Great Dunmow parkrun

The Essex town of Great Dunmow sits on high ground on the west bank of the River Chelmer, exactly halfway along the old Roman Road (Stane Street) between Bishops Stortford and Braintree. This historic market town has a population of around 9,000 people, but with developments ongoing in the north-west of the town, this will surely rise in the near future. Its name means 'meadow on the hill' and there have been settlements here (on and off) since Roman times.

great dunmow

Over the years many Roman artifacts such as coins and pottery have been found in and around the town, and it is also home to 167 listed buildings. As far as industries go, the main ones over the years have been corn which was grown on the high ground, and wool/textiles - notably a fine cloth known as 'bay and say'. There was Beer from the Dunmow Brewery which closed down in the 1940s. However the Grade 2* listed Dunmow Maltings which served the brewery have been restored and the building now houses the Great Dunmow Town Museum which costs £1.50 to visit. Finally there was the bacon industry, with the Dunmow Flitch Bacon Factory based in the town employing many people until it closed down in the 1980s.

On the subject of bacon, the town is probably most well-known for its four-yearly ancient custom, The Dunmow Flitch Trials which actually originated in the nearby village of Little Dunmow. Married couples can enter and are quizzed by six batchelors and six maidens. If they can prove that they have not wished themselves unwed for 'twelvemonth and a day', they may win a flitch of bacon - that is half-a-pig, cut lengthways. The custom is not unique to Dunmow but I hear that it is the only town that still awards a flitch as a prize.

recreation ground / start

I travelled to Great Dunmow on an overcast and muggy mid-may morning to take part in event seven of Great Dunmow parkrun, which had its inaugural event in April 2018. The free, weekly, 5k event starts and finishes near the Dourdan Pavilion at The Recreation Ground, just off The Causeway, in the North East of the town. This part of the town used to be a large area of impassable marshland.

Interestingly, Great Dunmow is twinned with the French town of Dourdan (hence the pavilion name) and there is even a Dunmow-Dourdan Twinning Association who with their French counterparts arrange social visits between the two towns with families on both sides of the channel providing accomodation and food for their visitors. If a parkrun ever starts in Dourdan I'm sure it would be quite a popular trip for both sets of participants.

the first 500m / pillbox

The recreation ground has toilet facilities, a skate park and a playground, but is mostly open grass which is marked out with football pitches. On the third Saturday in September, the venue hosts the Great Dunmow Carnival, so there is a good chance that setup for this could result in the parkrun taking a week off - remember to check before leaving home.

Anyway, I had driven to the event and although the Dourdan Pavilion has a car park, the advice on the parkrun web page asks participants not to park here. The suggested parking options are to use one of the town centre car parks and walk over to the venue - they seem to be fairly reasonably priced and you should be able to park for about £1.20 which will cover a three-hour stay. Of course, it you're savvy, you'll find a local residential side street and park there.

meadows / through the alley

In 1869 a railway line opened between Bishops Stortford and Braintree which served Great Dunmow. It was in operation for over a hundred years as a freight line and its passenger services ran for just over 80 years before being axed as a cost saving measure by British Rail (Beeching wasn't responsible for this one!). As a consequence there is no way of getting to the town by train, however the old train line is now The Flitch Way which is a walking and cycling route that takes its name from Dunmow's Flitch Trials. I couldn't see any cycle racks but the bikes I saw had been chained to the underside of one of the skate ramps, which seemed to work out fine.

Once at the recreation ground the meeting point for the parkrun is easy enough to spot on the grass right next to the skate park. The run briefing takes place here and the crowd of parkrunners are sent on their way straight after. The flat course is made up of one large loop followed by one smaller loop, underfoot you will find grass and dirt/trail paths which are all fairly uneven, so watch your step. The ideal footwear would be trail shoes, but when the ground is bone dry in the middle of the summer, road shoes would also be fine. Buggy runners will be fine, but note that it will be a bumpy ride, plus in the winter it'll be a lot tougher due to the changing ground conditions.

the bridge (outgoing)

The large lap (approx 3km) starts by heading south on grass through the recreation ground and around the football pitch field. The route then goes into the extended parkland where it hugs the western border of the meadows. An interesting fact is that Dunmow was on the GHQ Line (General Headquarters Line) during the second world war, which was a line of defences built to defend against a German invasion. If you look very carefully within the bushes you can spot a pillbox which survives from that period.

