Maidstone River Park parkrun

Maidstone is the largest town in Kent. It is also the county town. Its name has been recorded over the years as De Maeides Stana, Maegdan Stane, Medestan, Meddestane and Mayndenstan. The current name has been in use since around 1610. The town and the surrounding areas in Maidstone Borough now have a population of around 170,000 people. The town itself has been home to several industries over the years, paper, cloth, brewing and stone quarrying being some of the larger ones.

There has been a military presence here since 1798 when Maidstone Barracks was established. The military moved to a new barracks around the time of the second world war and this is known as Invicta Park Barracks. It is home to 36 Engineer Regiment. In 1834 the town was the site of the discovery of the fossilised remains of an Iguanodon. A cast of the discovery can be seen in Maidstone Museum; however, the original can be seen in the National History Museum, in London. The town also has quite an unusual claim to fame; in 1976, NASA named a crater on Mars after the town, it is simply called the Maidstone Crater and it has a diameter of 10km.

At the northern end of the town is a visitor attraction called Kent Life. Its grounds were originally Sandling Farm which was part of the Cobtree Manor Estate. Much of the estate was bequeathed to the people of Maidstone in 1964, when the owner passed away. In 1985 the first iteration of Kent Life opened to the public under its original name 'The Museum of Kent Life'. Original buildings have been restored and many additional historic buildings from across Kent have been bought and rebuilt within the grounds. We have visited a few times and also taken part in workshops with the kids where we learned about bees and turning wool into yarn. It is also one of the few places that grow and process their own hops.

In April 2013 Kent Life became the base for Maidstone parkrun, which was renamed Maidstone River Park parkrun in March 2024. For those unfamiliar with parkrun, it's a free, weekly, timed 5km event open to all abilities, and despite the name, walking is totally fine at all parkrun events worldwide. Maidstone River Park parkrun has a fine, long-standing community of both runners and walkers, so you will be made to feel welcomed no matter what pace you choose to complete the course. I first visited this event in 2014 and had always planned to return at some point. This finally became a reality on 29 October 2022.

The easiest way to reach the event is by car and Kent Life allows parkrunners to use their free-of-charge car park for the duration of their stay. Kent Life sits right next to the M20 and can be reached by exiting at junction 6. The route into Kent Life is marked by some brown tourist attraction signs, but please note that some may still display the previous name 'Museum of Kent Life'. It's also worth pointing out that there is a Premier Inn adjacent to Kent Life, so that could be a very attractive prospect for parkrun tourists visiting from further afield.

If travelling by public transport, there are three train stations in central Maidstone. The closest to the parkrun is Maidstone Barracks, followed by Maidstone East and finally Maidstone West. Whichever one you alight at the onward journey will be at least 3km. I understand there is a bus that runs from the town centre to Kent Life. However, you could walk by heading in a northerly direction along the towpath which runs alongside the River Medway. The towpath is also a designated cycle route, so that may also be an option for some. There is a bike rack within the main car park at Kent Life.

Once at Kent Life, the main parkrun meeting area is right at the main gate. Should you feel the call of nature, there are toilets available within the grounds of Kent Life before and after the parkrun, plus additional toilets within the car park. The course here at Maidstone River Park parkrun is an out-and-back type of course. The surface underfoot is mostly tarmac, but there are some sections of gravel, so road shoes are usually fine. However, it can get a bit splashy, and in these conditions, I tend to slip on my trail shoes (I have a low threshold for switching). Before the participants are set off, there are two briefings: one for first timers and then a main briefing for everyone.

From the main entrance at Kent Life, the course initially heads along Lock Lane where there is a slight drop in elevation, and this leads directly onto the towpath alongside the River Medway. From here everyone turns to the left and heads in a southerly direction towards the centre of Maidstone. It's a pretty, tree lined riverbank and as this section of the river is not tidal, it feels more like a canal. Interestingly the whole course is part of Maidstone River Park (hence the name change), which covers the 12km stretch of the river between Teston Country Park to Aylesford. It was created to celebrate the Millennium and was partly funded by the National Lottery. Progressing along the riverside, you are likely to see plenty of boats moored as this is a popular and scenic spot for this kind of activity.

On my first visit here, I completely failed to spot the fact that there is a castle on the opposite side of the river. To be fair, it is almost completely hidden behind the treeline. It's also not a real castle, but a fortified country house called Allington Castle. It has been passed from family to family over the years but has a claim to fame in that King Henry VIII was a guest on more than one occasion. It is still a private residence which is currently the home of Sir Robert Worcester, who is the founder of the MORI polling company. If you are lucky, you may see a tiny glimpse of it through the trees.

