Hazelwood parkrun

The town of Sunbury-on-Thames sits in Surrey, just outside the Greater London boundary. The first recorded mention of the name is from 962 when it was referred to as Sunnanbyrg (Sunna's Burgh), by the time the Domesday book was published in 1086, it had become known as Sunneberie. Eventually the name settled as Sunbury and then Sunbury-on-Thames.

hazelwood

The town was agricultural for hundreds of years, but in the 19th and 20th centuries other industries such as brick making, aircraft parts, gravel extraction, concrete production and plastic moulding became popular.

In the late 1800s it became popular for people from the home countries based in London to set up their own sports clubs. These were important as they gave people a place where they could go and be part of their wider community in London. With London-Scottish and London-Welsh rugby clubs already established, it was only a matter of time before a London-Irish club would join the fold. This finally happened in 1898 when London-Irish was formed in Sunbury. 

briefing / start

The London-Irish Rugby Football Club had a home in Sunbury which was purchased in 1931. When WW2 started, the Ministry of Agriculture requisitioned the land for food production and the post-war years saw the team play their matches in Blackheath. At the end of the 1950s they were finally in a position to relocate to Sunbury.

They once again moved home in the late 1990s when they relocated to the Madjeski Stadium in Reading. In 2014 a brand new, state-or-the-art facility, The Hazelwood Centre, was built in Sunbury and this serves as the club's main training and administrative base.

the opening stretch

The Hazelwood Centre contains facilities for hosting large events like weddings, business conferences, and parties. But its main purpose is as the home to London-Irish Rugby Football Club. The ground covers 63 acres and the main training area has enough space for four full size grass rugby pitches plus one artificial pitch, twelve junior pitches and a clubhouse. There are further pitches on an adjacent field at the far end of the site. It is classified as a world class training facility and served as a training base for Wales, Fiji, Argentina, and The All Blacks during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. It has also provided training facilities for many NFL teams.

In March 2018 the Hazelwood Centre became home to a free, weekly, 5k, event called Hazelwood parkrun. I travelled here by car via the M25 and M3 to take part in event 7, and parked in the ample sized onsite car park (c.300 spaces) for free. Had I arrived by bicycle I could have secured my bike in the bicycle shed within the car park. By public transport I would have taken the train to either Sunbury or Upper Halliford stations and walked or jogged the remainder of the journey. A selection of local buses also stop within walking distance of the venue.

early part of the lap

Once within the Hazelwood Centre, there are onsite toilets and changing rooms available for use. Just before 9am, with the crowd of eager parkrunners ready to go, the run briefing is held outside the clubhouse. There's then a short walk across to the start line, which is on the southern side of the artificial (astroturf) pitch.

The event takes place entirely within the private grounds of the Hazelwood Centre, and as a result no dogs are permitted at this venue. Underfoot is grass, but there's also a short section on stones on the northern side of the course. In the winter (or during periods of significant rain) expect it to be wet/splashy/muddy enough to need trail shoes. As this is a rugby training ground, you may find scatterings of training equipment every now and then, but don't fear, the course is has plenty of width, so it's easy enough to filter past.

mid-lap / entering the second field

During my research for this blog, I was trying to find out exactly where the name Hazelwood originates. Sadly I couldn't find the answer, but it does tie in with a number of other local names which appear to be named after trees and woods. So going by that, the best I can come up with is that maybe the name could come from the site previously being a wood that contained Hazel trees. Anyway...

... The course itself is totally flat and comprises of a short anti-clockwise loop around the first two rugby fields, which is then followed two full anti-clockwise laps of the grounds. Heading west along the northern edge of the five rugby training fields, the course then takes a turn across a public footpath and into the back field. Here the loop continues with a full loop of the field, which I found a little wetter and a little bumpier underfoot, before returning the main training area via the same crossing of the footpath.

the second field and the footpath crossing

Now heading around to the southern border of the grounds (for info: the southern side seems to hold onto more water than the northern side), the lap continues past the opposite end of the five training pitches before reaching the main clubhouse and the second full lap begins. At the end of the second full lap, the course splits from the main loop and the participants are filtered towards the finish right outside the clubhouse.

