Sunday, 23 July 2023

Lloyd parkrun

The large town of Croydon was historically part of the county of Surrey, but was incorporated into Greater London in 1965. The early settlement grew from its position on the Roman road between London and Brighton. Its name is thought to come from it being a place where the Saffron Crocus was cultivated. Wikipedia says that 'Croh' is the Anglo Saxon word for Crocus and 'Denu' was the word for valley - so Croh-Denu. Another theory is that the name could be linked to the words 'Crai' and 'Din', meaning a settlement near water. The modern-day town now has a population of around 200,000 people.



Some land to the east of the town centre had for many centuries been part of the ancient Coombe Estate which was first recorded in 1221. The estate changed hands many times throughout the years and in the 1890s was purchased by Frank Lloyd, a local newspaper magnate. The newspaper publishing business he ran was founded by his father Edward Lloyd. One of the publications, The Daily Chronicle, was sold by Frank Lloyd to Prime Minister Lloyd George in 1918. A sale that meant the previously-independent newspaper came under political ownership.

When Frank Lloyd passed away in 1927, he bequeathed some of the estate's land to the Borough of Croydon. This land was opened as a public park under the name Lloyd Park. The park covers 114 acres and is a mixture of fairly natural, undulating parkland and also open grassy fields suitable for sports such as football. There are also tennis courts, a bowling green, outdoor gym, children's playground and London's Premier Disc Golf course. On 23 October 2010, the park became home to Lloyd parkrun, which is a free, weekly, timed 5km running and walking event held on Saturday mornings at 9am.



The main facilities are all located within the same area in the park's south-west corner. There is a pavillion building containing a cafe and toilets, these should be open shortly before the parkrun starts. If travelling to the venue in a vehicle, there is a car park which can be accessed from Coombe Road. It is quite a compact car park, holding approximately 45 cars in the main section, plus a smaller over-spill section that can hold another 14. Vehicles can remain in the car park for up to three hours for which there is no charge, however you must obtain a ticket from the machine and display this in the window. Should the car park be full, there may be some on-street bays available on the side streets to the south of Coombe Road. The car park also has a bicycle rack which will hold around 20 bikes.

If arriving by public transport, the nearest train station is South Croydon which is served by Southern trains. It's just over 1 kilometre away from the park. East Croydon station is the main transport hub of the town and is also fairly close at around 1.7km away. Croydon is home to the only remaining tramway system in southern England, and Lloyd Park tram stop is conveniently located right at the entrance to the park. For those travelling from further afield that may require an overnight stay, the Premier Inn 'London Croydon South' is just under 1 km away, so is an ideal place to stay. 



This happened to be my third visit to Lloyd parkrun, but my first during the summer months. The other two were in November 2012 and on New Year's Day in 2014. The meeting point, start and finish are all located on the grass adjacent to the car park. Shortly before 9am there is a first-timers briefing, and the main briefing takes place once everybody has assembled on the start line. On this particular occasion the tail walker had pulled out at the very last minute and the day's run director, the legendary Debra Bourne, put out a start-line plea for a replacement during the briefing. A call that I was more than happy to answer, so I ended up as the tail walker.

The course is a two-lap anti-clockwise route which takes in the whole of the western and central areas of the park. Underfoot is primarily off-road containing a mixture of grass and dirt paths with plenty of tree roots (the dirt paths turn to mud in the winter), but there's also a section on a tarmac path which I don't think was there when I previously visited. Overall this is best described as a cross-country course. Although the majority of the course is relatively flat, there are also some hills to contend with. As far as footwear is concerned I always wear trail shoes here, even in the summer. For those that prefer road shoes, it's best to visit during the summer months when the course is bone dry, but when the mud appears trail shoes are a must.



From the start the participants head east past the cafe building and follow the arrows and cones around the south side of the open grass field, for a brief moment alongside the tram line. At the end of the field the course heads into the trees where there is quite a small but steep slope to negotiate. It has tree roots running through it, so care is required to navigate it safely, especially on the first lap when the path is likely to be congested.

The surface underfoot changes to dirt at this point and the course follows the well-trodden path as it meanders through a very pleasant lightly wooded area, where you may spot the occasional disc golf basket. The first marshal is reached at around 800 metres into the course. Incidentally, the entire route is very well marked out with arrows, and I think the organising team deserves credit for maintaining this attention to detail.



