East Grinstead parkrun

The town of East Grinstead sits on a sandstone hill in the north east corner of West Sussex, right next to East Sussex and the county borders of Kent and Surrey. It has a population of around 27,000 people. The town contains many historic buildings including St. Swithin's Church whose tower dominates the town's skyline. It is also home to one of the longest continuous runs of 14th century timber buildings in England.

welcome

The town has a train station which is served by trains running on the main London Victoria to Brighton line, and since 2013 it also has an additional platform which forms part of the Bluebell Railway route. The historic railway is run largely by volunteers and has the second largest collection of steam locomotives in the country (the largest is the National Railway Museum in York who have over 100). It also has around 150 wagons and carriages.

As far as cycling is concerned, the town is connected west towards Crawley by the Worth Way and to the east towards Groombridge via the Forest Way - these are both linear Country Parks which run along the route of the former Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells train line, and are part of the Sustrans cycle network.

start area / pavilion

On the eastern edge of the town are the main Town Council offices housed in the East Court Mansion building...

The Georgian mansion was built in 1769 by lawyer John Cranston on land which was owned by his wife's family (Estcot's Farm). Over time the mansion went through a period of disrepair followed by restoration, and requisition by the army during the Second World War. Finally the mansion and grounds were given to the town by philanthropist Alfred Wagg in honour of the men, women and children who lost their lives during the war. The current estate is recorded as being 48.6 acres in size and on the 9th of September 2017 became home to a free, 5k event called East Grinstead parkrun.

lower field

We drove over to the town on 23 September 2017 to take part in event 3 and following the instructions given on the official course page, we parked in the East Grinstead Town Football Club car park which is adjacent to the parkland. It's worth checking a map beforehand because the walk to the park may not initially be obvious. Another point is that the official postcode (RH19 3LS) might take you to the main East Court Mansion car park which, strictly speaking, should only be used by people using the mansion itself (look for the parkrun car park signs when entering to ensure you park in the right place).

Upon entering the grounds I headed for the toilets which are located in a block in the mansion car park. Heading past the mansion and onto its east-facing terrace, the beautiful view across the grounds and beyond can be seen. In the distance, to the South East, is Ashdown Forest which is where the Winnie the Pooh stories are set.

The grounds are divided into two halves by a private road that leads to the pavilion - the eastern half is the upper field and this slopes down towards the lower field which is flatter and is home to a number of marked football fields.

lower field

The meeting place for the run is next to the sports pavilion which is down on the lower field. The run itself takes place over one small lap around the lower field followed by two large laps around both the lower and upper fields. At least that's one way to describe it. One of the marshals I was talking to had memorised it as 'two laps of the lower field, one lap of the upper field, another lap of the lower field, followed by a final lap of the upper field.

Underfoot is mostly grass and dirt paths, but there's also a short section on a paved brick path. The terrain is undulating/hilly. A friend of mine described it as 'a bit cross-country' and I can't really argue with that. We were told during the run briefing that all the red/white tape should be kept to our right and the yellow/black tape on our left. Once the main run briefing had taken place, the participants were sent on their way around the park.

end of lower field lap, wooded area and onto the upper field

The lap of the lower field is mostly run on grass but there are a couple of spots where the course cuts through short sections of woodland. At the very bottom of the course, the grass was a little muddy - bear in mind I ran here in September after a period of relatively dry weather, so in the winter it's going to get really muddy. Also if the footballers are using the pitches keep your eyes peeled for wayward footballs rolling or flying onto the parkrun route.

The lap of the upper field starts with a longer section through another wooded area (and playground) before climbing up towards the mansion - as with the lower field, this section was already quite muddy. Turning to run adjacent to the mansion on a paved path, the course now runs just a few metres from the Greenwich Meridian which passes directly through the terrace. Also next to the mansion is the War Memorial which is certainly worth a few minutes of your time after the run.

upper field

The upper field lap is rounded off by heading back down towards the centre of the park, then adjacent to the central road before heading back into the wooded section. Finally it circumnavigates the pavilion car park (not for parkrun use) and heads back around to the start area, into the finish funnel approach and across the line. I have to admit that it was a tough course to run but at the same time it was brilliant preparation for the upcoming cross-country season.

I wore my trail shoes for this run and these were the right choice, but when winter arrives, the course will surely get a lot muddier - I'm going to stick my neck out and say it'll be a mud bath in places. In the winter I would imagine spikes would be the best footwear choice - I reckon the paved path could mostly be avoided by sticking to the grass, however it would be best to check beforehand that there are no objections to spikes being used here.

upper field

I recorded the run with my Garmin and upload the data to Strava, which you can view here: East Grinstead parkrun GPS data. I also used the data to create a #relive fly-by video and you can view that here: East Grinstead parkrun fly-by video. Event 3 was attended by 115 people and the full results were online a few hours after the event.

