Lancing Beach Green parkrun

Lancing is a village which lies on the south coast of England with the county of West Sussex. The name is made up of either Hlanc (lank or lean) or Wlanc (proud or imperious) plus the 'ing' which means 'people of'. So you end up with either the 'people of Hlanc' or 'people of Wlanc'. There is evidence of settlements in the area going back to the Iron Age, but from the 1800s the area was mostly used for growing flowers and fruit, which were then transported to Brighton or London to be sold at markets. During this period it was also a popular resort for the gentry.

In 1911, Shoreham Airport opened within the parish and is still in operation to this day, it is now also known as Brighton City Airport, and is one of the oldest airports in the country - possibly also the world's oldest continually operated airport. Imports of fresh fruit from around the world made life difficult for the fruit farmers in Lancing, leading to the land being sold off for housing developments during the post-WW2 period between 1945 and 1970. The population steadily grew and the present-day population is around 18,000.

Down at the seafront there is a shingle beach and over 275 beach huts. The huts are privately owned, with plots being allocated by Lancing Parish Council, but only to local residents. You'll also find Beach Green which is an open area of grassland in between the main road and the sea which contains a children's play area and a BMX/skate park. The Beach Green area is available for hire and you'll quite often find funfairs, circuses, and markets on-site. There's even the Lancing Motor Show which I understand takes place in September or October.

During the second world war large concrete blocks called 'dragons' teeth' were installed along the seafront as an anti-tank measure to protect against a possible Nazi land invasion. When the war finished they were due to be removed, however this never happened and the majority of them were buried under Beach Green. There is one still in situ with an information board telling the story along with some old photos. The green also has a beacon which was lit as part of the Queen's platinum jubilee in 2022. As of August 2018 Beach Green is home to Lancing Beach Green parkrun.

We visited Lancing in September 2022 to take part in Lancing Beach Green parkrun's 127th event. For those that drive there are a couple of parking options. The most obvious of these is the spacious Lancing Beach Car Park - this is right next to the parkrun meeting point and costs £1 for up to two hours or £4 for the full day and has a height restriction of 2.1 metres. The other option would be to look for a space on one of the residential side streets on the opposite side of the main road which would of course avoid paying the parking fee.

Travel by train is possible and Lancing train station can be found about 1km away from the parkrun meeting point. The station is served by both Thameslink and Southern trains - some run direct from London while others require a change at nearby Brighton. Trains from the other direction seem to run from either Portsmouth or Southampton via Chichester. For bicycle users there are some bike racks on Beach Green which are located just outside a refreshments hut next to the shingle beach. There are also toilets available and these are located on the western side of Beach Green - I understand they officially open at 9am, however they were open before 8.30am when we visited.

The meeting point for the parkrun is on the open grass of Beach Green just next to the car park (you can't miss it). As with all parkruns you will find a first-timers briefing followed by a main briefing and then at 9ish the participants head off for their regular Saturday morning 5 kilometre run or walk. The course here at Lancing consists of two separate out-and-backs on a mixture of grass and concrete. The course is flat and road shoes would likely always be the first choice. Participants with buggies will be just fine here.

The first of the out-and-backs is the shorter of the two. It covers the first 700 metres of the course and takes place on Beach Green itself - being on the green, the surface underfoot is of course grass. This is quite handy as it helps to spread out the field before the course moves onto the main seafront path. Although I said the course is flat there is a slight incline in between the grass section and the main coastal path. Once on the seafront path the main things to bear in mind are that parkrunners are asked to keep to the right. The path is also part of the National Cycle Network route 2 so be sure to keep an eye out for approaching cyclists.

The section on the coastal path heads to the east for just over two kilometres before reaching the turn-around point and heading back. While on the path, parkrunners pass numerous beach huts of many different styles and colours. During the out section there's a good view along the south coast where the Shoreham Power Station chimney is clearly visible. Plus you can even see all the way into Brighton and Hove where the British Airways i360 observation tower can clearly be seen in the far distance. At the far end of the path is the Widewater Lagoon - a man-made area of brackish water which is home to many seabirds and other wildlife. 

The finish is back on the grass in the same location as the start. Barcode scanning takes place here and the post-parkrun social gathering takes place in the Perch Cafe which has plenty of seating inside and out, and also seems to have a fairly extensive menu. We didn't go in as we had brought breakfast with us and instead hung out in the playground with the kids. I had used my Garmin to record the route and that can be viewed on my Strava account. I also transferred the file to the Relive app where it created a fly-by video of the course. This can be found on my YouTube account.