The course then continues through a very short section of trees and along a tarmac alley past some houses before crossing the River Chelmer via a single-file footbridge. At this point, the loop switches from being anti-clockwise to clockwise and the route follows the perimeter of the parkland all the way around and then down towards Dunmow Cricket Club, whose ground can be seen in the adjacent field.

the other side of the water / the bridge (with two-way runners)

After passing a small car park at the southern tip of the course, the route starts to head back towards the bridge with the river on the left. Heading back across the single-file bridge the route now switches back to being anti-clockwise and the participants continue following the twists and turns of the river with it now on their right hand side. This gently meanders all the way to the northernmost point of the course via Harp Mead Jubilee Wood which was planted in 2012 in commemoration of the Queen's diamond jubilee, before heading back into the main part of the recreation ground. This first lap actually forms a figure of eight (very rare for a parkrun), albeit with a lot more twists and turns.

A second lap is now run, but this one is shorter at approx 2km. When reaching the river, the course doesn't cross the bridge, but this time just heads back along the river following the same route as the latter part of the first lap. Incidentally there is another pillbox located near/within the Harp Mead Jubilee Wood. Once back in the main section of the park, the participants break off of the loop and return to the start area where they will find the finish.

heading through the meadows along the bank of the river chelmer

A point to note would be the single-file bridge - the lead runners (and possibly everyone running under 25 minutes) will make it back to the bridge before the tail walker has gone through (this will vary from week-to-week), so it could cause some conflict and ultimately someone will have to yield. So it's worth keeping it in mind and whatever happens try to be polite and give thanks to anyone that gives way to you.

So with my morning's run done, I had my barcode scanned right next to the finish line and headed off to take some more photos and to chat to some of the marshals around the course. Special thanks to the marshal that told me exactly where to find the pillbox, and another thanks to the marshal who took my photo. Of course with me being me, I didn't ask anyone's names (sorry!) but I enjoyed chatting nonetheless.

through the newly planted woodland / orchard area

After the event there may be a mobile refreshment van onsite to grab a quick drink (but I didn't spot one when I visited) or you may find that the team head over to the Angel and Harp pub just to the north of the park. If that doesn't take your fancy then you can take a short walk onto the high street where a number of independent cafes etc can be found.

If you walk into town, do take a moment to stop at Doctor's Pond whose name, it is said, comes from a doctor who used to breed and keep leeches in the pond when they were used in medicine. The pond was also the location that Lionel Lukin, born and lived in Great Dunmow, conducted experiments which lead to the development of the first (possibly unsinkable) lifeboat in 1784.

Once back at the car I uploaded my GPS data to Strava and converted the file into a course fly-by video using the Relive app on my phone.

back at the recreation ground

The results for event 7 were processed and online before I got home. There were 158 participants on the day I visited which was around the average number this venue is attracting at the moment. It's a nice course to run on and I can imagine it'll get pretty muddy underfoot in the winter, which some will love and others will not! A huge thanks to the team for putting on the event and for making me feel so welcome - May Dunmow (parkrun) Prosper!

Related links:

• The Essex parkrun Venues
• Official results for event 7
• Great Dunmow parkrun GPS data
• Course flyby video

Mole Valley parkrun

Mole Valley is the name of a local government district in Surrey. It was formed in 1974 and takes its name from the River Mole. The district contains two towns, Leatherhead and Dorking, plus many villages and settlements. The area sits on the North Downs and also includes some of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. I had visited the area to take part in Mole Valley parkrun, which takes place just outside Dorking in the grounds of the Denbies Wine Estate.

