The settlement was established in 893AD and first known in Old English as Aescet, indicating a river crossing (a ford) near a clump of ash trees. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Essetesford and was known as Eshetisford, Esselesford, Asshatisforde and Essheford before eventually settling into its modern-day spelling. From the 13th century Ashford became an important agricultural town and its livestock market charter was granted in 1243. In 1856 Ashford Cattle Market Company Ltd was formed which holds the distinction of being the oldest surviving registered company in England and Wales.
The town's location led to it becoming a strategic defensive position and the British Army had a barracks here from 1797. Many industries have found a home in Ashford over the years. Pottery was a notable industry at one point. In the 20th century it became home to a large printing services company where millions of books were printed and then exported using the town's well-connected transport links. In the 1950's the soup company Batchelors opened a factory in the town. The factory itself is now owned by Premier Foods where it continues to produce Batchelors soups as well as 300 other well-known products including Angel Delight, Bisto, Paxo and Smash.
The population of Ashford has increased steadily over time, but it has seen its largest increases since the 1960's when the town was identified as being suitable for continued growth. Even to this day more residential, and business areas are being created as the town spreads into the adjacent farmland and consumes nearby villages. It was recognised at the end of the 19th century that green spaces would be required for its residents and the land for the town's main municipal park was purchased from local landowner William Jemmett in 1898. The arable land, pasture and watercress fields were transformed and the following year Victoria Park opened.
The park was originally surrounded by cast iron railings, but these were removed during the second world war and melted down. A major feature of the park is the Grade II Listed Hubert Fountain. This was originally part of the 1862 London International Exhibition of Industry and Art, and was subsequently installed at Olantigh, a country estate in nearby Wye. Following a devastating fire at Olantigh, the fountain was purchased in 1912 and installed in the park. One of the park's former main features was its bandstand and this proved very popular, but it ceased to be used during the war and by the mid-1960's its condition had deteriorated so much that it was finally removed.
The park sits just to the south of the town centre and is bordered on its northern side by the Great Stour, a 50 mile long river which flows through much of north-eastern Kent. In 2013 Victoria Park became home to Ashford parkrun which is a free, weekly, timed 5k event open to all abilities including people who wish to walk. I visited and took part in the very first event on 26 October 2013, and then returned for a revisit on 26 October 2024 (exactly 11 years later). In the years that had passed between my visits the park had undergone a major £5 million refurbishment project which involved upgrading and improving pretty much all areas of the park. The park now features a state-of-the-art children's play area, a pump track for BMXers and skaters, improved piazza around the fountain, a new cafe, a sensory garden, improved natural areas adjacent to the river and the creation of a seasonal wetland area.
Travel options are fairly good as Ashford is a major transport hub. If travelling by car the A20 is the primary road that connects the town to the north-west of Kent and the M25. It is the main route for vehicles heading to mainland Europe via Eurotunnel and Dover ferry services. With that in mind I would advise to check that the Operation Brock traffic management procedure has not been activated, as this may severely affect the journey. Once at the park there are multiple parking options including using the park's free-of-charge car park which can hold around 60 vehicles or by using any of the local restriction-free side roads.
If travelling to the town by train simply head to Ashford International railway station which is served by regular Southeastern trains from London Victoria and Charing Cross. It is connected to London St. Pancras via the High speed 1 (HS1) line which also carries the Eurostar services to and from Lille, Paris and Brussels (note: international services have not stopped at Ashford since Covid restrictions were imposed in 2020). It is also on the Marshlink line which connects to Hastings and the Ashford to Ramsgate line via Canterbury. The onward journey from the station to the park is a half-a-mile walk.
There are bus services that operate in and around Ashford, and the closest bus stops on Jemmett Lane are served by the 967 and the 'A Little and Often' buses. There are of course more bus stops over in the centre of the town which are served by many more services and the walk is even shorter than the one from the station. Travel to the venue by bicycle is possible via the cycling networks which largely use the riverside shared-use paths, and bicycles can be secured at any one of a number of bicycle racks dotted around the park. The most obvious ones being in-between the car park and the basketball courts. If you require an overnight stay there is a Travelodge very close to the park, plus a Hilton near the train station and there are two Premier Inns, one to the north and the other to the south-east of the town centre.
The parkrun meeting point is located on the main central tree-lined avenue that runs between the cafe and the fountain and this is where the two briefings take place. Some of the regulars seem to head straight to the start area which is adjacent to the park's historic gates, just opposite Christchurch Road. However, bear in mind that doing this will result in not hearing the briefing which may contain important safety advice. Should you require the facilities, the park has toilets situated right next to Harper's Cafe, which is in the modern building opened in 2023 as part of the refurbishment works. The toilets' opening times are tied to the cafe's opening hours, which are 8am - 6pm.