The results were soon published and 204 people had taken part in event 127. This was higher than usual as the nearby Worthing parkrun (blog7t write-up) was cancelled. On a regular week the event would attract just over 100 people.

If visiting please remember to check carefully for cancellations, as when the green is booked for an event it usually seems to result in parkrun cancelling. As you'd expect the summer is particularly popular and to put this into perspective, Lancing Beach Green parkrun only took place on 3 out of the 9 Saturdays in July and August 2022. Finally a big thanks to all of the volunteers that looked after us during our visit.

Related links:

My GPS data of the course (24 September 2022)

The Relive course fly-by video (24 September 2022)

blog7t: The East and West Sussex parkruns

blog7t: Worthing parkrun

Edenbrook Country parkrun

In the north-east corner of Hampshire you will find the town of Fleet which is covered by Hart District Council. The area where the town sits had originally been flat, open, tree-less, common land on which local people had grazed cattle. The name Fleet comes from the French word La Flete which I'm lead to believe means 'shallow pond' and had been a small settlement in the 1700s. During the 19th century, the Enclosure Act placed common land such as this into the hands of local landowners, this, of course, made most of the area off-limits. It stayed that way until 1878 when a large area of enclosed land was auctioned. The newly acquired land was divided into plots and sold to prospective house builders and individuals, which accelerated the growth of the town.

edenbrook country park / hart leisure centre

In the late 1990s the Berkeley Group (a house building company, formerly known as Berkeley Homes) applied for permission to build new houses on the western edge of Fleet. In 2006 permission to build the new homes was granted and this included the development of a sports centre and a country park. The newly created community was given the name Edenbrook Village and the 24 hectare country park took the name of Edenbrook Country Park. The park features woodlands, wetlands and meadows, plus contains 4.7km of footpaths, bat roosts, bird hide, picnic areas, a BMX pump bike track, mountain bike track, community gardens and an amphitheatre.

On 23 April 2022 the park became home to Edenbrook Country parkrun, a 5km walking and running event which takes place every Saturday at 9am. At the time of writing the event is still in its trial period, so it is crucial for the future of the event that we follow the guidance issued by the team and do not upset any other park users or neighbouring residents (the same goes for all parkruns, of course). We visited and took part in their 20th event on a dry and sunny morning on 3 September 2022. We used the car and we were fortunate to have no issues with traffic on the M25 or M3 (it was a different story on the way home!).

main briefing and start

The parking for this event is free-of-charge and there are multiple options - firstly the country park has its own parking facilities, however this car park is pretty small so cannot accommodate everyone. Fortunately the Hart Leisure Centre is right next door and has ample space - the parking here is free for up to three hours (check the procedure with the centre if staying for longer - you may need to do provide your registration number at the main reception to avoid getting a fine). Please bear in mind that it is requested that parkrunners use the far back section of the leisure centre car park and that we do not park on the adjacent residential roads (failure to adhere to this may lead to permission to hold the event being withdrawn).

For travel by train the nearest station is Fleet which is on the South West Railway line that runs between London Waterloo and Basingstoke. Fleet Station is approximately 3.8 kilometres away from the park. I'm not aware of any buses that run to the park. The leisure centre also has lots of bicycle racks and is the location of the toilets (I hear you can also use their showering facilities for £1.10 per person). The meeting point for the parkrun is at the entrance to the country park which is just a few metres from the leisure centre's main entrance. The parkrun first-timers briefing followed by the main briefing are held around this area just before 9am and once complete the morning's assembled parkrunners are sent off for their morning walk, jog or run around the park.

around the course

The current course here at Edenbrook Country Park is a 'two-lap with a start/finish tail' configuration, is run in an anti-clockwise direction and is flat. It was described as a lollipop-style course when we visited, but it has quite a short stick section. Underfoot you will find a selection of gravel paths with varying sized aggregate to negotiate. The gravel is fairly compact but the top layer is loose and I found that a few tiny stones managed to get inside my road shoes. Trail shoes may have been a better option as they tend to offer better protection against this kind of unwanted intrusion. However I imagine most people will be happy enough in road shoes around this course. There is a note on the official course page which says the course is liable to flooding (the park is a flood plain) and if it does the event may be cancelled, so be sure to check the official social media channels before travelling, especially during wetter periods.