The estate takes its name from John Denby who was the first owner of the estate in the mid-16th century where he built a modest farmhouse. The next owner, Jonathan Tyers, transformed the grounds into a gloomy, gothic, garden. It's theme was 'reminder of death' (memento mori) and featured macabre statues including coffins and skulls as well as a clock that chimed every minute. The grounds were known as 'The Valley of the Shadow of Death' at this time.

Subsequent owners built grand mansions, this included the Denison family (wealthy bankers) who redesigned the grounds and removed the macabre theme. Finally the last grand building was built by Thomas Cubitt c.1854 and featured 100 rooms. In the 20th century small pieces of land gradually began to be sold off, and the mansion was used as the Home Guard headquarters before its demolition in 1953.

Parts of land were given to the National Trust (some via the treasury in lieu of unpaid taxes) and in the 1980s the remaining land was sold to a water-treatment company, Biwater. The chairman of the company, Adrian White, established the Denbies Wine Estate. With 268 acres currently under vines, Denbies is the largest vineyard in England and it's vines represent around 10% of the total amount in the whole of the UK. Outdoor activities are available, where visitors can tour the estate on the train tour (not on tracks), or enjoy a Vine and Dine grape picking experience. There are also indoor options which includes a selection of wine tasting experiences.

Denbies doesn't only produce award winning wine - they do weddings, civil ceremonies, dinners and private parties, as well as corporate events like exhibitions, conferences and product launches, plus seasonal family events around easter and halloween etc. The site is also home to the Denbies Vineyard Hotel, so there is the option of an onsite overnight stay.

The grounds were used as a location for James May's Toy Stories where he built a full sized Lego house in 2009, it was dismantled soon after as the area was required for vines and the house did not have planning permission. They are also no stranger to hosting running events - The biggest of these is the Bacchus Marathon and Half Marathon which includes six wine tasting stations per lap. The Surrey Cross-Country League and various other races are also held here.

Mole Valley District Council had been searching for a suitable venue to host a parkrun for around two years before Denbies finally came forward. The one thing Denbies lacked was enough suitable car parking space to host the event. A planning application and a bit of groundwork later, the car park was complete and the event was ready to go.

Like all parkruns in England, this event takes place at 9am on Saturday mornings, is free, and open to all running abilities and to walkers. Upon arrival by car, participants can head straight into the aforementioned onsite parkrun car park or continue into the main car park, which is where I ended up parking. Cyclists can use the bespoke bicycle racks provided onsite just outside the visitor centre.

If travelling by public transport, Dorking train station is the closest, but there are two others in the town, Dorking Deepdene and Dorking West. Buses 21 and 465 stop just outside the venue.

Toilet facilities are officially available from 9am in the main visitor building (When I visited in 2018, they were available from 8.30am, the change of opening time is an economic decision made by Denbies - please see this post on the Mole Valley parkrun Facebook page which also lists some nearby alternatives). To summarise here, the suggestions are; either of the nearby Esso petrol stations on the A24, Waitrose, and St Martin's Walk Shopping Centre. I've also seen there is a Sainsbury's and a Lidl in Dorking town centre which both supposedly have customer toilets.

The parkrun itself starts adjacent to the main Denbies visitor centre and takes place over a single lap course around the vineyard on a mixture of gravelly paths, grass and dirt. Being an off-road course you may find trail shoes useful here, especially in the winter when it gets very muddy and splashy underfoot. My personal preference would be to go with trail shoes all year round as they may help with negotiating the uneven surfaces.

There is a note on the main webpage that says that this course is not suitable for buggies, and to be honest, that is a fair statement. However, buggies have not been banned so if you fancy a challenge, you are free to go ahead. Also if you bring a dog, it must be kept on a lead at all times and it must not be allowed roam amongst the vines. There are signs to this effect and I saw a lot of people (not all of them linked to parkrun) ignoring this.