After heading down a short, sharp decline the next part of the course involves tackling three of the four sides of the open field which depending on time of year may contain long wild grass in the central area. The next marshal point at 1.3km marks the start of the route's significant incline. It starts within a small wooded section with many tree roots and stones. This is where it is at its steepest - my Garmin registered the maximum incline as a 11.4% grade. The good news is that the incline tapers off as it progresses before finally flattening out at around the 1.5km mark.

The high point of the course features an out-and-back style section, again this area has long grasses in the central area during the summer. The out and back takes the participants to the most northerly point on the course, please note that although I've said it's an out-and-back section, the out and back paths are separated by the central grassy area. The view to the west is very nice from up here. The return section follows the same hill profile as the previous incline, but in reverse. So the decline gets progressively steeper as it descends, and the last bit features more tree roots as it goes through a different wooded section. Helpfully, in true cross-country style, all the tree roots around the course were marked with pink spray paint.



At this point, the course emerges on the far side of the open grass playing field and the remaining part of the lap involves following the perimeter path around these fields which changes between dirt path, a tarmac path which passes around the far side of the bowling green before changing back to grass and dirt paths. The participants have now reached the half-way point which is back at the original start area.

The lap is now simply completed a second time and the finish funnel can be entered upon completion of that second lap. Barcode scanning takes place right after the finish and the on-site cafe, called Lloyd's Park Cafe is the place to head to for post-parkrun refreshments. We found the menu to be fairly extensive and on balance pretty reasonably priced.



As always I had used my Garmin to record the route and the GPS data can be viewed on Strava. I used the GPS data to create a Relive course fly-by video that can be viewed on YouTube. The results for event 611 were published a few hours later and 220 participants completed the course. This was around the figure to be expected at this venue at this time of year. During the winter, the number of participants seems to drop into the mid-100's. This is not surprising as Lloyd parkrun is widely regarded as one of London's toughest courses,  especially during the winter. Both of my previous visits had been in the winter and I can confirm that it is a tough one. I remember the main incline being so muddy that I could barely get any traction, even with trail shoes. I've always been a bit of a fan of that, so I really enjoyed it.

I should also mention that as the tail walker, I had the opportunity to be involved in the course clear down process. I was so impressed by the way this process has been developed. At the end of my first lap I was given an empty bag to collect signs, and essentially I swapped my full bag for an empty bag each time I reached a marshal. It seemed to work beautifully, and I just hope I didn't miss any!



It was such a brilliant morning and the park is actually very picturesque. Well worth a visit, but if the difficulty of the hills is a worry, schedule the visit for the summer where you'll be treated to a slightly less brutal version of the experience. Finally, a big thank you to all the volunteers.


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Posted by at 19:15
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Saturday, 22 July 2023

Lullingstone parkrun

Lullingstone is a village in Kent which is thought to have been occupied since the Iron Age. There is evidence of two farmsteads dating back to 20AD and 65AD with the name 'Lulling's Tun' (Lulling's Farm), which is of course the origin of the present-day name and my understanding is that is how it should be pronounced. In 1939 a Roman Villa was discovered; this is thought to have been built in 100AD and contains some of the finest excavated remains of a Roman villa in Britain. During World War Two Lullingstone was the location for one of the country's decoy airfield sites, known as a Q-Site. I hear there are some bomb craters along the course, but I've never managed to spot them.



Probably the most famous landmark in the village, Lullingstone Castle features a Gatehouse and a Manor House dating back to 1497. It is home to the Hart Dyke family who are descendants of King Edward III of England. Henry VIII was a frequent visitor to the manor house. The castle was once home to the Lullingstone Silk Farm which produced the silk used in Queen Elizabeth II's coronation gown and wedding dress. The estate grounds were once a medieval deer park and covered a much larger area than they do today, but in 1937 the majority of the grounds were sold off. That land now forms Lullingstone Country Park.

The country park covers 460 acres within the North Downs Area of Natural Beauty and is internationally important for its collection of ancient trees some of which are over 500 years old. However, it's not all woodland; the park also features a golf course and large areas of meadowland which are home to orchids, wildflowers and butterflies. The River Darent flows along the eastern border of the park and feeds into the ponds and lake. Here you may spot Kingfisher, Herons, Dragonflies and even the odd grass snake. In 2022 the country park became one of 70 woodland areas that came together to celebrate 70 years of Her Majesty's service, and it became part of The Queen's Green Canopy.



