will close and lock the gate at approximately 20 minutes before the start of the run.

almost at the 1km point [photo:7t]

Cyclists can reach the venue via the Flitch Way cycle route and use the cycle racks provided adjacent to the car park next to the briefing area. The closest train stations are at Bishops Stortford and Stanstead Airport but please be aware that it is not particularly easy to get to the venue on foot. There are buses that run from the train stations that pass close to the forest, but you will still be left with 2km to cover on foot to reach the start area from the stop (ideal for a warm up, but I'd definitely advise researching your timings carefully before travelling this way).

approx 1.8km [photo:7t]

At this venue they are currently have two routes in use; there is the standard summer route, but as I mentioned above, I visited on New Year's Day and that means the winter course was being used. The run briefing takes place adjacent to the Shell House car park and then everyone walks to the start line which is in the car park (the gates at the front will be closed so there will be no incoming vehicles at this point).

just after 2km (i think) [photo:7t]

So the runners start on the tarmac road and throughout the run spend quite a sizeable amount of time on this type of surface. There's also quite a bit of grass to run on, but even though it was winter, it was not waterlogged or particularly uneven so was quite pleasant to run on. I wore my proper trail shoes, but I could have gotten away with my light trail (hybrid?) shoes instead. At this time of year I definitely wouldn't go for road shoes, but I suspect they'd be fine during the summer (I'd still wear trail).

you can see the 3km marker from here [photo:7t]

As the venue is so close to Stanstead Airport there's always a good chance that you'll hear the rumble of a jet engine in the distance, and I saw a few low flying aircraft while I was here. Being a forest run you'd expect to be mostly running through the woods, but in actual fact we spent very little time within wooded areas. This ties in nicely with the original meaning of the name 'Hoep-Feld' as explained at the top of this post. There's the odd muddy ditch to run through as the lap progresses, but apart from that it's all pretty clean, but splashy, cut until you reach the final 900 metres or so.

somewhere inbetween 3 and 4km [photo:7t]

From memory that last 1/2 mile features a section on grass with some twists and turns followed by the longest single stretch of forest path where runners cross a raised path and then negotiate the 'Bridge of Doom' - there is the option of using the ditch instead so the bridge step can be avoided. This leads onto a path the runs adjacent to the lake (splashy fun) and the finish line is found just around the corner in front of the Shell House.

well into the 4th km [photo:7t]

When I visited, the barcode scanning took place on the path immediately after the the finish (don't worry, there is plenty of space to recover) and there is a cafe serving all sports of lovely refreshments straight after this. Toilets are also located within this area. As far as buggy running goes, I would be happy enough around here, but it may may not suit everyone.

the lake. adjacent to the finish line [photo:7t]

I ran here at event 41 where 63 runners took part in the run. The current average number of runners is 144.7, but there were a lot less because of a couple of reasons. Firstly it was New Year's Day (Friday) and secondly the start time was a little earlier than usual and we kicked off at 8.30am to allow people the extra time required to visit a second venue. I tracked my run with Strava on my phone, but the mobile signal here was quite weak and it wouldn't upload until I had driven a few miles down the road where the signal improved. If you would like to see the course in more detail please feel free to have a look at my data from Strava [Hatfield Forest parkrun (winter route)].

the shell house and the finish line [photo:7t]

Being New Year's Day, I was eager to get back on the road to visit my next venue, which meant there wasn't a huge amount of time to hang around and chat. So sadly, I jumped straight back into the car and headed off to my next venue for the day, which happened to be Barclay parkrun [my Barclay parkrun blog post]. I think I was the only person to run this combination of venues on the day.

finish funnel and lake [photo:7t]

As I drove along the access road, I was very pleased that I had visited this venue and I somehow managed to come on the perfect day because the mist hanging over the grounds really added to the medieval atmosphere. As I mentioned earlier on - this is a very special place.

Links:

The Essex parkrun venues
Castle Park parkrun (relocation venue)
Castle Park parkrun blog

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