After exploring a bit more and taking a photo standing with one foot in each hemisphere, we headed back down to the official car park and popped into the football club cafe for a quick cup of tea (only £1). Before we knew it, everyone had hit the road and it was time for us to do the same.

finish / exploring / football club

We headed across to Crawley for some vegan lunch in The Loving Hut, which incidentally is just around the corner from Tilgate parkrun (my blog). It was another great morning of parkrunning and the Sussex set of parkrun venues was once again complete.

Related links:

• The Sussex parkrun venues
• Meridian Line parkruns

Westmill parkrun

In Hertfordshire you will find the town of Ware, which is said to be one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in the whole of Europe. It has a population of around 19,000 people and lies on the banks of the River Lea. The river has historically always been key to the town's prosperity and it was used to transport the town's largest export, beer to London.

westmill farm

To the north-west of the town centre is Westmill Farm. From what I can see, the farm covers an area of about 110 acres and is used for much more than just farming. There is a restaurant and function rooms which are used for weddings, a contemporary arts centre, model car track and shop, a children's indoor soft play centre and a camping and caravan site. But that's not all...

There is an outdoor activities centre, EDGE Outdoor Activities, which includes high ropes, axe/knife throwing, archery, quad biking, zip line, climbing wall, water sports, laser clay, nine hole golf course, footgolf and mountain boarding. There's also zorbing at the zorb strike centre and the bi-annual 'Carnage' 5k and 10k mud runs.

briefings etc...

We drove over to the venue in September 2017 to take part in the farm's latest addition - the free, 5k event - Westmill parkrun. When entering the venue there's a sequence of tracks to drive down in order to reach the EDGE outdoor activity centre car park - it's best to refer to the Westmill parkrun course page for the exact route to take. The centrepiece to the landscape here are the three lakes and the view across the them is stunning.

Back to the subject of travel, the venue is not easily reachable by public transport. There is a train station in Ware, however it's about 3.5km away and part of the route along the main road has no footpath. The same problem exists if taking the bus, so travelling by car seems to be the best option.

around the course (early part of the lap)

If you did happen to cycle, you'd be looking at securing your bike to a wooden post somewhere around the car park (I don't remember seeing any bike racks).

Once parked in the free car park there are toilet facilities in a wooden hut adjacent to the archery and knife throwing areas. The participants and volunteers all meet up next to the car park. During my visit there was a first-timers briefing and this was followed by a short walk back along the gravelly track that we had just driven along to reach the car park to reach the start.

around the course (view before the steep downhill / reaching the lakes)

With everyone assembled on the start line, the full briefing took place and with that done we were sent on our way around the farm. The course is just under two, undulating, anti-clockwise laps. Underfoot is mostly grass or dirt tracks, but has the occasional section across gravelly or tarmac paths. For shoe choice, I'd have to go with trail shoes every time - even in the summer.

For the record, I never would have found my way around the course without the arrows and directions from marshals. I'll do my best to give a little description. The start is on the gravelly road but soon after the start, the course leaves the road and heads gently uphill along the side of the golf course. There's a chicane at the top where the runners pass across to the other side of the road.

around the course (still around the lakes)

Running on quite smooth grass along the footgolf course, the route passes the Three Lakes Restaurant then fiddles through some trees and the runners pass through the zorb strike centre car park. The course then heads gently downhill along an alleyway of trees before passing through a gate into an open field.

The view across the countryside is fantastic here and the runners soon negotiate a steep downhill with a 90 degree right-hand-turn at the end - the extra grip given by trail shoes really comes in handy here, but be careful at the bottom!

almost at the end of the lap

Now at the lowest part of the course, it remains flat for a while as the runners run adjacent to the three lakes. Their exact history is a little hard to find, but from what I gather it seems that they were previously quarries that were subsequently left to form lakes. They are now known as the Rib Valley Fishing Lakes. There were a few anglers around but none on the parkrun route itself.

As the route passes the last of the lakes, the elevation starts to rise again and this takes the runners past the finish funnel before passing through the EDGE car park and adjacent to the road on another grass path before linking up with the loop again. At the end of the second lap, it's a simple case of heading straight into the finish funnel, collecting a position token and having it scanned.

end of lap

After the run, the options for tea/coffee breakfast are to pop into the cafe adjacent to the car park - however they only serve light refreshments, so if you are after something more substantial you can head to the Three Lakes Restaurant where they have a few more options. We had already made plans to head to Hackney Downs to visit the monthly vegan market for lunch, so we hit the road without sampling the on-site refreshment options.

