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:

Further reading: not visited

Clumber Park parkrun - Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire
Course: Two laps
Underfoot:
Profile:
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Colby parkrun - Colby Woodland Garden, Ambroth, Pembrokeshire
Course: Three laps
Underfoot: Trail paths / grass
Profile: Undulating
Notes: Set in a tranquil secret valley
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Cotsford Fields parkrun - Cotsford Fields, Cotsford Lane, Horden, County Durham

Course: Two laps

Underfoot: Multi terrain

Profile:

Notes:

Further reading: not visited

Dunstable Downs parkrun - Dunstable Downs, Whipsnade, Dunstable, Bedfordshire

Course: One lap

Underfoot: Grass and trails

Profile: Undulating

Notes: No dogs permitted / May be difficult for buggy runners (check with team before visiting)

Further reading: My Dunstable Downs parkrun write-up from 2022

Erdigg parkrun - Erdigg Hall, Wrexham, Clwyd

Course: A single loop

Underfoot: Trail and gravel paths

Profile:

Notes:

Further reading: Not visited

Fell Foot parkrun - Fell Foot, Cumbria
Course: Figure of eight with top loop run twice
Underfoot:
Profile:
Notes: It's run next to lake Windermere. Need I say more?
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Fountains Abbey parkrun - Fountains Abbey, nr. Ripon, North Yorkshire
Course: A short lap followed by a longer lap
Underfoot: Firm footpaths
Profile: Gently undulating (but mostly flat with some inclines)
Notes: The ruins of the abbey plus the immaculate Studley Royal Water Gardens
Further Reading: My Fountains Abbey blog post


Hatfield Forest parkrun - This venue is no longer active (since 23 September 2017)
Course: One lap (technically point-to-point)
Underfoot: Tarmac, grass, mud, puddles
Profile: Almost completely flat
Notes: Set in a stunning medieval forest
Further Reading: My Hatfield Forest parkrun blog post


Killerton parkrun - Killerton, Devon
Course: One lap
Underfoot: Trails / grass
Profile:
Notes: Scenic
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Lanhydrock parkrun - Lanhydrock, Devon
Course: One lap
Underfoot:
Profile: Undulating / hilly?
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Lyme Park parkrun - Lyme Park, Disley, Cheshire
Course: One lap (point-to-point)
Underfoot: Stones, woodland path, grass, tarmac
Profile: Hilly
Notes: The stony surface underfoot can be quite challenging / lovely views
Further Reading: My Lyme Park parkrun write-up (2023)


Newport parkrun - Tredegar House, South Wales
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: Gravel / bark / compact earth / grass
Profile: Flat
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Nostell parkrun - Nostell Priory, Yorkshire
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: Tarmac, bark, trail, grass
Profile:
Notes: Barcode in window for free parking
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED

Osterley - Osterley Park, Isleworth, West London.

Course: Two laps

Underfoot: Tarmac, gravel and a tiny bit of grass at the end

Profile: Flat

Notes: National Trust managed house and grounds

Further reading: My 2024 Osterley parkrun write-up. Also my original 2013 Osterley parkrun blog post

Parke parkrun - Parke, Bovey Tracey, Devon
Course: One lap (?)
Underfoot:
Profile: Hilly / Undulating
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Penrhyn parkrun - Penrhyn Castle, Gwynedd
Course: Two big loops and two small loops
Underfoot: Tarmac and gravelly paths
Profile: Undulating
Notes: Beautiful and picturesque
Further Reading: My Penrhyn parkrun blog post


Penrose parkrun - Penrose, Helston, Cornwall
Course: One lap (point-to-point)
Underfoot: Woodland and coastal paths
Profile:
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Plym Valley parkrun - Plymbridge Woods, Devon
Course: One lap
Underfoot: Grass / tarmac / woods
Profile: Undulating / hilly
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Sheringham parkrun - Sheringham Oark, Norfolk
Course: One lap
Underfoot: Woodland paths (firm but can be muddy)
Profile: Undulating
Notes:
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


South Shields parkrun - The Leas, Tyne and Wear
Course: One lap (point-to-point)
Underfoot:
Profile:
Notes: Follows part of the route of the great north run
Further Reading: NOT YET VISITED


Trelissick parkrun - Truro, Cornwall

Course: Lollipop

Underfoot: Off road - woodland paths

Profile:

Notes:

Further reading: Not visited

Wakehurst - Wakehurst, Ardingly, Haywards Heath, West Sussex

Course: Two clockwise laps

Underfoot: Resin and tarmac paths

Profile: Some steepish climbs (tbc)

Notes: No dogs allowed. Owned by NT, but the grounds are managed by Kew Gardens.

Further reading: My Wakehurst parkrun write-up from May 2024

Wimpole Estate parkrun - Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire
Course: Out-and-back
Underfoot: tarmac / grass
Profile: Undulating
Notes: Has cows and sheep on the course.
Further Reading: My Wimpole Estate parkrun blog post (old course) (re-write required)

Woolacombe Dunes parkrun - Woolacombe, North Devon

Course: 1 lap

Underfoot: Stone, sand dunes and beach

Profile:

Notes:

Further reading: not visited

Please note: Information contained within the blog posts, such as the course configuration, parking arrangements, availability of toilets etc, may change. Please always check with the relevant events' web page and social media channels for the latest and most accurate information.

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