On 11 April 2015 the country park became home to a free, weekly, timed 5k event called Lullingstone parkrun. As with all parkruns it is open to all abilities where walking is also warmly welcomed. I first visited the venue in April 2016 where it became the 100th different event I had visited. I subsequently revisited in 2017, 2018 and again in 2023. It was my most recent visit that prompted me to give this original write-up a bit of a refresh.

This venue is fairly rural and is most-easily reached by vehicle. There is an onsite car park which although not huge, can easily accommodate the vehicles present for this parkrun. The current 2023 parking charge is a flat £3.50 fee on weekends (£2.50 on weekdays). There is an onsite machine which takes cash or contactless payments. It is also possible to pay via Park Buddy, Pay By Phone, or RingGo apps. The apps charge a little extra as a booking fee. Please note that the mobile signal in the car park is virtually non-existent, so if paying by app you may have to remember to do it later in the day; you have up until 23:59 to pay. There are some bicycle racks in the car park just outside the visitor centre.



Anyone travelling to the venue by national rail train will need to head to Eynsford Station and travel the rest of the way on foot. The surrounding area is fairly undulating so be prepared for an uphill walk along the main road followed by a downhill section on a narrow country lane covering 1.1 miles in total. Once at the venue, there is a visitor centre which opens at 9am, however there is a special arrangement in place which means the toilets are open from 8am. Keep an eye out for the teeny tiny sinks in the toilets. For the record I am not aware of any bus services that run to Lullingstone.

The parkrun itself takes place over two laps which are almost entirely within the country park, and the terrain is completely off-road. Underfoot is mostly grass, but there are also sections on dirt paths. Some parts of the route feature a slight camber, and there are some parts with stones, flint or tree roots to negotiate. With all that in mind, trail shoes are a must during the colder, wetter times of the year, but I would still recommend them all year round. It's not likely to be most people's first choice for a spot of buggy running, but if you are determined you will get around.



The meeting point, start and finish are all in the same position. This is half-way up the hill as you exit the car park into the country park. In the summer there will most likely be long grass and wildflowers here, but there are paths leading upwards on both the left and right hand sides. Both the briefings take place at the meeting point, and at 9am the event gets underway. The lap starts off with a fairly tough, winding, uphill first kilometre which takes in 'Gabe's Hill' and eventually leads to Beechen Wood where if you take a glance to your left there are stunning views across back towards the start area and beyond. If visiting in June or July keep an eye out for the lavender fields which add a lovely blast of purple to the vista.

Once inside the wood, the grass paths turn to dirt and the course continues to rise. In the winter these paths are likely to be fairly muddy. There are also embedded stones and tree roots to look out for. The highest point of the course is found within the woods, where there is also a marshal, and the route immediately begins to head downhill. A few hundred metres later, the route exits the wood via a gate, and the view from this point is fantastic. The course now partly heads back down the same grass path that was used on the way up. Keep left along here as it is two-way. It splits from the main uphill part shortly after and heads off to the left.



The next section is an out and back where at the end the participants have a u-turn to negotiate at the end. Keep an eye out for the stunning red-bricked gatehouse to Lullingstone Castle. Incidentally the end of this section is run on land that belongs to the Hart Dyke family, but they have kindly granted permission for the parkrun to use it. With the out-and-back complete, the course passes through 'Ankle Breakers Alley' and at the end bears right to begin the second lap. At the end of lap 2, the parkrunners and parkwalkers head straight on at the end of the alley and follow the start tail back to what is now the finish. Most of this last section is also part of the Darent Valley 10k course which I ran in 2014, 2015 and again the day after visiting Lullingstone parkrun in 2016, then again in 2017 and 2018.

Barcode scanning takes place right next to the finish and once all of the participants, the tail walker and the marshals have returned, everyone moves onto the post-event social in the on-site cafe next to the car park. I've been to the cafe a number of times over the years and always been happy with the food and drink options on offer. I remember once having a very nice homemade soup for lunch when I stopped here during a bike ride a few years ago. There are also a few children's play areas dotted around.