I recorded my run using my Garmin and you can view the course data on Strava, here: Westmill parkrun GPS data. For the record, the official course map is not currently exactly the same as the route that was used when I visited. I also used the Relive app to create a fly-by of the course and you can view that here: Westmill parkrun course fly-by.

finish (note the finish area in the distance)

The results for event 9 were processed and I received my result later that morning. Seventy-one participants took part in the event, which is about the current average for this venue. So, it's a fab course with great views and enough undulations to make it tough enough for a good hard effort run - it won't be a personal best, but it will be enjoyable. Plus, in the winter the course is going to get pretty muddy so it'll be a great place to come to play in the mud!

Related links:

• The Hertfordshire parkrun venues

Heartwood Forest parkrun

Please note: This venue is no longer active. The replacement venue is at Jersey Farm and the write-up from my visit can be found here: Jersey Farm parkrun blog.

- - -

On the old roman road between St. Albans and Wheathampstead you'll find the village of Sandridge. It was first recorded as Saundruage and has a population of around 5,000 people. The oldest building in the village is St Leonards Church which dates back to 1114. Sandridge was of national importance during the Second World war due to the presence of a secret station for intercepting wireless enemy transmissions which were then relayed to Bletchley for decryption.

To the north of the village is Heartwood Forest which, I'm told, takes its name from the heart-shaped leaves of the Lime trees that grow here. Unusually, with the exception of a few patches of ancient woodland, this one is brand new. In 2008 the Woodland Trust acquired 850 acres of arable farmland from Hillend Farm in order to embark on its most ambitious project to date. In 2009 the trust began planting the first of what will be a total of around 600,000 trees by the time the planting is complete sometime in 2018.

heartwood forest [photos: 7t]

The project does not only involve planting the forest trees, but also creating new wildlife habitats such as wildflower meadows, grassland and even wetlands. Thousands of local people have been involved in the project which also includes a six-hundred-fruit-tree orchard. An arboretum has also been created and this is the only one in the UK to contain all of our 57 native tree species.

On 29 July 2017 the forest became home to Heartwood Forest parkrun, and I visited to take part in event 6 which was held on 9 September 2017. Usually at a venue like this, I would park in the on-site car park. However, although there is a car park within the grounds, it is not currently available for those wishing to take part in the parkrun. Being a new event, overwhelming the car park might upset some of the regular Saturday morning users of the forest (dog walkers, of which there are many) and that wouldn't be a good way to begin.

start area [photos: 7t / richard underwood]

With that in mind, I had to find a place to park outside the forest grounds. Somewhere in the village was the obvious choice so I popped the car into the free car park at the village hall. Conveniently the toilets are also located here so I made use of them before heading over to the forest which, for the record, currently has no further facilities apart from a bicycle rack. The nearest train station is about 3 miles away in St Albans.

Once within the woodland trust grounds I found the parkrun volunteer team just next to the forbidden car park. One of the first things that I noticed was the venue feels more like a country park rather than a forest because the thousands of saplings are still only around a metre or two tall. As 9am approached I had a quick warm-up and before I knew it it was time for the first-timers briefing.

typical gravel path / bridleway [photos: 7t]

With that done and dusted the participants were lead about 400 metres along the gravelly path to the start point which is found right next to the badger bench. In fact you'll see quite a few carved wooden animals as you work your way around the course - they represent the wildlife found here and mark the 'Magical Meander', a trail that leads towards The Magical Wood. They were sponsored by the Disney Store and are the work of chainsaw carver Will Lee.

The main briefing was held at the starting point and the runners were then sent on their way. The course is made up of one full lap followed by about three-quarters of a second lap. Underfoot is a combination of a loose gravel paths and off road grass/dirt paths. As far as shoe choice was concerned, road shoes would get you around during the summer months, but I have a strong suspicion that during the winter trail shoes will be a must.

the magical wood [photos: 7t / marshal]

So, the course... It starts on the gravel path and instantly heads uphill, it's not steep but it'll put you in your place if you start off too fast. About 200 metres in, the course turns onto grass and continues to head gently uphill. As the course starts to flatten out it joins a bridleway - there is a good chance that you could encounter horse riders along this section.