The path is just the width of a regular towpath, but there are a couple of sections where it slims down to single file. As this is an out-and-back course, wherever you are within the field you will certainly have other parkrunners moving towards you at some stage during the event and the rule is to keep left. It is very important to keep an eye out for each other and, of course, for members of the public who may be enjoying a walk along the path. Also remember that it is a cycle path, so keep your eyes peeled for cyclists. There is a point where the course leaves the towpath, zig-zags up and crosses the river via the Downstream Millennium Bridge. I hear that the bridge wobbles when there are lots of parkrunners on it, so be prepared for that.

This takes the parkrunners into Whatman Park. Named after the now-closed Whatman Paper Factory. James Whatman is famed for his role in inventing Wove Paper and the wove wire mesh which is used to mould and align the fibres of pulp. I understand this lead to the large-scale industrialisation of paper making. The park is said the be the centrepiece of the Maidstone River Park, it was once inaccessible land between the river and the railway line but has been redeveloped into a green space for people to enjoy. Keep your eye out for the 60-foot-long double helix (DNA) sculpture. The parkrun course does not stay in the park for long as the route simply does a loop of the Jolly Roger playground and then heads back across the bridge and down onto the towpath to begin to return leg.

Another thing to keep an eye out for while on the river path is the Allington Marina which was established in 1963 and has 100 moorings. I hear it has been described as England's most beautiful marina and as such those moorings are in incredibly high demand. As the course nears the end of the riverside section, Allington Lock comes into view. The lock sits at the junction of the tidal and non-tidal sections of the River Medway and was originally installed shortly after the Lower Medway Company was founded at the end of the 18th century. The current lock dates from 1939.

The final part of the parkrun course involves returning to Kent Life via the road which is slightly uphill. A marshal is on hand to ensure any moving vehicles stop to allow parkrunners to continue uninterrupted. Then when you reach the start area, the course continues into Kent Life and right around the outer path until it reaches the very end. This last part has the name Howard's Hill, so save enough energy for the incline. To be fair it's not that bad, but it probably catches quite a few first-timers out.

Of course, at the end of the path there is a finish funnel where finishing position tokens are handed out. Barcode scanning takes place immediately after and the wonderful Dotty's Tea Room is waiting to take care of all of your post-parkrun refreshment needs! At this time of the morning, they specialise in bacon or sausage sandwiches, if you want a veggie option you'll need to ask, and they should be able to make a veggie sausage sandwich for you (that's what I had).

I recorded the standard course using my Garmin and the GPS data can be found on Strava. I then used that data to create a Relive course fly-by video which you can watch on YouTube.

The results for event 432 were processed and online shortly after the tailwalker has crossed the line. 301 people had participated. It was great to see such a large range of finishing times and I was very pleased to see 24 people finishing in over 50 minutes, with a large proportion of those being over the hour. Until the summer of 2022 the average number of attendees had been around the 350 mark, however the opening of Mote Park parkrun (blog7t write-up), in the centre of Maidstone, has certainly helped to take a bit of pressure off of this event. 

Our visit coincided with Halloween, and I have to say, I can't imagine a more perfect venue for this. Firstly, the sheer number of parkrunners in costumes was incredible, but on top of that, Kent Life also had their own special Halloween weekend event, so the entire visitor attraction was decorated with skeletons, ghost, pumpkins, and various other spooky items. If you are ever looking for a great Halloween parkrun, go to Maidstone!

We left with the feeling that we'd had a really special parkrunday. A huge thanks goes to event director Donna and all her wonderful volunteers on the day.

Update:

Notes on alternative routes: When Kent Life is closed, the B course may be used. This starts and finishes down at the riverside. The Kent Life car park remains accessible as do the toilets within the car park. The standard B course goes through Whatman Park and the route crosses back over the river via a different bridge (Kent Messenger Millennium Bridge).

We revisited on 1 January 2023 and due to extensive flooding on the B course, a C course was used. This involved a large loop and a small loop within Whatman Park before returning to the towpath via the standard bridge. The course was a little on the long side (my GPS made it 5.45km) but I am so pleased that the event wasn't cancelled.

GPS data and Relive videos can be viewed for both of these alternative courses via the links below (please note the B course data was found online and imported to my Strava account).