For an extended day out, there are options to go for a lovely walk through the picturesque countryside or along the river which will take you towards Lullingstone Castle. Walking a little further, visiting the Lullingstone Roman Villa remains is a must, and the 'picture postcard' village of Eynsford is a lovely spot to spend some time, make sure to check out the ruins of Eynsford Castle. I should also give a mention to Eagle Heights, which is a Bird of Prey centre and to Eynsford Viaduct (also known as Lullingstone Viaduct). During June and July Castle Farm run a series of sessions / tours where you can visit their lavender fields. These have to be booked in advance as they are very popular. Incidentally Castle Farm was also used as a location for scenes in the 2024 film The Beekeeper.

As always, I recorded the course using my Garmin, so if you'd like to check the hill profile etc you can find my 2023 GPS data here. For the record, the course has been identical every time I have visited, so any of my other Lullingstone parkrun gpx files would show the same.



As of 2023, I understand Lullingstone parkrun is the 16th hilliest in the country. I would imagine that status is partly responsible for keeping attendances on the low side here. On a regular parkrunday, you can expect to find between 40 and 80 participants here. In the 359 events that have taken place only eight of them have featured an attendance of over 100. Don't let that put you off, it is a lovely place to have a parkrun, I just suspect most people prefer to stick to flatter and easier to reach venues. Lastly, a massive thanks goes to all the volunteers who make this great event possible every week.


Posted by at 21:43
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Sunday, 2 July 2023

Nonsuch parkrun

Over a thousand years ago, a village called Codintone (which would later become Cuddington) stood in part of the area which is now Nonsuch Park, Surrey. In the 1086 Domesday Book, the village was recorded as having a total of 28 households. There was also a mansion, a church and farmland. Then along came King Henry VIII, who, in 1538, bought the Manor and demolished the entire village to make way for his brand new royal palace.

The palace was designed to be a celebration of power and it is said that it was the grandest of all of his 55 palaces. In fact it was built to rival France's Francis I's Chateux de Chambord, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A quote in Old English, attributed to King Henry himself, says 'there is nonsuch place to rival its beauty and magnificence' and so it was named Nonsuch Palace to emphasise just how grand it was. The word Nonsuch is variant of Nonesuch, meaning 'a place or thing without equal'. My understanding is that it should be pronounced 'none such' (nŭn′sŭch′).



King Henry visited the unfinished palace three times before he died, so never got to see it fully completed. It was subsequently sold by the royal family, but returned to the crown a few years later where it remained a royal residence until 1670. Baroness Nonsuch (Barbara Villiers) was the final owner of the palace, but by 1682 the once magnificent palace had been demolished with the fixtures and fittings, stone, and lead roof sold off to pay off her gambling debts.

In 1731 a new house called Nonsuch Mansion was built a few hundred metres to the north-east of where the palace once stood, possibly on the site of an old Keeper's Lodge. From what I hear, the mansion wasn't particularly pleasing to the eye, so in the early 1800s it was rebuilt in a Tudor Gothic style which mimics elements of the King's palace. There is even a stone from Henry's palace built into the north porch. This mansion and the surrounding land was sold to the local authorities in 1937 to protect it from development. The mansion still stands and is now used for events such as weddings and can also be hired for filming and photography shoots.



The surrounding 120 hectares of parkland were officially opened as Nonsuch Park on Wednesday 29 September 1937. Even after this opening, part of the park continued to be used for grazing animals and growing crops. In 1959 excavations of the old palace (Pathe News video) took place and the layout of the building is now marked by three stone obelisks. The modern-day park is rich in wildlife and is managed by the Nonsuch Park Joint Management Committee, which is comprised of both Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, and Sutton Council.

On 17 September 2011, the park became home to Nonsuch parkrun. We first visited this venue on Tuesday 5th June 2012 (event 40) which was actually a special event in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We revisited on 1 July 2023 to take part in event number 539. If travelling by public transport Cheam looks to be the closest train station and this is served by Southern trains. However if travelling on South Western Railways, West Ewell can be used as an alternative. There are also buses that pass close to the venue, options include numbers 293 and 668 which stop to the west of the park, or the 470 which stops near Cheam.



If driving, there are multiple free-of-charge car parks within the grounds that can be used. There are two which are accessed from London Road (A24) and another two which can be accessed from Ewell Road (A232) - all of these are located on the park's boundary. The main point to note regarding car parks is that parkrunners must not park in the main car park in the centre of the park, this is for visitors to the mansion only. It is also worth noting that this venue attracts a high number of parkrunners, so there is quite a high demand for parking spaces. If travelling by bicycle there are permanent bicycle racks located in some of the car parks, and one next to the cafe at the mansion. However, on parkrunday a temporary rack is assembled at the parkrun meeting point.