The course follows paths which are a standard width all the way around and this includes the start, so the first section is likely to be quite congested. To try to help everyone to get away smoothly the team has 'estimated finish time' markers where participants can self-seed in order to help keep things orderly. The opening section is tight with bushes or fences on either side of the path. There are initially no grass verges to spread out onto, and even when a grass verge does appear there are very clear signs instructing participants to 'keep off the grass'. This opening section is about 400 metres long and meanders around in a very pleasing way until it reaches the beginning of the two lap section.

around the course

The lap (the sweet part of the lollipop) is negotiated in an anti-clockwise direction and participants are requested to keep to the right hand side. This is due to the course featuring a couple of sections where participants run in both directions along the same bit of path. The great thing about this is that it makes for a very social event and no matter where you are in the field you are never too far away from a fellow parkrunner. I'm pleased to say I saw and heard plenty of waves and encouragement between participants all the way around the course. It is very well marked out with arrows and cones so the chances of taking a wrong turn are very slim, plus there are the wonderful marshals dotted around the course at key points (thank you).

The country park sits on land which was previously 'low-grade farmland', but this has been transformed into a place which is suitable for the needs of a variety of wildlife. It is also now part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area plus it is also a Suitable Alternate Green Space (SANG). The scenery is lovely and is largely made up of a selection of meadows and ponds, plus the River Hart flows through the park. It's a tributary of the River Whitewater and is not very wide, it's more like a stream and the parkrun course passes over it a few times.

around the course / the dragon and the 'happy to chat' bench

Quite a few of the park benches and notice boards are carved and contain depictions of local wildlife, seeds and leaves. One of the benches I saw was engraved with the words 'Happy to chat bench' which seemed like a very nice idea. Also keep an eye out for the carved dragon which I gather was created by chainsaw artists. I saw a map which suggested there may be areas for cattle grazing, but I didn't see any on the day. I did, however, see some of the resident swans.

If you are in a place within the field where you are being lapped (approx 35 minutes plus), please watch out at the very end of your first lap because as you are keeping to the right-hand-side of the path you will need to make a left hand turn to start your second lap. However the participants who are lapping you will probably be overtaking on the left, so just keep an eye out for each other. At the end of the second lap the course heads back down the meandering path back towards the leisure centre where the start line is now the finish line. You will find a bank of volunteers lined up right after the finish line, ready to scan your parkrun barcode and finish token.

finish and barcode scanning

I recorded the route using my Garmin and you can view the data on my Strava account. I also used the Relive app to create a fly-by video which can be viewed on YouTube. The results for event 20 were published a short while later and 256 people had taken part. This is pretty much on-par with the expected turn out, but lower than the current official average of around 300. If visiting keep an eye out for cancellations at the other local parkrun events (especially Frimley Lodge and Rushmoor) as this may cause attendance numbers to rise quite a bit.

As the event finishes right outside the leisure centre, it is the perfect place to grab some post-parkrun refreshments. I have to admit I got a bit carried away chatting and totally forgot to go in to check the menu. We had an absolutely brilliant time at the event - it was made even more special due to the number of fellow parkrun tourists (I want to try to list all the names but I'll miss someone and then feel bad) who had turned out for Rosemary Egbe's 400th different event (she's only the 9th person worldwide to reach this number - congratulations!).

me with kathy brown, jon webb and the rest of the tourists

A quick mention to Kathy Brown who I was chatting to post-event. Straight after leaving I realised that I should have thanked her in person for awarding me the cow pin badge (a variation on the Cow Cowl) about five years ago, which was for services to parkrun tourism (for the blogging). Also a quick mention to Mark Pinney who films all the parkrun courses he visits with his GoPro camera. The videos can be found on YouTube on his channel markrun. (the direct link to his Edenbrook Country parkrun video to follow once it has been published).

The run director, Jon Webb, had also given me a special mention during the run briefing which included some extremely kind words regarding the blog and even put up a sign of recommendation. I also found out that eventually the start area may be moved to a wider spot which will of course help with the congestion at the start.

This was one of those days where everything just worked out perfectly and I'm so glad we made the effort to visit. Thank you to all the volunteers that made the event possible.

Related links:

My Strava data (3 September 2022 / event 20)

The Relive course fly-by video (3 September / event 20)

The Hampshire parkrun venues (blog7t page)