Related links:

My GPS course data (Standard course: 29 October 2022)

The Relive course fly-by video (Standard course: 29 October 2022)

The GPS data for the alternative course (course B: 25 Dec 2022 - not my data)

The Relive course fly-by video for the alternative course (course B: 25 Dec 2022 - not my data)

My GPS data for the alternative alternative course (course C: 1 Jan 2023)

The Relive course fly-by video for the alternative alternative course (course C: 1 Jan 2023)

The Kent parkrun venues

My original Maidstone parkrun blog

Mote Park parkrun (blog7t write-up from June 2022)

Rushmoor parkrun

The town of Aldershot, in Hampshire started out as a vast open area of common land. The name is thought to have come from the Alder trees which were found growing locally. The monks from nearby Waverley Abbey (the first Cistercian Abbey in England) used part of the area as farmland where sheep were grazed. The manor of Aldershot was first recorded in 1573. Aldershot remained a small village until 1854 when the War Department bought 10,000 acres of land and established the British Army's first permanent training camp, Aldershot Garrison. The town is known as the Home of the British Army.

In 1894 the first Aldershot Military Tattoo took place when a special display was put on for Queen Victoria. This went on to become a regular event and raised a considerable amount of money for charity. In 1923 a permanent home for the tattoo was built and this was called Rushmoor Arena. The military base was the site of an IRA bombing in 1972 where seven people were killed. The modern-day town is home to around 10,000 people linked in some way to the military which includes around 4,000 soldiers. 2,700 hectares of local land is currently used for active military training.

aldershot

In 1974 the borough of Aldershot and the Farnborough Urban District merged to create Rushmoor Borough Council, which took its name from the aforementioned Rushmoor Arena. There are just under 100,000 people living in the area covered by the borough. The land used by the military is vast and within this is an area containing many sports facilities including the Aldershot Military Stadium, Aldershot Garrison Sports Centre, including swimming pool and martial arts centre, plus hockey and tennis clubs. There is also an area of flat open grass containing further sports fields which since May 2014 has been home to Rushmoor parkrun. 

We visited on 22 October 2022 and took part in event number 337. Upon arrival it is very obvious that you are not in a regular town. Everything is quite neatly laid out, and it feels clean and tidy. It doesn't take long to notice that the military areas are kept very secure, so you'll see gates with security points, possibly with armed soldiers, and mile upon mile of fences topped with barbed wire or razor wire. You may even see 'Guard Dogs on Patrol' signs and notices about the official secrets act. I guess it's just what you'd expect, but the sheer scale of the military's presence surprised me. 

rushmoor parkrun meeting area

If travelling by train, there are a few options. The closest station is North Camp and is about 1.5 miles from the parkrun. This station has no onward bus link. The walking/cycling route looks possible but I would research the exact route beforehand as it involves getting to a footbridge which crosses the A331 (which is effectively a motorway). The main Aldershot railway station is further away but has a direct bus link, so would possibly be the better choice. Lastly there is Farnborough station which I hear also has a bus service towards the venue.

A free-of-charge car park is available for parkrun attendees and this is in-between the Garrison Sports Centre and the Aldershot Military Stadium, which are on the opposite side of the main road, called Queen's Avenue, from the parkrun venue. There are actually multiple car parks in this area but parkrunners must only use car park number 6. The road that leads into the car park is accessible from Queen's Avenue, but I would advise reading the official text on the parkrun course page before visiting for the first time. The car park itself has a few width restriction posts at the entrance and it almost feels as if you're not supposed to enter it.

the start and the central grass area

For anyone arriving by bicycle, I didn't see any bike racks, so you'd have to make do with using the various sign poles or posts that support the bordering wooden fence. The toilet is located within the grounds of the stadium which is conveniently located just off the footpath in-between the car park and the parkrun meeting area. Access is possible via the gate on the corner of the walkway and Queen's Avenue. Just go through the gate and straight across the car park - the toilet is right next to the spectator's stand. On our visit it was all open and available before 8.30am. The meeting point for the parkrun is on the opposite side of the road (use the crossing to reach it), just inside the flat open grass area which is known as Queen's Parade.

Before the parkrun gets underway there are two briefings, one for first-timers and then a main briefing for everybody. The numbers are quite high at this venue so the team had a microphone with a loudspeaker to ensure everybody could hear. The course at Rushmoor parkrun is comprised of two flat anticlockwise laps, and the surface underfoot is mixed terrain and features a gravelly path, tarmac, a natural towpath and a dirt path. Shoe choice may be tricky at times. Regular road shoes are fine in the summer months, but as the winter sets in trail shoes would probably end up being the better option. For the record, running buggies would be fine here.

the section along the main road

The route starts on the only path in the park, and this cuts straight through the centre of the park to its most northerly point. Just to the northwest of the park is Farnborough International airport, so it is quite likely that you'll hear jet engines roaring into life and probably see a few planes taking off in the distance. The parkrun course then leaves the park and heads alongside Farnborough Road (the A325). It can be a tad noisy as the vehicles whizz past at 60mph, so if you're having a nice social, chatty parkrun, you may have to speak up at times.