By the end, my shoes (I went for my trails) were soaked through, which I had expected so brought extra shoes and socks to change into. Barcode scanning takes place right here at the finish and participants can cheer on the rest of the field before heading inside for some refreshments in the onsite cafe.

towards the end of the lap

Incidentally, if you are heading elsewhere after the run and would prefer to avoid being #parkrunfresh, the centre also has showering facilities which could come in very handy. After the run I popped into the cafe, which does a fine selection of breakfast options, and spent a bit of time in the cafe chatting with some familiar faces from my former home parkrun at Riddlesdown.

The results for event 7 were processed and online shortly after the run. 118 people had taken part - this number was a fair representation of the average number to be expected at time of writing. As always, I recorded the course on my Garmin and the full GPS data can be found on my Strava account: Hazelwood parkrun #7. The Relive course flyby video can be found on my Youtube page, here: Hazelwood parkrun #7 relive video.

finish, scanning etc...

The event has got off to a fine start and with the wide course and great facilities available certainly has plenty of space to accommodate growth. The (almost) full grass course is great for those that may want to avoid less forgiving surfaces such as tarmac and concrete. I had a very pleasant morning at Hazelwood parkrun, and with the Irish connection I could imagine this being a popular venue for St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Finally a big thanks goes to all those that volunteered to help make it happen, and for making me feel so welcome.


Related links:

• The Surrey parkrun Venues
• The London parkrun Venues
• Hazelwood parkrun GPS data
• Hazelwood parkrun Relive Course Flyby
• Hazelwood parkrun event 7 Results Page

Clapham Common parkrun

Clapham is a district of south-west London. Originally known as Clopp Ham (village by the short hill), the name appeared in the Domesday book as Clopeham (Manor of Clopeham / Manor of Clapham) before eventually becoming Clapham. It started out as a small farming village in what would have been the Surrey countryside.

By this time, Clapham had become a focal point of evangelical christians who became known as the Clapham Sect (or Clapham Saints), who were in favour of social reform. They campaigned vigorously against the slave trade in the British Empire and beyond.  They also strongly favoured the British class system, and this appealed mostly to the wealthy, who came and built large houses in the area.

clapham common

The village grew slowly over the next few centuries, but it was the arrival of mass transportation in the 19th century into London that really saw the area grow. Horse drawn buses came first, followed shortly after by the railways. In 1889 Clapham became part of London and the start of the 20th century saw the arrival of the tube.

An area that was not built on was the common land 'Clapham Common' which spanned the parish borders of Clapham and neighbouring Battersea. Originally commoners would have had the right to graze cattle or collect firewood here. Interestingly in 1864 a proposal to run the railway line straight through the common was blocked by locals. Over the years a number of gravel pits were dug and these now form ponds.

meeting, briefing, and assembling at the start

In 1878 the common was officially converted to parkland in the Metropolitan Commons Act, although sheep were still grazed here until 1914. By this time a bandstand had been constructed and a network of paths laid out. It was used as farmland through the second world war, and this is when much of the common's natural wildlife was destroyed. The great storm of 1987 saw 400 trees lost.

So we now find ourselves in modern day Clapham Common - the 220 acres of land still straddle borders, only now the London Borough of Wandsworth covers the western half and the London Borough of Lambeth covers the eastern half. The whole area is managed by the London Borough of Lambeth. These days the area of Clapham is home to a large number of young professionals and families.

the opening section

The common is one of London's largest green spaces and features a huge selection of sports pitches as well as flower gardens, playgrounds, a paddling pool, and three cafes. The bandstand is still here, just. It fell into disrepair and was in danger of collapse. A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund helped to fund the repair works and it now, once again, forms a stunning centrepiece to the park.

