Bognor is one of the oldest recorded anglo-saxon names in Sussex and was recorded in 680 AD as Bucgan Ora (meaning: Bucge's shore or landing place). For centuries it was a small fishing town which, like many other south coast towns also had a reputation for smuggling. In the 18th century Bognor became an attractive home for wealthy Georgians, who came in small numbers and built large houses. One of these wealthy people was Sir Richard Hotham who purchased 1,600 acres of land and began developing Bognor, which was essentially a tiny hamlet, into a town. This included the building of his mansion 'Chapel House' which later became 'Bersted Lodge' then 'Aldwick Manor' and then 'Hotham Lodge'. It is now known as 'Hotham Park House' and has been developed into luxury flats.
In 1929, King George V was ill and was advised to spend some time by the sea. He resided for some time in the hamlet of Aldwick, just to the West of Bognor. This led to Bognor attaining the royal suffix 'Regis'. The 22 acre grounds of Hotham Park House were landscaped with the assistance of Kew Gardens, which included the planting of many trees, shrubs and exotic plants, during the early 20th century. After the second world war, the grounds of the house were purchased by Arun District Council and turned into a public park.
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| bognor regis / hotham park |
As of 24 May 2014 , 'Hotham Park' became the home of Bognor Regis parkrun. We visited this venue on 15 October 2016 where I took part in event number 123. We made our way down to Bognor Regis on the morning of the event and parked in the small car park in the north-east corner of the park. At the time of our visit in 2016, the parking charges were 60p for an hour, £1.20 for up to 2 hours, or £2.40 for over 2 hours (we paid the full amount and stayed all day). The parking charges vary depending on time of year [summer/winter] so please check the council's webpage for up to date information. As of 2025 the prices have increased, but it is now possible to pay for parking via RingGo or Mipermit.
As the car park is pretty small it's worth noting that there is another car park, the London Road Car Park - this is adjacent to the west side of the park - it's a little more expensive, but has more spaces. Bicycle users should head straight to the parkrun meeting point where there are some racks and fences to secure their bikes to.
The nearest train station is Bognor Regis railway station and it's just a short walk to the park from here. It is served by Southern Trains running on the Bognor Branch of the West Coastway Line which runs between London Victoria and Bognor Regis (terminus). A few buses stop close to the venue and these include the 63, 67, 69 and the 700 Coastliner.
Toilet facilities are well covered - there is one block next to 'Hotham Park House', there's a second set over in the London Road car park, and lastly there are more toilets in the cafe. Although I'd imagine that these should only be used post-run by customers.
The park itself is lovely. It is quite compact and features a network of meandering paths. It looks as if most of the landscaping has been retained - in a way it's more like a big garden. There are no significant open grass areas to be found and no sports facilities. It does, however, have a miniature railway, two children's playgrounds, a boating lake (pond), a bandstand, a putting green, and a few conservation areas.
The meeting point for the parkrun is on the path next to the boating lake, which is also in the shadow of the Hotham Park House clock tower, which was part of the original chapel that was demolished during the 19th century. The event itself takes place over four, clockwise laps of the park, with the first lap being slightly different to the following three. Underfoot is all tarmac so road shoes are the order of the day come rain or shine.
The entire route is flat and very twisty - the full lap of the park contains eighteen bends and I'd say six of these are tight enough to cause a reduction in pace. As mentioned above, the first lap is a little shorter than the rest and comes in at about 700 metres in length while the main loop (run three times) is just over 1.4km, this main lap also features a short section that is run along an alleyway just outside the western border of the park.
It's worth noting that the final section of each lap is also an access road for residents of the flats in Hotham Park House, so there is the possibility of interaction with a vehicle. The course also passes over the train track a couple of times on each lap, but as the train doesn't start running until late morning, there's no risk of a clash.
With this course being four laps, it's not long before the front runners catch up with the back of the pack so wherever you are in the field you will find that you will lap someone, be lapped or even both. The other thing to note is that the paths are mostly quite narrow so filtering through can be a little tricky as the laps progress, especially as this venue attracts almost 200 participants every week. Update: As of 2025 the event attracts over 300 per week.
Once I had finished and had my barcode scanned (unusually, this happened in the finish funnel itself), I went off for a cool down and to thank/chat to some of the marshals I had spotted around the course. One of them, Derek, has his own permanent marshalling spot and as we chatted, I noticed that all of the runners seemed to know him by name and thanked him as they passed or left to go home.
As we had had a pretty long drive, we decided that some refreshments were in order so we popped into the Hotham Park Cafe for breakfast and a coffee. The building has only recently been built (opened in July 2015) and it offers a lovely spot to relax after a the run. We followed this up with a ride on the 12 1/4 inch miniature railway - we sat in the carriage named 'Pickle' and were taken around by the engine 'Boris' - he got his name from some of the letters contained within the town's name 'BOgnor RegIS'.