The vineyard has been planted on the south-facing slope of the North Downs which receives more sunlight and heat than northern facing slopes, and this is perfect for growing the grapes. The run also takes place on these slopes, so don't expect this venue to be a walk in the park. In fact, while I was doing my research for this blog I came across a few online comments along the lines of 'beautiful scenery, but I had to walk up the hills', 'the hills were traumatic but I loved the course', and lastly the very simple 'never again!'. However the event attracts around 300 people every week so it can't be that bad... right?

So after the main briefing, the participants are sent on their way, but before entering the tracks through the vines there is a quick loop of the grass field - this helps to spread the field before entering the narrower tracks. The tracks themselves aren't actually that narrow, in fact they are wide enough for the farm vehicles to move along. However the grass can be a bit lumpy in places at the edges so the prime route is along the single file well-trodden paths.

The route works its way up along the northern border of the vineyard until levelling out at about 1.3kms into the course. It's worth noting that this opening section reduced quite a number of people to walking pace, and if it does the same to you, you certainly won't be alone. After a short downhill section which dips down into the valley, the course hits the 2km mark and again starts to head uphill - my GPS briefly picked up an incline of 25% here.

At 2.8km into the run, the course finally reaches its highest point and the good news is that the final 2.2kms are either downhill or flat. Up to this point the course has been mainly grass and dirt underfoot, but it now changes to a dusty, gravelly, stony track for a while. The views across the vineyard are constantly changing, but stunning from all over the course, so don't forget to take a good look around every now and then.

With 700 metres left to go the course goes back onto the dirt/grass tracks and the route enters its final stage. It rejoins the northern border and heads back along it to the start line which is now the finish line. Barcodes are scanned right next to the finish line. Please note that the venue does have a b-course, which can be used if the start-finish area is unavailable. The map of both courses can be found on this Facebook post. However it seems the b-course still takes in the majority of the same used for the regular course.

Participants can now head into the Conservatory Restaurant for breakfast and a cup of tea. I picked a selection of vegetarian options from the hot food counter and paid £4 which I thought was pretty reasonable - however I forgot to show my parkrun barcode, if I had done I would have received a 10% discount. I Revisited in March 2023 and the breakfast options were reduced in comparison to my first visit. If you eat meat then you'd be able to have a bacon or sausage bap. Apart from that, all I saw was beans and fried eggs. They did have a good selection of cakes. There's also an outdoor kiosk for refreshments.

While sitting in the restaurant with fellow tourist Tim, who I know from my former home parkrun at Riddlesdown, I uploaded my GPS data to Strava and set the Relive app to create a course flyby video of the course. I also received my result and saw that 284 people had taken part in event 10. Once we had had a good ol' chinwag I headed back towards the car via the onsite shop which sells all the wines they produce as well as lots of other bits and pieces. I was almost tempted to buy some wine, but then I remembered that I don't really drink alcohol, so I went home empty handed.

If you are interested in wine, it would definitely make sense to spend the entire day here taking part in some of the activities listed above, or if you are more of a beer drinker you may find a tour of the on-site Surrey Hills Brewery is more to your liking. Whatever you do, there can be no doubt that the place would have left an impression on you. For me, the highlight was the beautiful scenery and the tough, hilly course. The changing seasons as the year progresses will make this course a real treat for those local enough to call this home. It's a great venue and us parkrunners are very lucky to get to run here. Every week. For free.

Related links:

• Official results for event 10
• The course GPS data
• Relive course flyby video
• The surrey parkrun venues
• Squerryes Winery parkrun blog (also takes place in a vineyard)

Darent Valley 10k 2018

The Darent Valley 10k is my yearly ritual race. I've run it every year since I moved to Dartford and 2018 marked my fifth time running it. The build-up to this race was not ideal for me - I spent six weeks during March and April not feeling too well and did absolutely no running whatsoever. So expectations were not high, and that was fine with me - All I wanted to do was enjoy the event and maintain my streak.

pre-race

I usually cycle over to the race, but this year I didn't feel I had the strength in me to cycle there, run, and then cycle back home. So I reluctantly took the car. Parking is pretty tight in and around Eynsford and Farningham, but there is a field which a local farmer allows runners to park in just a few hundred metres from the race HQ at Anthony Roper School.