The common has also traditionally been a venue for large-scale events. The Greater London Horse Show was held here annually between 1954 until 1985. George Irvin's Funfair rolls onto the common twice per year (February half-term and Easter). Music festivals are popular here with many being held over the years including headlining artists in the irk of Aerosmith and Stevie Wonder. It is also the starting point for the BHF London to Brighton bike ride which I took part in in 2013.

through the avenue of trees (my favourite bit)

On 24 March 2018 Clapham Common became home to a brand new free, weekly, 5k event called Clapham Common parkrun. The event here is long overdue and after a very soft launch with 110 participants, the attendance figures have rocketed. I first visited at event number 5 where 502 people took part. As time goes on, this is certainly going to remain a very well attended event.

I travelled to the venue by car and found a space to park on Clapham Common West Side SW, and there are plenty of other side streets with no weekend parking restrictions - however spaces are at a premium. Also bear in mind this area of London is a major thoroughfare - the common is surrounded by the A3, the A24 and the South Circular roads and these are all red routes (no parking).

the northern side

The best options for travel are either by bicycle or by public transport. Cyclist can lock their bikes to metal fencing within sight of the finishing line or use the racks at the post run cafe near the bandstand. The closest mainline train station is Clapham Junction which is a major transport hub and has 2,000 trains per day passing through (about half of these stop) - this is the highest number in the whole of Europe.

There are many buses that pass close to the common, but I won't attempt to list them here. The area is also served by the tube with the closest station the the start of the run being Clapham South. Incidentally there is a Clapham Common underground station but this is slightly further away from the start. If you need to visit the toilets pre-run, you'll be best to head towards the playground adjacent to Windmill Drive where you will find them.

narrow section past the skatepark / long pond

The main meeting place on the western side of the park next to the two gravelly football pitches, is about 550 metres away from the toilets, which are within the children's playground, so make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to reach that spot. I did spot that some people were using the toilets 'loos' at the cafe next to the bandstand. The course itself is made up of two clockwise laps around the northern and central areas of the park with the addition of a short tail at the start. Underfoot is a mixture of tarmac and dirt paths. Regular road shoes should be fine at most times of the year, but I'd expect a few sections may get a little muddy in the winter.

Although the route itself is fine for buggies, the course page does advise that the course may not be suitable for buggies. This is down to a combination of path width, large numbers of attendees and some tree roots around the north-west section of the course. Please check the course page or contact the event team before turning up with a buggy to clarify what the latest position is. For the record there were people participating with buggies when I visited.

bandstand

The event itself starts on the dusty football pitches adjacent the The Avenue (aka South Circular Road) not far from Windmill Drive and The Mount pond, with participants heading off in a northwesterly direction. This is a modification to the original start area which was on the main path, which was a very tight squeeze getting everyone in position. Even with the change of start area, the first section is very congested owing to the high numbers of attendees at this venue.

After a chicane the course passes through a very pleasant avenue of trees. This eventually reaches the north-west corner of the common and the course turns to the right and follows the main A3 road along the northern border. There are multiple dirt paths that split off and take slightly different routes, thankfully they all lead to the same place. About half-way along, the path crosses the main tarmac path, where the parkrunners just continue heading straight on towards and around the north-east corner.

After passing the skate park via a narrow, slightly cambered section, the surface underfoot returns to tarmac and goes along the northern bank of Long Pond. The path leads towards a playground where, after a sharp right, the participants head straight towards, and pass, the bandstand before joining a final path which leads back to the original starting area and the whole loop is repeated.

final path

At the end of lap 2, the participants follow the sign and cones onto the grass and head straight into the finish funnel. Barcode scanning takes place adjacent to the finish line. With that done, the official post-run social takes place at The Pear Tree Cafe (formerly known as La Baita / The Hut), which is adjacent to the bandstand. The results for event 5 were processed and available online a short while after the run. The 502 participants set a new attendance record. I revisited in September 2023 for event 192 where there were 916 participants.

I recorded the course with my Garmin and uploaded the data to Strava - you can see the course in detail via my Strava account, here; Clapham Common parkrun #5. I also converted the data into a course flyby video using the Relive app on my phone. You can view that here; Clapham Common parkrun Course Flyby.