The results were online a couple of hours later and there were 185 participants at event 123. I had recorded the course using Strava and if you would like to see the course in more detail, feel free to have a look at my data: Bognor Regis parkrun. When it comes to cancellations, being a tarmac course means that ice is problematic plus the park has lots of trees so stormy weather can also result in a last-minute cancellation. The park does sometimes host other events, so keep an eye out for pre-planned cancellations by checking the event's webpage, social media or the main parkrun UK cancellations page. If Hotham Park is not available, the run has, in the past, taken place at King George V Playing Field, Felpham, but the last instance of this being announced on the event's social media that I can find was back in 2018,
After spending a few hours down at the seafront (only five minutes from the park), we decided to head home. We'd had a great day out at Bognor Regis so were pleased that we'd made the effort to get up and out so early in the morning to travel down. As for the parkrun, if you like twisty courses around pretty parks you simply have to get down here. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers!
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| and we're off.. |
The nearest train station is Bognor Regis railway station and it's just a short walk to the park from here. It is served by Southern Trains running on the Bognor Branch of the West Coastway Line which runs between London Victoria and Bognor Regis (terminus). A few buses stop close to the venue and these include the 63, 67, 69 and the 700 Coastliner.
Should an overnight stay be required, Bognor Regis is of course a popular seaside resort so has plenty of hotels, B&B's and hostels. The closest Premier Inn is located just outside the town so would require a short journey on the morning of the event. It's also worth noting that Bognor is home is home to a Butlins, and it is conveniently located just across the road from the park.
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| around the course |
Toilet facilities are well covered - there is one block next to 'Hotham Park House', there's a second set over in the London Road car park, and lastly there are more toilets in the cafe. Although I'd imagine that these should only be used post-run by customers.
The park itself is lovely. It is quite compact and features a network of meandering paths. It looks as if most of the landscaping has been retained - in a way it's more like a big garden. There are no significant open grass areas to be found and no sports facilities. It does, however, have a miniature railway, two children's playgrounds, a boating lake (pond), a bandstand, a putting green, and a few conservation areas.
 |
| around the course |
The meeting point for the parkrun is on the path next to the boating lake, which is also in the shadow of the Hotham Park House clock tower, which was part of the original chapel that was demolished during the 19th century. The event itself takes place over four, clockwise laps of the park, with the first lap being slightly different to the following three. Underfoot is all tarmac so road shoes are the order of the day come rain or shine.
The entire route is flat and very twisty - the full lap of the park contains eighteen bends and I'd say six of these are tight enough to cause a reduction in pace. As mentioned above, the first lap is a little shorter than the rest and comes in at about 700 metres in length while the main loop (run three times) is just over 1.4km, this main lap also features a short section that is run along an alleyway just outside the western border of the park.
 |
| around the course |
It's worth noting that the final section of each lap is also an access road for residents of the flats in Hotham Park House, so there is the possibility of interaction with a vehicle. The course also passes over the train track a couple of times on each lap, but as the train doesn't start running until late morning, there's no risk of a clash.
With this course being four laps, it's not long before the front runners catch up with the back of the pack so wherever you are in the field you will find that you will lap someone, be lapped or even both. The other thing to note is that the paths are mostly quite narrow so filtering through can be a little tricky as the laps progress, especially as this venue attracts almost 200 participants every week. Update: As of 2025 the event attracts over 300 per week.
 |
| the finish |
Once I had finished and had my barcode scanned (unusually, this happened in the finish funnel itself), I went off for a cool down and to thank/chat to some of the marshals I had spotted around the course. One of them, Derek, has his own permanent marshalling spot and as we chatted, I noticed that all of the runners seemed to know him by name and thanked him as they passed or left to go home.
As we had had a pretty long drive, we decided that some refreshments were in order so we popped into the Hotham Park Cafe for breakfast and a coffee. The building has only recently been built (opened in July 2015) and it offers a lovely spot to relax after a the run. We followed this up with a ride on the 12 1/4 inch miniature railway - we sat in the carriage named 'Pickle' and were taken around by the engine 'Boris' - he got his name from some of the letters contained within the town's name 'BOgnor RegIS'.
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| post-event |
The results were online a couple of hours later and there were 185 participants at event 123. I had recorded the course using Strava and if you would like to see the course in more detail, feel free to have a look at my data: Bognor Regis parkrun. When it comes to cancellations, being a tarmac course means that ice is problematic plus the park has lots of trees so stormy weather can also result in a last-minute cancellation. The park does sometimes host other events, so keep an eye out for pre-planned cancellations by checking the event's webpage, social media or the main parkrun UK cancellations page. If Hotham Park is not available, the run has, in the past, taken place at King George V Playing Field, Felpham, but the last instance of this being announced on the event's social media that I can find was back in 2018,
After spending a few hours down at the seafront (only five minutes from the park), we decided to head home. We'd had a great day out at Bognor Regis so were pleased that we'd made the effort to get up and out so early in the morning to travel down. As for the parkrun, if you like twisty courses around pretty parks you simply have to get down here. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers!
Related Links:
- My Bognor Regis parkrun GPS data (15 October 2016)
