The area of Ebbsfleet sits in the north-west corner of Kent. It's history as a settlement goes back to the stone age. The area takes its name from a small river, called the Ebbsfleet River (formerly known as the River Fleet) which rises at Springhead, where there are eight springs. This unusually high number of springs led to the site becoming sacred to the Celts who settled here c. 100BC. It was also the site of the Roman settlement of Vagniacis which featured a number of temples. In 1808 the river became Britain's first centre of the commercial cultivation of watercress.
Ebbsfleet and its immediate neighbours, Swanscombe and Northfleet have a long history of being quarried for gravel and chalk, which led to a large cement industry being established in this part of Kent. Once the excavations had finished a number of vast pits remained and these are slowly being redeveloped. The one that most people will be familiar with is now home to Bluewater Shopping Centre, while another is called Barnfield pit, where the famous Swanscombe skull and numerous other artefacts, such as hand axes, were found.
In 2014 the Government announced that the first new Garden City in 100 years would be built in the area of Ebbsfleet, expanding on the Ebbsfleet Valley development from 2005. The project, which is still ongoing and due for completion in 2033, is redeveloping a patchwork of 2,500 acres of previously used brownfield land which includes some of the former pits, notably the Eastern Quarry, which has been renamed as Whitecliffe. Within the quarry are three new villages called Castle Hill, Ashmere and Alkerden. In total 6,250 new homes are being built in Whitecliffe as well as schools and all the other usual amenities. 30% of the land has been set aside as open space, featuring playing fields, allotments, sports pitches and a brand new natural space called Whitecliffe Lakes.
In November 2025 the development became home to a free, weekly, timed, 5 kilometre event called Whitecliffe Lake parkrun. Like all parkruns it is a volunteer-led community event and is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk the course. The event is nestled within the Castle Hill area of the development and the lake is flanked by chalk cliffs to the south. Beyond the cliff is the A2 motorway but the terrain and trees block the vehicle noise completely, leaving the park as a peaceful, scenic place to spend some time.
Ebbsfleet does of course have its own 'international' train station, but the international trains, ie Eurostar, have been suspended since the 2020 pandemic and although there is talk of services returning, it is yet to happen. The station is still served by Southeastern High Speed trains running between London St. Pancras and Faversham, Ramsgate and Margate. The onward walk is around 1.3 miles or it is possible to take the E Fastrack bus and have a 0.3 mile walk at the end. I would note that the high speed services are more expensive than the standard trains.
There are also two more train stations fairly close to the venue which are served by regular Southeastern trains (not the expensive high speed ones), namely Northfleet and Swanscombe which could be used as alternatives. Northfleet is a tad closer as the crow flies, but the onward walking route is an indirect 1.9 mile long route. If using a train on this line, I would alight at Swanscombe which is an approximate 1.5 mile walk. Both of these stations are served by the 480 bus and stop roughly 0.9 miles away from the venue.
When it comes to driving, there are permit-only parking restrictions in place across the entire development so you can't just park on the side roads or in residents' spaces. The official car parking option is to use the Castle Hill Community Centre car park which is free-of-charge and has a three-hour time limit. It contains around 70 spaces so is likely to reach its capacity every week. There are a few marked roadside spaces dotted around the area where parking is possible, but these also have restrictions which may be even more restrictive than the main car park including no parking after 10am, so I would advise carefully reading the information signs if considering these options.
Further away car parking alternatives would be to park to the north in Swanscombe and walk (approx 0.6-1 mile) but please note that the Swanscombe streets are generally quite narrow and there is barely enough space for residents to park. Ebbsfleet International Station has a large car park which can be used for a fee. You also have the option of parking in Bluewater Shopping Centre for free but the onward walk is likely to be over 2 miles (it may be shorter once the building work has been completed). The E Fastrack bus is also an option from Bluewater.
There are no general toilet facilities in the vicinity. The local cafe which is used for the post-event social does have a toilet but it is for customer use only and should not be relied on pre-event. A sensible option if a toilet is required beforehand would be to pop into Bluewater Shopping Centre on the way. Also, Ebbsfleet International Station has toilets in the main booking hall and these are advertised as being open 'during staffing hours'.
The meeting point for the event is at the southern end of the development, just next to the lake at the Platinum Jubilee Lakeside Park, where there are ten bicycle racks, a couple of table tennis tables and also a small children's play area. There is a raised step adjacent to the lake which is ideal for leaving jumpers and water bottles (at your own risk of course). The first timers' briefing takes place at the meeting area and the participants then cross the bridge where the start line can be found. The main briefing takes place at the start area.