By the time I revisited in September 2023, the start area had been revised and the start line is now on the gravel football pitches rather than on the main path. The GPS data from my 2023 visit can be found, here: Clapham Common parkrun #192. I also made a new course fly-by video which can be found on YouTube, here: Clapham Common course fly-by 2023.

the finish / scanning

I've really enjoyed both of my visits to this venue. Although it is busy, everything feels so relaxed and easy. The large events make it quite easy to remain anonymous within the crowd if you wish. The high attendances mean it is regularly in the top five most-attended events in the country, and is quite often the second highest attended event, behind Bushy parkrun. My favourite section of the course was without doubt the short tree-lined avenue towards the north-west corner of the course. I can only commend the event team and volunteers who seem to have risen to the challenge of hosting an incredibly large event beautifully. Thank you.

Related Links:

• The London parkrun Venues

• Clapham Common parkrun GPS data (2018)
• Clapham Common parkrun Course Flyby (2018)

• Clapham Common parkrun GPS data (2023 - revised start area)
• Clapham Common course fly-by 2023 (2023 - revised start area)

Victoria Dock parkrun

London's Royal Docks are a collection of three magnificent docks built between 1850 and 1921 in the Plaistow Marshes area of East London. Until that time, the marshes were quite often flooded and only really suitable for grazing. However there is evidence to suggest that the area was inhabited during the bronze age, iron age and during Roman times. The docks were created to relieve the overcrowding of the River Thames as the expanding British Empire generated more and more trade. The main docking areas in the Pool of London had become almost impossible to navigate safely and the East India Docks, constructed less than 50 years earlier were struggling to cope.

The first of the docks to be completed was Victoria Dock. It was designed to accommodate the latest steamships and was around 9 metres deep and at the time of opening it was the largest man-made expanse of water in the world. In 1880 Albert Dock was opened and this was followed in 1921 by King George V Dock. At this time, the docks were also assigned their royal prefix. The docks were of course a huge success and led to factories and housing being developed in London's East End. They were also the first docks to be serviced directly by the railways. As time went on container shipping became the preferred method of transport and as these ships were too large to reach the Royal Docks, in 1981 their time inevitably came to an end.

At exactly the same time, the London Docklands Development Corporation was set up. It's purpose was to regenerate the Docklands area of East London. Canary Wharf, The Docklands Light Railway (DLR), The London City Airport and the London Arena all followed and the area is now a major business centre with many skyscrapers as well as being a highly desirable place to live. In 1988, Jean-Michel Jarre staged huge performances at Royal Victoria Dock which attracted 100,000 people on each of the two nights. Called 'Destination Docklands' it was designed to showcase the history and future development of the area and featured projections onto buildings, a spectacular light show which included WW2 search lights and lasers, as well as fireworks.

The Royal Docks are now a focal point within the area and many activities take place on and around them. Watersports are one of the main attractions and you'll find opportunities to try all sorts of traditional water-based activities including rowing, sailing, and canoeing. For the adrenaline-junkies there is the Wakeup Docklands centre, on Royal Victoria Dock, which specialises in Wakeboarding and Flyboarding. It's also home to the London Triathlon which uses the dock for the swim section and the Dock2Dock event.

The Royal Victoria Dock dockside is lined with many modern buildings, which are largely residential and hotels. There are also a few historical buildings and the dock's cranes have been retained as a nod to the area's past. The most well-known of these is probably the ExCel London Exhibition Centre which hosts all kinds of events including the London Boat Show and the London Comic Con. It is of course also the venue of the London Marathon Running Show.

Directly opposite ExCel is the large white art-deco building. This is Millenium Mills, built in 1934 to replace the original 1905 Millenium Mills building which was destroyed in 1917 when 50 tonnes of TNT exploded in a munitions factory. The current building suffered significant damage during WW2 and sections were rebuilt in the 1950s. The mill closed down at the same time as the docks and has been lying derelict for many years. It was one of the buildings used for projections during John-Michel Jarre's performances in 1988. Since then it has been used extensively in music videos, TV and scenes in movies including The Batman and Paddington 2. It is currently being redeveloped as part of the £3.5 billion Silvertown regeneration scheme.