If you've read my previous blogs you'll already have a pretty good idea of the set up of this race, and nothing has changed. So after using the school hall to get changed and store my bag I headed out to get warmed up and use the toilets (I avoided the queue this year). The race has a nice, early start time and at about 8.20am I got into position around the school gate. The weather conditions were pretty perfect, no wind to speak of and the spring air was slightly cool, but not cold.

eynsford viaduct

It's probably a good time to mention that I was taking part in this race as an unattached runner having not renewed my running club membership. So the race got underway and I found myself alongside my friend Richey. Together we kept a decent but sensible pace throughout the opening couple of kilometres. After that we went our separate ways and I maintained the decent pace - it wasn't an aggressive 10k pace, but ever-so-slightly under it. Probably more like a tempo run kind of effort, which felt good and I was able to enjoy the scenery without too much grimacing.

The views throughout the race are very scenic - there's the view over the Darent Valley itself, followed by the 9 arch viaduct, and, by the half-way point - Lullingstone Castle. Around this point my effort level had started to creep into what felt like 10k effort, and I climbed the slightly uneven path through the Hart-Dyke family farmland before joining the section along the Lullingstone parkrun course. This is the only part of the race that is off-road, and it covers about a kilometre. Still it has been dry and firm every year I have taken part and my road shoes have always been fine.

400m from the end and i was smiling [photo: eden summers]

Heading onto the country lane outside Lullingstone Country Park, the biggest climb of the route is imminent, and at roughly 7km into the run you hit the bottom of it. The initial section leading up to the main road is the steepest, but the incline continues after turning onto the A225, and it's a good 800m in total before the course starts to flatten out...

... and when it does, you are left with the final 2km which is almost entirely downhill. I always find it very satisfying to know that my fastest kilometre splits are saved right until the end. Looking at the breakdown of kilometre splits, as always my 8th kilometre was the slowest of the race because that contains the long stretch of continuous incline, and the final 2 kilometres were indeed equal fastest.

st botolph's church

This year's medal featured a picture of the St Botolph's Church which is within the grounds of Lullingstone Castle. This particular image was used in memory of Guy Hart Dyke who passed away in February 2018 aged 90. He had been the owner of Lullingstone Castle since inheriting it in 1969, and had kindly allowed the race to cross part of his land for many years. The castle and grounds have now passed to his son Tom Hart Dyke, and I hope the good relationship continues for many year to come.

My race stats:

Time (chip): 45.19
Position (gun): 65 / 529
Official Results Page: Chiptiming UK DV10K 2018
GPS data: Darent Valley 10k 2018
Relive course flyby video: Darent Valley 10k 2018 flyby

Dartford Heath parkrun

Dartford is a town in Kent, just inside the M25 motorway. It lies on the old Roman Road between Dover and London (Watling Street) and takes its name from the point where the road crossed the river (Darent Ford = Dartford). The town was also the location of a Royal Manor House built for Henry VIII after the dissolution and subsequent demolition of Dartford Priory.

To the South-West of the town centre is where you will find Dartford Heath which is one of the last remaining areas of lowland heaths in the south-east. The first recorded size of the heath was in c.1797 when it was said to be 500 acres in size - over the years, housing and road developments have reduced the size of the heath down to its current 314 acres. It lies within the county of Kent but is just a stone's throw from the border with London.

The heath hosted a ceremony in 1660 where King Charles II made an address. In April 1930 a young woman was murdered on the heath when a man quite randomly jumped from some bushes and stabbed her in the back - he was subsequently caught and sentenced to death. During WW2 anti-aircraft guns were installed on the heath. These days the heath is recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty and is also a valuable habitat for wildlife, it's also a well known and popular spot for gentlemen looking for company in the evening (if you know what I mean).

In May 2018 the heath became home to a brand new weekly event, Dartford Heath parkrun. This 5k event joined the existing, well established Dartford parkrun and with the area being off-road, offers the local community a slightly different type of running experience as well as assisting to relieve the pressure from increasing numbers at Dartford and other local venues. As it was set up by friends of mine, and is really a second home venue, I broke with my rule of no longer attending inaugurals and jogged the 3km from my flat to the heath.