Once at the northernmost point of the course there is a sharp left-hand turn off of the bridleway and the run now heads through The Magical Wood. The grass path through here is a lot of fun as it twists and turns around the newly-planted trees - it truly is magical to run through and I'm guessing will only get even better as the trees mature.

heart-shaped lime tree leaf (i think) / views [photos: 7t]

When exiting The Magical Wood the runners pass through the chainsaw carver's beautifully crafted wooden archway and run back along the bridleway - this short section has two-way runners so everyone needs to stick to their respective right-hand-side. Turning off of the bridleway into the open meadow, the south facing view towards Sandridge and beyond is beautiful.

The course now gives back what it took during the uphill at the beginning and it's all downhill across the grass and then back onto gravel all the way back to the original meeting point next to the car park. However don't forget to glance to the right on the way down where the magnificent Langley Wood can be seen in the distance - if visiting in the spring it is worth taking a walk into the woods to see the carpet of bluebells which I'm told are simply stunning.

towards the end of the lap [photos: 7t]

Once reaching the car park, it's time to turn left and head back along the path you walked along before the run started. It's a fairly gentle incline averaging between 3% and 6% but it feels like it's never going to end! I had a tiny dog incident along here where a dog walked and stood right in front of me, it broke my stride and I briefly came to a halt - no harm done to me or the dog.

The full incline on this second lap covers about a whole kilometre, and once you've retraced your steps through The Magical Wood and back down the gravelly decline, you'll reach the car park but this time you take a sharp right hand turn right into the finishing funnel - job done! After a quick recovery and having my barcode scanned I headed back out onto the course to take a few photos.

approaching the finish area / magical meander [photos: 7t]

I had recorded my run using my Garmin and the GPS course data can be viewed on Strava, here: Heartwood Forest parkrun #6. I also used the Relive app to create a fly-by video of the course: Heartwood Forest parkrun course fly-by video. The full results for event 6 were processed and published shortly after the run and 131 people took part. For the record this is a net downhill course (has more downhill than uphill).

After chatting to a few of the volunteers after the run, I found out that they are still working on securing some kind of car parking solution, for now it's a choice between the free car park at the village hall or finding a space on one of the residential side streets. However, in all fairness, if you think you'll need to use the facilities before the run and/or plan to hang out with the team at the post-run coffee venue, The Queen's Head pub, the village car park could remain the best option.

finish area [photos: 7t / richard underwood]

Lastly, the unique setting of this run means that as the years go on the forest is going to evolve. It's going to be wonderful to watch this happening and I look forward to revisiting in the future to see how things have changed.

Update: The Heartwood Forest parkrun organisers have announced that 6 October 2018 will be the last run to be held at this venue. They are looking to find an alternative venue at a nearby location. Please see the event's news page article for more information - Heartwood Forest parkrun Closure.

The replacement venue is Jersey Farm parkrun - you can read my blog about the venue, here: Jersey Farm parkrun.

Links:

• The Hertfordshire parkrun venues
• Heartwood Forest parkrun GPS data

Lullerzz (Lullingstone parkrun 126)

A few of us in the Dartford-parkrun-on-Tour crew decided that we should pop over to the fantastically wonderful Lullingstone parkrun to begin to prep our legs for the upcoming cross-country season. Being only 7 miles away from home, this venue is effectively on-our-doorstep and I'm a bit embarrassed to have taken so long to get over for a revisit.

dartford parkrun on tour [photo: dani]

Since the last time I visited, an unofficial list of parkruns-by-elevation has been published and Lullingstone features at number 452 out of 458 in the UK. Or if you reverse it, it is the 7th hilliest parkrun course in the UK out of the 458 listed. It's an off-road course (all grass and dirt) but since it was still summer it was all very dry underfoot.

The run itself went pretty well* and I came away with a 48 second personal best for the course so that was a nice bonus (full results). The Dartford-parkrun-on-Tour crew all went to the post-run cafe afterwards. Sadly the cafe don't really serve any vegetarian breakfasty food, so if you're peckish it's a choice between one of the fine selection of cakes on offer or something like a panini. However the tea was outstanding!

[photo: dani]

After spending a little time in the playground with my daughter, we hit the road back to Dartford. It was really good visiting Lullingstone parkrun again and we've kinda come up with a plan to pop back over when the course softens up as the winter sets in for some proper fun-in-the-mud!

* Bloody hard work (especially on the second lap)

Links:

• Lullingstone parkrun (full blog post with course description and some historic facts)
• The Kent parkrun Venues
• My Lullingstone parkrun GPS data from this run
• Lullingstone parkrun #126 Results