Since 2018, the dockside has been home to a free, weekly, timed 5km community event called Victoria Dock parkrun. It is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk. Like all parkruns it is primarily a community event which offers plenty of volunteering opportunities. The main meeting point for the event is at the western end of the dock just outside The Crystal building which is one of the world's most sustainable buildings. Since 2022 it has been the headquarters of the Greater London Authority and is now officially called City Hall. It is worth noting that this parkrun has no official toilet facilities - the original arrangement that parkrunners could use the Crystal Gardens Community hut is no longer in place.

There are a few options for travel to the venue including driving, however it is worth noting that parking on the local roads is heavily restricted with parking only possible for local residents. There are a few local car parks including the official ExCel car park which charges £25 per day (2024 price). A bit further along the dock is the Dockside Road car park which is managed by Just Park. The cost for this one appears to be around £3 per hour, but the walk to the meeting point is further away. The closest free on-street parking that I have found is adjacent to Beckton Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station which can then be used to complete the journey. 

As far as public transport is concerned, there is no mainline train station within easy reach of the venue, meaning the DLR will likely form part of the journey. The closest station is the Royal Victoria DLR which is 3-4 minutes walk away from the start. The DLR actually has two lines running past the dock, so if you end up on the Woolwich Arsenal branch you could alight at West Silvertown DLR instead. A more recent addition to the travel options has been the opening of the Elizabeth line (crossrail) which stops at Custom House station next to the Excel Centre. Alighting here is handy should the toilet be required. One can be found in Starbucks (open from 8am) on the footbridge in between the station and the Excel centre. It is only available for customers, so a small purchase should suffice.

This venue is well-known for its unique travel option, which is the IFS Cloud Cable Car (it was formerly known as the Emirates Air Line, but that sponsorship ended in June 2022). It crosses the Thames between Greenwich Peninsula (the O2) and Royal Victoria Dock. The station/terminal is only 1-2 minutes from the meeting area. For the record there are toilet facilities in North Greenwich tube station. From April 2022, the cable car can be used for free on Saturday mornings before 10.30am just by showing your parkrun barcode. However as of 6 May 2025 the opening time changes to 9am meaning it is no longer an option for travelling to the parkrun. It still remains an option for a post-parkrun activity. Also bear in mind that services may be postponed in poor weather conditions, especially if it is windy or if there is a risk of thunder and lightning. 

For those looking for a local overnight stay, there are quite a few options. Firstly, the closest Premier Inn is their London Docklands (ExCel) hotel. There really are too many to list them all, but there are also branches of DoubleTree by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton, Holiday Inn Express, Ibis, Novotel, and Crowne Plaza London Docklands. There are also a couple of hotels that offer a unique stay. The first is called the Good Hotel - this floating hotel is just two minutes from the parkrun meeting area. The boat itself was acquired and refurbished in Amsterdam and was originally destined for Brazil, however the plan changed and it ended up sailing to London in 2016 and it has been there ever since. It is possible that the Good Hotel staff may let parkrunners use the toilet, but I can't guarantee this will be the case. The other hotel is the Sunborn London which is a five-star yacht hotel. Interestingly, it was constructed specifically to be a hotel and as a result it does not have an engine.

The route of Victoria Dock parkrun has changed a few times over the years, but all versions of the course feature out-and-back sections around the perimeter of the dock. Underfoot is 100% hard surface which features a mix of tarmac, paving and bricks, so road shoes are always the perfect footwear choice. The course itself is completely flat and seems to be a good venue for those looking for a decent finishing time. People using wheelchairs or pushing buggies are very welcome and the course itself is suitable for both. Those participating with a dog are also welcome. I will also mention that this is a flash-mob style parkrun so expect to see no sign of a parkrun until after 8.30am.