Although the total area of the heath is over 300 acres, the road network that criss-crosses the area means that it has effectively been sliced into many smaller compartments, and with parkrun courses unable to cross roads, the whole course is contained within just one of these compartments. The landscape contains a mixture of open grassy meadows, large areas of bracken and gorse, as well as some wooded areas too.

Dartford Heath parkrun takes place within the largest and most central compartment. It's important to note that the heath does not have any facilities, so if you are likely to need to use the toilet you may want to plan that into your journey and visit one en-route. I can suggest a pit-stop in Dartford town centre where there are public toilets within Central Park (ironically next to the original Dartford parkrun's start line), or you could pop into somewhere like McDonalds or Wetherspoons (The Flying Boat, which opens at 8am).

The car park is tiny (approx 22 cars can be squeezed in), and only just manages to accommodate the heath's dog walkers, so you'll probably have to find somewhere else. Heath Close Road is the closest but local residents have raised concerns over parking here, so please avoid parking on this road. There is an additional car park on Oakfield Lane, and further roadside parking on Parsons Lane. With that in mind, you'll need to leave yourself enough time to walk across to, and find, the start area. There are access points at multiple places around the heath but the entrance next to the car park is the best one to use in order to find the meeting point. There are also no bike racks onsite, the best you'll find is likely to be the wooden rail that forms the perimeter of the car park.

National rail services will get you into central Dartford, but the heath is around 3km away from the station. Better still, if you happen to be on a train that stops at Crayford you could alight there. Crayford station is actually a little closer at around 2km, but avoid using Swan Lane as there is no pavement. If you're looking to extend your parkrun into a longer effort then jogging from either station to the venue is simple enough, but is uphill from both. There are also a few bus services that pass fairly close to the heath - these are the 453, 429 and the B12.

The meeting point is in a clearing next to Donkey Pond (possibly more of a large puddle in the summer) which is one of three ponds on the heath. It's not far from the very small car park off of Heath Lane (for the record you cannot park on Heath Lane). With the run briefing held, the participants are lead a few hundred metres around to the starting point. The course here is flat apart from a couple of short, sharp slopes, and is run on a mix of trail paths, stony paths, grass and some patches of concrete. Trail shoes are definitely the way to go when conditions are wet underfoot, however during the dry months road shoes will be just fine.

The route is made up of just under two clockwise laps around the heath. The start area is of a fairly standard width and the crowd head off to the south-west following the stony trail path. Dartford Heath is one of those venues that is difficult to describe in great detail, but underfoot briefly changes to a concrete path which remains in place from the heath's WW2 military use.

There is a large loop early on in the lap which takes the participants through some beautiful woodland where the path contains a good covering of tree routes, so watch out here. Also, this loop also features a two-way section where you have to keep left - the 'keep left' signs are very clear but it is really easy to drift to the right, so pay attention, especially during the section with a blind corner.

The heathland is not quite as open as you might imagine before visiting and the route in front of you is the only real thing to focus on, and apart from the out-and-back section you don't see any other runners apart from those around you. The route continues to work its way around the heath using the well defined paths, but being an off-road course you will still find the odd trip hazard like rabbit holes, tree roots and large stones.

Towards the end of the lap, the course passes through what are known locally as the Glory Bumps - these are a series of parallel mounds which were created by brickmakers digging for brickearth in the 1800s. You'll quite often see kids on their BMXs of mountain bikes using them as dirt jumps, and I hear have been responsible for many broken bones over the years. Don't worry, the course doesn't actually go over these bumps.

After passing the original meeting/briefing point you'll follow the path you walked along to reach the start area and then repeat the lap a second time. The finish line is found back at the meeting point and this is also where barcode scanning takes place. As I mentioned above, there are no facilities on the heath, so you may find that attendees simply head off home after the event. Of course some will make other arrangements and it's quite possible that a selection of the day's regulars and volunteers will end up down in Dartford town centre in The Flying Boat.

