Walthamstow parkrun

Walthamstow is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, in the east of London. It was first recorded as Wilcumestowe and subsequently appeared in the Domesday Book as Wilcumestou where it was a manor owned by Earl Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria. According to Wikipedia, the name means 'the place of welcome'. It remained a small settlement with much of the surrounding area used as farmland. Towards the end of the 19th century, the railway arrived. This was the catalyst that led to the expansion of Walthamstow into the sprawling residential town we know today.

The oldest part of Walthamstow is centred around St Mary's Church. On the opposite side of the road is Walthamstow's oldest house, the wooden framed building 'The Ancient House' built in the 15th century. This part of the town is now known as Walthamstow Village. Modern-day Walthamstow is home to around 110,000 people and recent developments have seen the area become quite trendy. The High Street is notable for being home to Europe's longest open-air market; it features 500 stall holders and is 1 kilometre in length. Owing to the popularity of the 1990's boy band, Walthamstow has one the UK's most recognisable postcodes.

The area has some significant links to the development of transportation. John Kemp Starley, who is considered the inventor of the modern-day bicycle was born in Walthamstow. The UK's first four-wheeled motor car with an internal combustion engine was built in Walthamstow in 1892. The vehicle was donated to the Vestry House Museum in 1933 and is still on display (we were going to pop in to have a look, but couldn't find anywhere to park the car). The first mass-produced bus, the B-Type, was manufactured in Walthamstow. One of the B-Types became the first bus ever boarded by the British monarch, and that exact bus has been on display in the Imperial War Museum since 1970. The first British-built powered plane took off on its maiden flight from Walthamstow marshes in 1909.

In the northern part of Walthamstow was a farm called Wadham Lodge Farm and from 1867 this was run by a man called John Hitchman. He later went on to establish the Hitchman and Sons business which was a very well known local supplier of milk and other dairy products. This company was eventually bought by United Dairies in 1947, but the Hitchman name continued to be used locally until the 1990's. The land that was Wadham Lodge Farm is now a sports ground. The sports ground was acquired by the London Playing Fields Foundation in 1991. With funding from the Sports Lottery and the Peter May Memorial Appeal, the site was transformed with its updated sports centre opening in 2000. It is now known as the Peter May Sports Centre, taking its name from the famous 1950's cricketer.

The sports centre has facilities for sports and recreation activities including badminton, table tennis, soft play and has a hall for other private events, such as wedding receptions. However, the main sports catered for are football and cricket. It has a particular claim to fame as being the home of Ridgeway Rovers Football Club, who can name footballers David Beckham and Harry Kane as former players. It has also produced many successful cricketers including half of the 2019 double-winning Essex team. The grounds are also home to a free, weekly, timed 5k event called Walthamstow parkrun. This is open to all fitness abilities including those who wish to walk the course. I first visited the parkrun at its inaugural event in January 2013, and re-visited in November 2023.

On my first visit I travelled by train and alighted at the nearest station, Highams Park. This station is about 1 kilometre away from the sports ground. As of 2023 it is served exclusively by trains on the London Overground. The closest London Underground services run to Walthamstow Central which is the last station on the Victoria Line. This station is three kilometres away from the sports ground, but it does interchange with the Overground Line to Highams Park. Some local buses pass reasonably close to the venue, the closest are the W16 and 212, but the 97, 158, 34 and SL1 also seem to stop within walking distance.

The National Rail train network does not pass through this part of London, so if using National Rail, you'd have to alight and change to the Underground, Overground or bus networks to complete the journey. In 2023, I used the car and the venue has its own, free, on-site car park. There are spaces for somewhere in the region of 300 vehicles. If travelling by bicycle the sports ground has bicycle racks. Once within the grounds, the toilets and changing rooms can be found inside the sports centre (using the side door which faces the main vehicle/pedestrian entrance).

The meeting point for the parkrun is on the grass right in front of the south side of the Peter May Sports Centre building. Any bags or jackets etc can be left around the base of the large tree on the corner. I would note that as well as parkrun, the sports centre hosts junior football training sessions on a Saturday morning, so expect there to be various groups of people milling around. As far as the briefings are concerned, the first-timers briefing takes place at the meeting point and the main briefing takes place at the start line which is about 50 metres or so to the east.