The parkrun takes place on a mixture of surfaces including tarmac/brick and gravel paths. Road shoes should suffice at all times but it is possible that during the winter some people may prefer to use trail shoes. Overall the course is flat but there is an incline to negotiate at the end of each lap. It is perfectly suitable for participants with buggies and it seems to be OK for wheelchair users too, but please note the incline/decline and the ground surfaces which may add to the challenge.
The path that goes around the lake is not currently finished so the current almost-two-lap route features a couple of out-and-back sections instead of a full loop. However once the building works have been completed there will be a fully connected loop and my understanding is that the parkrun course will be adjusted to make full use of this. It is possible that a proper looped course may end up being three laps, but that is purely speculation on my part based on a bit of investigation using online mapping tools.
From the start the parkrunners head to the west along the first out-and-back which is directly beneath the cliff. The surface on this path is quite loose gravel where you will most likely hear the 'schh schh' sound of your footsteps displacing the small stones, some of which managed to get inside both mine and my son's shoes. The path is lined with trees and bushes, and it simply meanders gently until reaching the first turnaround point which involves an extremely brief section going across grass/dirt/mud, but we are talking a few metres. The return section is not 100% the same as the 'out' as there is a small diversion onto a separate path with heads directly along the side of the lake for a short stretch.
Once back at the original start area the course turns to the left and crosses the bridge. The surface of the bridge appears to be made from a decking type of wood which feels like it could be slippery when wet. The second out-and-back section starts once the bridge has been crossed, where underfoot is another type of loose surface, possibly hoggin. This surface is not quite as loose as the first path. There is another small diversion to take on this side of the lake which involves leaving the path and doing a small loop on a pier/jetty type structure which has the same surface as the bridge - as this features a turn the risk of having a slip is a little higher than on the main bridge.
Returning to the main hoggin path, the course simply continues until the turn-around point is reached, and the return journey stays on the path (no diversion this time). Once back at the main meeting point, the surface changes to hard standing, largely laid bricks and the course takes a turn to the left where the incline can be found. It is fairly short and the entire 'up across and down' section can't be much more than 100 metres in total. Once back at the bottom the course passes through the meeting area and heads back across the bridge where the second, identical lap begins. At the end of the second lap the finish funnel can be found at the main meeting area immediately after reaching the bottom of the hill for the second time.
Barcode scanning takes place at the main meeting point just after exiting the finish funnel and once everyone has finished, the post-event refreshments are at the Blue Bean Coffee Co. which is next to the community centre and the car park. An interesting fact is that it was the owner of the cafe that submitted the initial proposal to parkrun HQ for an event at this location, so I'm sure they'd be over the moon to welcome as many parkrunners as possible. The Blue Bean Coffee Co. is more than just a cafe, it often stays open late in the evening and hosts live music and quiz nights, so is a really important hub for the newly formed (and expanding) local community.
In terms of expected numbers of attendees, this write-up is from event 3 so the attendance figures are still quite inflated due to curious tourists. I'll update this once things have settled down. There were 309 finishers and 38 volunteers on this occasion, but you can of course check the weekly figures on the main event's results history webpage. I recorded the course using my Garmin so feel free to take a look at the data on Strava. I also used that data to create a course fly-by video using the Relive app.
As far as possible cancellations go, I would expect the biggest risk will be the surface of the bridge and pier/jetty becoming slippery when the conditions are frosty or icy. The only events I am aware of that may affect parkrun are the Ebbsfleet Fusion Festival which has previously taken place in July and the Magical Winter Festival which was held in February 2025, both have been held on Saturdays in the Platinum Jubilee Lakeside Park, but I have no idea if they will take place in future years.
As for things to do post-parkrun, the immediate area is mostly residential but there are a few public works of art dotted around. The ones that are easiest to find are The Ghost Follies of Castle Hill, which are next to the lake and are a nod to Castle Hill's past as the site of an Iron Age hillfort. All the art pieces tell part of the story of the area so look out for the Foraging Pigs, The Chalk Stack, The Homecoming, and my favourite, The Straight Tusked Elephants, which commemorates the discovery of prehistoric Mammoth remains in the Ebbsfleet Valley.
Overall Whitecliffe Lake parkrun is another fine addition to the collection of parkruns in Kent. I'm fairly local and as I already spend a fair amount of time in the Swanscombe area (volunteering at Swanscombe Heritage Park junior parkrun) I imagine this will become a venue I visit regularly. I'm especially looking forward to the lakeside path opening fully and I think a revised course using the full looped path will be even better than the current one.
Finally, a huge thanks to all the volunteers.
Related Links:
- Whitecliffe Lake parkrun GPS data (the course - event 3)
- Whitecliffe Lake parkrun fly-by video (the course - event 3)
Also...
- Swanscombe Heritage Park junior parkrun (blog7t write-up)