Ashford parkrun takes place over a two-lap anti-clockwise course which includes an out-and-back section. The surface underfoot is 100% tarmac and road shoes are suitable all year round. In the winter the grass areas around the meeting point get a little waterlogged, so best to avoid cutting across pre-event. It is almost entirely flat apart from a short section towards the end of each lap where there is a slight rise in elevation (the decline is at the beginning of the lap and is so slight that it is not really noticeable). Participants in wheelchairs or pushing buggies should find this course absolutely fine. I will note the slight incline may need a bit of extra arm strength if using a wheelchair. The park also has permanent parkrun posts which mark the start, finish and kilometre points.
The start is next to the park's historic gates and the participants head off in a north-easterly direction along the meandering path which heads to the park's eastern edge where it curves around the outer border of the fountain. At this point the local cycle path joins the park's path and this remains a feature throughout almost the entire course. This particular corner of the park can gain an unofficial water feature after significant rain, which has been called the 'Ashford Puddle' or the 'Big Puddle'. This has led to the introduction of a B course which can be brought into action when required. The path itself continues around to the northern side of the fountain and then has a really fun feature of a sweeping chicane which crosses a channel of the river.
Now at the northern boundary of the park, the course continues westwards alongside the river. There are a few differences here since I last visited; the first being the new residential buildings facing onto the park, and the second being the river itself, which received some attention during the the recent refurbishments. The course continues along this path, where it is divided by a painted line into people and cyclist sections. Initially, participants can remain in the people section, but the width of the path is reduced greatly a bit further along. The second half of this path is an out-and-back section, so inevitably the parkrunners heading out stay on the right hand side, which is the cycle lane, and those coming back stick to the other half, which is the people lane.
The far western end of the course features a large triangular-shaped anti-clockwise turnaround point, which is very easy to navigate. The only point to note is that one of the corners is very sharp, however there is a marshal here to ensure everything goes to plan. The out-and-back section itself is a lot of fun to run as it meanders left and right all the way along. The return section has a turnoff point where parkrunners make their way back towards the main part of the park and for a moment feels like a bit of a no-man's-land, the path has road markings including a mini-roundabout with no apparent reason. There is also the remains of a basketball court which the course goes through. On my last visit in 2013 this was a full basketball court.
The course crosses back into the main section of the park and this is where the small incline (hill) can be found. The incline is named 'Becca's Mountain', and this is in reference to the event's former event director. To the right hand side is the park's sensory garden and the playground is to the left. Following the natural path, the course heads past the car park and then across the car park's entrance - this spot was marshalled by two volunteers who stopped approaching vehicles to allow the parkrunners to pass unhindered. After one final sweeping bend, the course returns to the start area and the lap is complete. The second lap is identical to the first.
At the end of lap 2 the participants are directed off of the main loop where the last section of the course follows a small path before turning onto the main central path and into the finish funnel. Barcode scanning takes place right after the finish and the post-event refreshments take place in Harper's Cafe, which really feels like the centre of the park's community. I bought a kids' hot chocolate and a peppermint tea which cost me £5.
The results were processed shortly after and there were 369 finishers at event 488, which was of course Ashford parkrun's 11th anniversary. This number was very representative in terms of expected attendees which tend to hover in the mid-300's with occasional dips into the high 200's. At time of writing there had been two occasions that reached into the low 400's, both in 2024. The attendance record of 417 was set on 17 August 2024.
I recorded the course with my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on Strava. That data was also used to create a fly-by video using the Relive app. The latter stages of the current course are slightly different to the original and this is due to the new cafe and playground area which has been built across the old route. For information purposes the GPS data for the original 2013 course is on my Strava account. Should the B course be in use, this cuts out the section around the fountain, but please note that the start area for this course is at the top of the incline, to the west of the car park, playground and cafe.
If you are looking for something to do post-parkrun, the town centre is only a short walk away. It's a fairly typical British high street with the addition of a couple of historic buildings - there were once many more but sadly most were destroyed during the construction of the ring road. There is a 13th century church just off the high street and sits tightly nestled in between the small buildings that sit around its churchyard. The Ashford Museum is located here and is free-of-charge to enter. There is also a statue of Queen Marie of Romania, who was born just outside the town at Eastwell Manor. The town is now quite well-known for the Ashford Designer Outlet where you can find 120 different designer brands. The outlet is also home to Europe's largest living wall which covers 25,000 square feet.
Just outside the town is the village of Pluckley which reportedly has 12 ghosts, gaining it a place in the 1989 Guinness Book of Records as the most haunted village in Britain. I'll also note that Ashford is not too far from Port Lympne Safari Park, which is a lovely spot for a day out. After our walk around the town centre we returned to the park where we spent some more time around the brilliant playground, finishing off with a nice smoothie from the cafe. The day out had been lovely and I really also enjoyed having the chance to chat to some of Ashford parkrun's legendary people. A huge thank you goes to the whole team that put the event on and went out of their way to make us feel so welcome.
Related Links:
- Ashford parkrun standard course GPS data (26 October 2024)
- The Relive standard course fly-by video (26 October 2024)
- Ashford parkrun B course GPS data (original GPS trace from 2 March 2024 - not my data)
- The Relive B course fly-by video (original data from 2 March 2024)
- Original course GPS data (26 October 2013 - no longer in use)
- The Kent parkrun venues (blog7t)