The parkrun takes place over a three-and-a-bit lap anti-clockwise course. The surface underfoot is grass, and while this course is definitely not hilly, there is a slight rise in elevation through the first part of each lap. Shoe choice will depend on the course conditions, as the grass can hold onto quite a bit of water after periods of rain, and does get muddy. If in doubt, I would go with off-road shoes. The course is fine for buggy running, although some may prefer to avoid doing so in unfavourable conditions. Sadly I would say this course is not suitable for wheelchair athletes. Also, and this is very important, the sports ground is a private facility and not a public park. Dogs are not permitted on site.

At 9am the parkrun gets underway. From the start, the participants head west back past the meeting point where the course turns and runs adjacent to the entrance road. The course then simply follows the outer perimeter of the sports ground. There is soon a gentle incline that lasts around 200 metres and this leads into the long back straight on the eastern side. Most people probably won't notice (I didn't on my first visit), but if you look across the parkland to your left, in the far distance you can see Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally) perched right at the top of Alexandra Park.

The course then heads gently downhill as it approaches the north-east corner of the park. Turning again, the course the heads along the northern border. Just beyond the treeline and the fence is the River Ching, which forms the border between Walthamstow and Chingford. The route passes behind the football goals and can be single file at points. Towards the end of this section there is a small slope which leads through a tiny trail-like section of course, and this is followed by a 3/4 lap around the edge of a small football pitch which ends with a very short section cutting across the corner of the car park.

The course now follows the inside perimeter as it goes around the sports centre and the 3G football pitch (this is a third generation synthetic surface). The main points to note here are that if the football goals are in position, there are a couple of narrow sections to pass through, and if you visit on a sunny morning, the sun can give a strobe-like effect when passing the fencing. I had to put my hand next to my eye to block the flickering as this type of light can bring on migraines for me. This inner part of the course simply leads around to the original start point where the second and third laps start.

Once past the start area at the end of the third lap, there's just a little further to go before reaching the finish which is adjacent to the entrance road. There were some nice touches at this venue in the shape of bespoke signage, there was a 'Well Done', a 'Smile' and at the very end, a 'Sprint Finish Starts Here'. Once over the line, the barcode scanning takes place straight away. When we visited in 2023, we crossed the line with the tail walker and volunteer parkwalker, and the results were processed before we'd even left the finish area. So that was super fast!

I recorded the course with my Garmin and the data can be viewed on Strava. I used that data to create a Relive Course Fly-by Video that can be viewed on YouTube. In terms of numbers of participants, this venue tends to have around 120-150 participants each week. It does of course vary throughout the year, and it looks like the weekly attendance sometimes dips under 100, this is usually due to unfavourable weather conditions. On the day we visited, which was the 27th of November 2023, event number 480, there were 128 finishers.

I imagine that most people would class this course as fairly unmemorable or not particularly exciting (laps around sports fields). However, I found it very nice and the fact that I don't have to worry about loose dogs is a real bonus for me. I think the autumnal colours during my second visit really helped to bring it to life. Plus there are of course the lovely bunch of locals and volunteers that add that extra bit of magic to the weekly run or walk around the grounds.

Once the event has finished, there is a kiosk at the sports centre where you can pick up some light refreshments. I got a bit caught up doing an extra lap of the course and taking some extra photos, so ran out of time for that. This had been a lovely morning of parkrunning (mostly parkwalking, which is of course perfectly fine), and I'd like to extend a big thank you to the volunteer team for making us feel welcome.

Related Links:

• My GPS course data (November 2023)
• The Relive Course Fly-by Video (November 2023)

• The London parkrun venues (blog7t page)
• Walthamstow parkrun inaugural event blog (blog7t page)

Pymmes parkrun

Edmonton is a town within the London Borough of Enfield, north London. The town was recorded as Adelmetone in the Domesday Book of 1086, and had 87 households, putting it in the top 20% of all settlements recorded in the document. For many years it was simply a village outside of London, but the arrival of the railway line in 1872 provided a catalyst for its expansion. It now has a population of around 82,000 people and is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in England.