There are toilets located on the north side of the mansion building. The main assembly point is to the north-west of the mansion. The first timers briefing takes place here (it was done twice during our visit), and the main briefing took place at the start line which is about 200 metres along the path to the south. Nonsuch parkrun has traditionally used its regular 2-lap course during the summer months and a 3-lap course during the winter months. However, as of 27 May 2023 a new course has been introduced, and it is hoped that this will remain in place all year round, negating the need to change during the winter. I have GPS data and Relive videos for all three courses, please see links at the bottom of the page. There is more information regarding the course change on this Nonsuch parkrun News report.



The new course is just under two laps, which are run in a clockwise direction and the terrain is flat. The surface underfoot contains an almost 50-50 split of hard paths and grass/dirt paths. The course is fine for road shoes in the summer, but I'd imagine it would be beneficial to go for trail shoes in the winter. For the record buggy runners are fine on this course. I'll also mention that Nonsuch parkrun has a pacing event on the last Saturday of each month. Plus, and this was even more interesting, they also have monthly Jeffing pacers on the first Saturday of each month. If you haven't heard of it, Jeffing is a technique named after running coach Jeff Galloway, and is essentially a run/walk method of training. Check out this Nonsuch parkrun news article for some detailed info.

The start is on a tarmac path just to the south-west of the mansion. The path itself is just a regular width and it is bordered by strips of short grass followed by longer grass and trees. Nonsuch parkrun is quite regularly the fourth largest attended venue in the UK (sixth largest on the day we visited), with attendance figures generally falling within the 600-800 window. With that in mind, many participants will spread onto the grass either side of the path, so expect some congestion to start off with. This initial path heads south until it reaches the southern border where a right hand turn takes the route onto The Avenue. Once the participants spread out the general rule is to stay to the left and anyone overtaking or lapping can do so on the right-hand-side.



Once on The Avenue, the course continues on a hard surface path, but is within a line of trees so provides shade on hot days. Along this section of the course are two drain covers on the right hand side of the path which are raised to a significant height out of the ground, so care must be taken to avoid tripping on these. At the south-west corner of the course, the route follows the natural bend around to the right and the course passes right through the centre of where Nonsuch Palace (and before it Cuddington Church) would have stood. On the right hand side are three stone obelisks which mark where the walls would have been, including those of the Inner Gatehouse and Outer Gatehouse. Just after the last of the obelisks a marshal marks the spot where the course leaves the hard path and the surface changes to grass.

The grass section follows well trodden walkways. To the sides the landscape is open, containing longer grasses and various rows and copses of trees. There are one or two marshals in place to guide the way so navigating shouldn't be a problem. A feature of the new course is a section which doubles back on itself and passes around a feature called round pond, which you probably won't even notice as it is surrounded by trees. At around this point there is a big tree in the middle of the path - on the first lap the participants pass to the left and continue until reaching the hard path, which meanders around to the start of the second lap. At the end of the second lap everyone keeps to the right, and this leads onwards to the finish line which is located on the grass in the same location as the meeting point.



Being a large event, once crossing the finish line there is a very long, winding finish funnel to assist with keeping everything under control. The finishing tokens are given out at the very end of the funnel and the barcode scanners can be found lined up on the adjacent grass. The post-parkrun refreshments are in the park's cafe which is located back over at the mansion. The cafe has some indoor seating but the majority of seats are outside. The food options are largely based around sweet pastries, cakes and sausage rolls (meat and vegan), and they had the usual selection of cafe drinks available.

I had recorded the course using my Garmin and the data can be viewed on my Strava account. I also made a Relive course fly-by video from the GPS data which can be viewed on YouTube. The results were published shortly after and 652 people took part in event 539. This was towards the lower end of the current expected number of attendees, which as mentioned above is usually between 600 and 800.



Post event we spent some time exploring the formal garden area of the park which is very nice. Inside the mansion is a model of King Henry's palace, but sadly it is only open for viewing on Sundays, so we didn't get to see it (there are some photos on the Friends of Nonsuch website). Once we had finished looking around the garden, it was time to head home. Revisiting Nonsuch parkrun had been a great experience, so a big thanks goes to all those involved in putting it on.




Posted by at 19:19
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