I recorded the course data using my Garmin and you can view that on Strava, here; Dartford Heath parkrun GPS data. I also created a fly-by video with the Relive app on my phone and you can view it on Youtube, here; Dartford Heath parkrun course flyby. The results for event 1 were processed and online shortly after the run. A huge thank you to all of my Dartford based friends who volunteered to make it happen - I did offer to help with the course setup but my newborn son had other ideas and I sadly didn't make it in time.

All I can say is that everyone involved has done a fantastic job getting this parkrun up and running. The heath really is a great place for it, and even the lack of onsite facilities does not take anything away from this special venue in Dartford. For myself and the other locals it gives us a second parkrun within walking/running distance of the town centre which is totally different from our beloved original venue in Central Park. I'm really looking forward to experiencing the course as it changes through the seasons.


Related Links:

• The Kent parkrun venues
• The London parkrun venues
• Dartford Heath parkrun GPS data
• Dartford Heath parkrun course flyby
• Dartford Heath parkrun results for event 1

Catford parkrun

Catford is a district of south east London within the London Borough of Lewisham. The name was first recorded in 1254 with the 'ford' part referring to the crossing of the River Ravensbourne. The 'cat' part is more of a mystery. It is most likely that it came from the cattle that used the ford, however it has also been suggested that it could derive from a former landowner who was nicknamed 'cat', or the place where black cats were drowned during witch hunts.

catford town centre

Anyone familiar with Catford will no doubt be aware that the most infamous landmark in town is the fibreglass cat that sits astride the Catford Centre sign next to the main road. It was installed when the Catford Centre, which is an outdoor shopping centre, was developed in 1974. I worked here for a few years in the late 1990s and was still getting my hair cut in the Broadway hairdressers 15 years later.

A little further down the road, built in 1932, is the Grade II Listed Art Deco Broadway Theatre which hosts theatrical plays, comedy acts, movie screenings and live music. Catford was also known for greyhound racing which took place in Catford Stadium between 1932 and 2003 - the stadium itself has now been demolished and the land is being redeveloped into flats.

mountsfield park

Many years earlier, Catford was mostly a place of agriculture with wealthier families building large houses around the time of the 19th century. One of these large houses was built by a Henry Stainton as a wedding gift for his son Henry Tibbats Stainton. The latter was an Entomologist and this meant that he studied insects. His house 'Mountsfield' was constructed within 6 acres of parkland on a high point just under a kilometre to the east of the town centre. It was regarded as one of London's substantial residences.

Upon the death of his widow in 1903, the estate was bequeathed for a park. Mountsfield (the house) was demolished and the park opened in 1905. Over time adjacent pockets of land were acquired and the park enlarged until it finally reached a size of 32 acres. By 1914 a bandstand had been constructed and other facilities such as tennis courts followed shortly after.

start and opening section

The modern day Mountsfield Park is a picturesque, beautiful space with fantastic views. It is somehow hidden out of sight right next to the South Circular Road and provides a oasis of calm just metres from its constant drone of traffic. The park now also features a new children's play area, a bandstand, a football pitch, outdoor gym facilities, and a community garden. It is used for all sorts of community events including carols at Christmas, and a Teddy Bear's Picnic in the summer. It also hosts larger events including Lewisham Council's People's Day which attracts around 30,000 people each July.

In April 2018 the park became home to Catford parkrun, a free, weekly, timed, inclusive, 5k event held at 9am on Saturday mornings. The event takes place over a course consisting of two full clockwise laps (approx 1.8km each) and one partial lap (approx 1.4km) around the park starting at the bandstand. The surface underfoot is a mixture of tarmac, grass and compact dirt/stones, and the course profile is gently undulating.

around the mount

As mentioned above, the park is located just off the South Circular Road (aka Brownhill Road) to the east of Catford town centre. For those that arrive here by car, most of the side streets around the park have weekday parking restrictions but these are not in force at the weekend - the suggested road to park on is Stainton Road, and this is where I parked. Cyclists can secure their bikes to the bike racks right next to the bandstand.