The original course was effectively a single lap route, but took place over two different out-and-back sections. This was in use from March 2018 until 2021 when some maintenance works on the south side commenced. This forced the organisers to change the route and that's when the double out-and-back route came into use. Then in the summer of 2023 even more works started on the dockside and this initially caused the parkrun to cancel for about three months. However a triple out-and-back route was created and this enabled the event to return - the triple out-and-back remained in use until the works had finished.

As of 21 December 2024 the double out-and-back course is in use.

All three versions start on the dockside right underneath the path of the cable car and head to the north passing The Crystal building / City Hall before following the path round to the right and onto the dock's north side. From here the routes pass the Good Hotel and then continue to follow the natural path around the dockside. The paths here are generally very quiet and there are a few pairs of the dock's cranes placed in this next section which are fascinating to see, but do watch out as they stand directly on the path. Looking ahead at this point, beyond the Sunborn yacht hotel is the Royal Victoria Bridge up ahead. This is a high level pedestrian bridge which cost £5 million to design and construct. Its design reflects the appearance of the tall sailing ships which regularly use the dock.

It's also worth noting that the entire course is right underneath the flight path for London City Airport, so you may get to see and hear some low flying aircraft. Even if you don't see any during the parkrun, watching the planes land and take-off is a brilliant post-parkrun activity. The turn-around point for the out-and-back varies depending on which course is being used. The original course goes past the Sunborn then continues all the way to the far end of the ExCel centre to reach its turn-around point (this point is only about a kilometre away from Beckton parkrun). The double out-and-back course goes about three-quarters of the way along ExCel before turning around. Finally the triple out-and-back course's turn-around point is next to the Sunborn.

The 'back' section just follows the dockside path back around to the start area. If the original course is in use the parkrunners continue around to the south side of the dock where the second (different) out-and-back takes place. Again there are more cranes here and the surface underfoot is not quite as smooth as the northern side. This particular course has not been used since 2021. If one of the other two courses are in use the participants simply repeat that course's out-and-back section the desired amount of times and once done the finish can be found back at the original meeting point and start area. Barcode scanning takes place in the immediate vicinity.

The results are usually published online a short while after the event. At time of writing I have visited this parkrun twice and taken part on the original course and the double out-and-back course. I hope to revisit and try out the triple out-and-back course soon. I recorded the course using my Garmin on both visits and you can find the GPS data of the original route on my Strava account. I also created a Relive course flyby video which you can find on Youtube. I revisited in 2022 and you can see the GPS data of the double out-and-back on Strava and the Relive alternative course flyby can be found here. While I haven't taken part on the triple out-and-back course, I have sourced some GPS data of it, so the GPS data of the triple out-and-back course can also be found on Strava.

In terms of attendance figures, there were 93 participants when I first visited at event 5 in 2018. This had risen to 178 when I revisited at event 141 in September 2022. As of December 2024 the average attendance figures tend to hover around the low to mid 200's. An interesting quirk of this venue is that the first time tourists quite often outnumber the regulars. This means the pool of regular, local people is fairly small and the event can quite often struggle to fill the essential volunteer roles. This can lead to cancellations.

Most of the event's cancellations are due to other events taking place along the dockside or in the dock itself. Sometimes they are announced at very short notice, so be sure to check the event's news and social media pages right up until the morning of your visit to avoid a wasted journey. Expect to find the event cancelled on the weekend of the London Marathon as people collecting their race packs from the ExCel centre have in the past caused the parkrun's numbers to swell to unmanageable numbers. The current attendance record is 699 from 2023's London Marathon weekend.

It is quite a unique parkrun and this makes it a very popular destination for parkrun tourists, some of whom may also be using the event as their 'V' in the parkrun alphabeteer challenge. Finally a huge thank you goes to all of the volunteers.

Related Links:

• The course GPS data (original course using the north and south sides of the dock)
• The Relive course flyby video (original course flyby)

• The alternative course GPS data (double out and back on the northern side - Current course)
• Relive alternative course flyby video (double out and back on the northern side - Current course)

• The 3 x out-and-back course GPS data (triple out and back on the northern side)

• The London parkrun Venues (blog7t page)
• Beckton parkrun blog (2023)