In 1327, a local landowner William Pymme built a grand house in the area, called Pymmes House. It sat within its own landscaped grounds. Over the years, the estate changed hands many times and, according to Wikipedia, was home to some notable people including Sir Henry Tyler who was involved with organising the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations in Hyde Park (also known as The Crystal Palace Exhibition), he also donated numerous items for display at the Science Museum, which was of course created using the profits from the Great Exhibition. The house was also home to the Nawab of Bengal for a short period.

The estate was bought by the local council at the very end of the 19th century, and in 1906 Pymmes Park opened to the public. Historically, Pymmes Brook - a minor tributary of the River Lea, and named after the Pymme family, ran along the southern border of the estate, but much of it has now been culverted and flows underground. A separate water course ran through the centre of the grounds, and this was landscaped into a lake. Pymmes House was destroyed by a fire in 1940 and the remains were demolished soon after. A Victorian walled garden still exists in the park and this is Grade II Listed. In more recent times, the park was reported to have been used as a filming location in the Rogue One Star Wars movie, although I'm not entirely sure if the footage made it into the film.

The park itself features two very distinct halves. The northern part consists of a large open grass field which is marked out with, I think, six football pitches, and there is a football pavilion building at the far north end. The southern half contains the formally landscaped areas, featuring many mature trees and includes the lake and the walled garden, plus there is a fair-sized children's playground. There are a few sports facilities such as a bowls club, basketball courts, and tennis courts. There is also an amphitheatre located in the central southern area. Finally there is a wetland area adjacent to the lake. The park is also a Site for Local Importance for Nature Conservation.

The local council seems to be very keen to promote fitness activities in its parks, and one of these activities is the park's free, weekly, timed 5km event called Pymmes parkrun. It had its inaugural event in April 2011, and is open to all abilities including wheelchair users and those who wish to walk. This particular parkrun was initially set up and run by the council's Sports Development Team and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's Foundation Team. It was these teams that managed the event when I first visited back in 2012, and if I'm totally honest, my experience was not great.

I didn't write about this in my original write-up, but the team didn't turn up until 9am, and while waiting for them, a fellow parkrunner who had popped over from a neighbouring event alluded that we may have to self-time and then email our barcode details and finish times to the team for processing. I don't know for sure, but it sounded like this may have happened previously. The issues must have been noted as a problem at parkrun HQ, and my understanding is that an intervention must have taken place. In March 2013, at event 101, the organisation of the event was officially handed over to local volunteers and this marked the start of a new era.

On 18 November 2023 I revisited the venue to see how things had changed 11 years on, and I'm pleased to say that the experience was infinitely better than my original visit had been.

In 2012 I had travelled on public transport and alighted Silver Street station, which is right outside the entrance to the park. The only thing that has changed is that Silver Street station is now served exclusively by trains on the London Overground. If travelling on National rail, you can alight at Edmonton Green and either walk or change to London Overground to Silver Street. The 32, 102, 149, 444, and 279 bus services all stop close by.

If driving, the venue is easily reached via the North Circular Road and free on-street parking is available on the roads that run alongside the west, north and east borders of the park. In 2023 I parked the car on Victoria Road. The roads are residential so the parking spots are quite popular, but I didn't have any trouble finding space. The only thing to note regarding parking restrictions is that due to the park's close proximity to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, these roads are restricted to permit holders on match days between noon and 9pm, so that shouldn't cause any problems for parkrunners. For bicycle users, I didn't spot any bicycle racks in the park itself, but there are fences and benches that I saw people using. However, there are some proper bike racks just outside Silver Street Station.

It is worth noting that the toilet block in the park is now permanently closed, so if you think you may need to use the facilities you will need to head elsewhere. As we were driving, we had a quick pit-stop at the Lea Valley Tesco Extra (N18 3HF) which worked just fine. Another possible option could be to head over to Fore Street where you could try the McDonalds or hope to find a sympathetic cafe owner. An update from the Pymmes parkrun team in March 2024 confirmed that there is another toilet within the park's visitor centre that is now accessible to parkrunners.