If travelling by public transport, the 160 and 202 bus routes serve the park. For travel by National Rail, the obvious main train stations are either Catford or Catford Bridge, both in Catford town centre and involve a 1 kilometre walk to the park. However, Hither Green Station is actually a little closer to the venue. While not yet confirmed there has also been talk of an extension of the Bakerloo tube and/or the Docklands Light Railway into Catford, so keep your eyes peeled for those sometime in the future.

path in the south-west corner

The main meeting place is at the bandstand adjacent to the cafe which opens at 9am and the one single toilet whose opening time is a little sketchy - it may be open before the run, but don't rely on it. On my first visit here, the toilet was blocked and therefore 'out of order'. If you are visiting and need to be certain of toilet access, there is a branch of Mcdonalds down at Catford Island which is a small retail area in the town centre. The Wetherspoons (The London and Rye) in the town centre which was also another option has sadly now (as summer 2024) closed down.

After the main briefing at the bandstand the participants are sent off in a southerly direction past the playground before being directed to run around the perimeter of the adjacent grass field. Moving briefly back onto tarmac, the participants head downhill and return to grass to negotiate an anti-clockwise loop of a field in the south-west corner. This corner of the park is notable as it was the location of The Mount, which was a football ground with a 50,000 capacity that was home to Catford South End FC. It also briefly provided home to Charlton FC during the 1923-24 season. The ground fell into disrepair and was demolished in the 1950s.

through the trees

The parkrun course then makes its way north along the western border of the park where the surface underfoot changes to compact dirt and stones. It becomes narrower and you have to watch your head on the overhanging foliage, but meanders from left to right in a very satisfying way. This merges into the northern border where there is a short uphill section which leads to, and past, a tennis court. The participants soon reach the north-east corner which is where Mountsfield (the house) would have stood. This corner of the park contains the community gardens and some formal planting.

Swinging towards the centre of the park, the course passes another tennis court and the bandstand which completes the lap. The same loop is then completed a second time, followed by a partial third lap. This final lap takes in about three-quarters of the circuit, breaks off from the main loop at the northern end of the course just after the incline and heads south along the central pathway until reaching the finish line right next to the bandstand.

caution runners / flowers

The scanning of barcodes takes place right here at the finish, and the cafe (twitter: MandFCafeLDN), which is within what looks like a shipping container, is only a few footsteps away. If you get a chance, stand inside the bandstand, tap your feet and listen to the sound resonating - it's great fun. Also, don't forget to check out the views - you can see the Crystal Palace tower, the Shard, the Gherkin and Canary Wharf. You may even be able to get a glimpse of Hilly Fields which also has a parkrun that has a very similar community feel to this one at Catford (my Hilly Fields parkrun blog from 2023).

Once the parkrun had finished, I uploaded my GPS data to Strava and you can see the course in detail, here: Strava - Catford parkrun event 2. Later on I used that data to create a course flyby video with the Relive app. You can view the video, here: Relive - Catford parkrun course flyby. For the record, I used my road shoes which were fine as the course was mostly dry, but given that this is a mixed terrain course, you may need a little extra grip when winter sets in. Also, I suspect there's a chance that Lewisham's People Day event in July may lead to a cancellation of the parkrun, so make sure to check before leaving home.

finish

This is a fantastic venue - I wasn't quite expecting the park to be so beautiful. The undulations, views, and landscaping are all fantastic, and I am pretty certain that I will swing by again at some point in the future. A massive kudos to the event director (David) and the rest of the team for getting the event up and running, and also a huge thanks to all the volunteers on the day.

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A quick 2023 update to add that since the original write-up was posted, I have revisited on a few more occasions (twice in 2019 and again in 2023) and loved it each time, even during heavy rain in July 2023. For the record everything noted above has remained the same and I hope to continue to visit this venue every now and then well into the future.

Related Links:

The London parkrun Venues
Catford parkrun GPS data
Catford parkrun course flyby video