At about 1.5km (and again at 4km) the course turns off of the roadside path and down onto the towpath that runs alongside the Basingstoke Canal - It's a very pleasant section to run/walk along and was particularly pretty when we visited in the early autumn just as the trees were displaying their yellow and gold leaves. The path isn't overly wide so it was a bit of a squeeze as we were being lapped, but it was fine. The course then leaves the canal side and heads through some trees and back out into the park where there is another extremely pleasant section. This time it's through an avenue of trees which lead back towards the start area with Queen's Avenue just to the right. After two laps, the finish is found just next to the start area.

along the canal

So with the 5k complete, barcodes are scanned adjacent to the finish just as you'd expect. The official venue for the post-parkrun refreshments is Daisy's Cafe which is just up the road in the North Camp area. We didn't join the parkrunners for coffee so can't offer any comment on the cafe. The parkrun itself, seemed to be a very fast course, so it'd be a good place to visit if you wanted to have a go at setting a personal best. In fact we had volunteered as the day's parkwalkers and it was our first time under the hour in that role. The results for event 337 were processed and online a short while later, 309 people had participated. This figure was about spot-on for the current 2022 average, but numbers of attendees are much lower than they were pre-lockdown, where it was quite normal for well over 500 to attend.

Post-event we spent a bit of time gathering up a few conkers so we could play some games later on in the day. We also managed to have a quick peek at some of the military vehicles at the Aldershot Military Museum and also saw The Alexander Observatory (aka Aldershot Observatory) which opened in 1906, both of which are on the same road as the parkrun. The area is also home to the Wellington Statue which is made from bronze using cannons captured at the battle of Waterloo (sadly we forgot to go and have a look). The grounds of the airport are home to the Air Accidents Investigations Branch.

the avenue in the park / finish

Interestingly, Rushmoor is twinned with a number of other towns across the world. Firstly the German town of Oberursel which doesn't technically have its own parkrun, however Nidda parkrun is only about 7km kilometres away. It is also twinned with the Polish town of Sulechow which is roughly 20km from parkrun Zielona Gora AND it's also twinned with the Polish town of Rzeszow which is of course home to parkrun Rzeszow. It is also twinned with the Meudon muncipality of Paris, France and although there isn't a parkrun in Meudon, both parkrun du Bois de Boulogne and parkrun de Montsouris are close by. Its twinning with Dayton, Ohio sadly doesn't have a parkrun nearby.

After uploading my GPS data from my Garmin to Strava, I created a course fly-by video using the Relive app on my phone. Just click on the links if you want to see the course in more detail. Lastly a big thanks goes to all of the volunteers that helped to put the event on, and for making us feel so welcome during our visit.

Related Links:

The course GPS data (from 22 October 2022)

The course fly-by video (from 22 October 2022)

The Hampshire parkrun venues

parkrun du Bois de Boulogne (blog7t write-up from 2016)

Markshall Estate parkrun

The 1,000 year old Markshall Estate sits in the Essex countryside in between Braintree and Colchester, and just outside the small town of Coggeshall. The estate was recorded in the Domesday book as Merceshala and it was home to the de Merc family for around 400 years. By the beginning of the 17th century the name had become Markshall and when a new owner constructed a Jacobean mansion to replace the older timber-framed house, the name was modified to Marks Hall. The estate eventually ended up in the ownership of Thomas Phillips Price, who had previously been an MP.

Thomas Phillips Price, concerned about the environmental impact of his business links to the mining industry, wanted the Marks Hall Estate to be used by the Royal Botanical Gardens, in Kew, who were looking to establish a satellite location outside of London for their collections. Ultimately another location was chosen (Wakehurst), but that did not deter Price in his mission and he had instructions written into his will that once he and his wife Mary had died, the estate should be held in trust for 'the advancement of agriculture, arboriculture and forestry'.

The estate was requisitioned by the Air Ministry a few years after Price's death and this lead to the construction of RAF Earls Colne airfield and base which was primarily used by the United States Army Air Forces. By the end of the war the mansion had fallen into such a bad state of disrepair that it was demolished in 1949. Significant areas of the estate was subsequently let to the Forestry Commission for the growth of commercial timber. When Mary died in 1966, the formation of the trust got underway and this was formalised in 1971.