Once in the park you need to head towards the amphitheatre which is where the parkrun people all meet up. Anybody that visited pre-lockdown would have assembled at a different meeting point - this new location is a much better spot. The briefings take place in the area in front of the amphitheatre and once complete, the crowd of parkrunners move across to the start area which is on the path in between the lake and Victoria Road. The parkrun takes place on an almost-three-lap anti-clockwise course. The surface underfoot is 100% tarmac and the park is flat. Standard road running shoes will be fine all year around. It is also ideal for both buggy running and for wheelchair users. At 9am the assembled parkrunners are sent off on their 5 kilometre journey around the park.

The start is in the southern half of the park, which is the prettier half. There are many trees to admire and you'll get a small glimpse of the lake at the start, but to take in the best view across it you'll have to explore the park a little deeper either pre or post parkrun. The course simply uses the perimeter path at all times and as long as you always stick to that path, you can't get lost. Please note that there are no arrows marking the route. On my first visit there were no marshals, but on my second visit there were three dotted around the course at various key points.

From the start the participants head north along the eastern perimeter path which runs alongside Victoria Road. The path turns slightly deeper into the park where it passes the playground via a lovely avenue of trees (our 2023 visit was during the autumn where the park was in its full golden autumnal coat). At the end of the avenue, the route passes the permanently closed toilet block and enters the northern half. Here the central area is a large open grass area and there are mature trees lining the park's border with the adjacent roads. Participants simply follow the path. Anyone that visited before the course change will remember this section as the event's original start and finish area.

The path continues around the northern side of the park, heading along the northern border adjacent to Park Lane where it passes the football pavilion building. The course then turns and follows the path on the western side of the park which runs alongside Swan Briar Walk. Just before moving back into the southern half of the park, the path passes the wetlands area. This was created to assist in improving the water quality of the lake. It seems that before the works, and probably for many years, some of the plumbing in the local area had been installed in a way that inadvertently led to waste water from homes and business being discharged directly into the lake.

Heading back into the southern half, the park takes on the feel of a typical Victorian style London park. The course passes the basketball courts and the tennis courts as it takes in another lovely avenue of trees which leads directly to the southwest corner. The course turns and now runs alongside Silver Street where the course passes Yacht Pond where the adjacent path is quite narrow. Look out for the memorial to Lance Corporal John Alexander Christie, who was born in Edmonton - he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during World War I. Right after passing the pond you will find a section that has been playfully named 'Yacht Pond Hill'. It's just a tiny slope, but I really love the fact that it has been named in such a way!

The path now leads back around to the original start point to complete the lap, which is 1.7km in length. A second full lap is completed, then just before the end of the third lap, the course turns into the finish funnel which can be found on the path adjacent to the Pymmes Park Visitor Centre building. This is the building with the abstract mural covering it. Barcode scanning takes place immediately after the finish and the post-event social is advertised as being at Cobblers Coffee Shop, which is over in the main shopping area, on Fore Street.

Pymmes parkrun was for many years one of the smallest events around. The first few years saw regular single figure attendances, which considering this event is in a highly populated part of London, was quite unusual. Over the years, the attendances ever-so-slowly crept up and in April 2018, at the 7th birthday celebratory event, they had their first ever 100-plus attendance figure. As of 2023 the average weekly attendance seems to hover in the 120-150 range. The results for event 584 were published later that morning and there had been 142 participants.

I recorded the course using my Garmin and the course data can be found on Strava. I used that data to create a course fly-by video using the Relive app on my phone. The video can be viewed on YouTube. With the event over, we made our way back to the car to travel home. I must say that I really enjoyed my re-visit to this park - it was much nicer than I remembered it being, and I've made a mental note to schedule my next visit for the summer. It was fantastic to see the event thriving after its difficult beginning. A huge thank you goes to the team of volunteers that made us feel so welcome.

Related Links:

The 2023 course GPS data (18 November 2023)

The 2023 course Relive course fly-by video (18 November 2023)

The 2012 course GPS data (25 November 2012)

My 2012 Pymmes parkrun blog (blog7t)

The London parkrun venues (blog7t page)