The modern-day estate follows Price's original wish and a large part of the land is an Arboretum. The planting is grouped into four distinct zones; North America, Asia, Europe and Gondwanaland (Southern Hemisphere). There are also two lakes within the estate, originally there were three, which are thought to have been dug by troops stationed at Markshall in 1648. There is also a stunning walled garden and various woodland walks. The estate is also home to the Honywood Oak which is thought to be around 800 years old.

In November 2021 the estate became home to Markshall Estate parkrun. This is a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event open to all abilities. We visited the estate in October 2022 and took part in event number 47. Travel to the event seems to be best by vehicle, and upon arrival there is a free-of-charge on-site car park. The nearest train stations seem to be Kelvedon, Marks Tey or even Braintree, however they are a considerable distance from the Markshall Estate and there doesn't seem to be any public transport options to complete the journey.

The car park is located right next to the visitor centre which is home to the toilets. When we visited, the toilets were already open by 8.30am. The initial meeting point is next to the visitor centre and this is also where the first-timers briefing takes place. The actual start line is approximately 600 metres away, so at around 8.45am there's a mass movement of volunteers and participants over to the start area (see the GPS recording of the route from visitor centre to start line). If you have any items which need to be stored, it's best to leave them outside the visitor centre before heading across.

The parkrun takes place on a one-and-three-quarter lap anticlockwise course. The surfaces underfoot are a mixture of tarmac, concrete, gravelly paths and a tiny bit of grass. The course rises and falls ever-so-gently but largely it's barely noticeable with the exception of one section. As far as shoes are concerned, regular road shoes would probably suffice most of the year round, but I stuck my trail shoes on purely because I like to keep my roads super clean. The logic seemed to work out for me as there were some slightly mucky sections out on the course, and I imagine it could get quite splashy during the winter.

The opening section is a delight as it runs along a 400 metre long avenue of trees. The morning sunlight on the autumn leaves made it really memorable. I also spotted some cows in the adjacent field which was nice. It's really easy to follow the course as it simply keeps turning to the left as it encircles the central part of the gardens. Every now and then you may get a glimpse of the more formal parts of the estate but you don't really see them from the course. On the way around, the course passes through the different sections of the arboretum and I'm sure if I knew more about trees I would have known exactly which part I was in at all times.

Parts of the course use some old concrete paths, which were installed during the 1940's when the estate was a military base. It is worth noting that the concrete is showing its age and in some sections it is heavily cracked and could potentially be a trip hazard, so pay attention to what's underfoot. Also it is not uncommon for the odd vehicle to be present on the course (we saw two on the day we visited). Being in the middle of the countryside it's worth looking out for the wildlife, we saw plenty of rabbits and pheasants.

The course passes over the old iron bridge which crosses Robins Brook - this also feeds the lakes. It dates back to the turn of the 19th century and was renovated in 1992. It is a nice quirky feature of the course. The course also passes the site of the now-demolished mansion, this area now features The Coach House which is a wedding venue. There are of course plenty of direction signs dotted around the course, and at key points also marshals. When reaching the end of the 5km, the course peels off onto the adjacent open grass field where participants enter the finish funnel, collect a finishing token and then head off to be scanned by one of the wonderful volunteers.

The results for event 47 were processed and online a short while after and 195 people took part, which was almost identical to the official average. I recorded the GPS data of the course and that can be found on the blog7t Strava account, the Relive course fly-by video can be found on YouTube.

I was very encouraged to see a large group of walkers taking part. We were part of that group as we had volunteered to be the day's parkwalkers, anyway 22 people finished in over 50 minutes, which worked out at being over 10% of the total (there were a few more who completed a single lap). Post-parkrun refreshments can be had at the cafe in the visitor centre, which has both indoor and outdoor seating.

Should you wish to spend a bit longer at the estate exploring the gardens, lakes and arboretum, you may have to pay the entry fee (which didn't apply for the parkrun of course). We sadly didn't go back in and instead hit the road back home. We'd had a really nice morning out in the Essex countryside, made all the better by the friendly welcome we received from all of the locals.

Marskhall Estate have their own website where you'll find a much more detailed explanation of its history, visitor information and plans for the future. Finally I'd like to add a huge thank you to all of the volunteers.

Related links:

• The course GPS data (15 October 2022)
• The Relive course fly-by video (15 October 2022)

• The Essex parkrun venues
• Markshall Estate Official website