Bug Hunter Waters parkrun

Northstowe is a new town about 8 miles to the north of Cambridge. It was conceived in the mid-2000's to meet the demand for additional housing in the South Cambridgeshire local government district of the historic county of Cambridgeshire. The area was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 where it appeared as the 'Hundred of Northstow' which covered a number of villages and settlements including Long Stanton All Saints, Long Stanton St Michael, and Oakington, reaching as far south as the border with Cambridge where it covered Madingley, Girton, Impington, and Milton. The Northstowe name disappeared when the area's administration was changed to the parish of Chesterton following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. When the new town was created, the historic name was revived.

As of 2024, the development of the town is well underway and is still years away from being completed, but when it is, it will contain around 10,000 homes, housing 25,000 people, and will be the second largest town in the whole of Cambridgeshire. It will fill all of the land between the villages of Longstanton to Oakington. The land it occupies was partly agricultural and archaeological investigations have revealed that the area contained an Iron Age settlement that was inhabited through the late Roman period.

The majority of the land was previously home to a Royal Air Force base called 'RAF Oakington'. Construction of the base began in 1939 and post-Second World War, the RAF used it as an advanced flying training school. When the school closed at the end of 1974, it became a British Army barracks until the late 1990s. Its final use was as Oakington Immigration Reception Centre, which closed in 2010. Work on creating Northstowe started in 2014 and the first residents moved in in 2017.

On the north-eastern border of the town there are three lakes, and in 2022 a competition was held to name them. The two southernmost lakes are owned by Homes England, the non-departmental public body that funds and manages the whole development. They have been named Unity Lake, to reflect the community coming together, and Halcyon Mere, which takes its name from the Halcyon bird and symbolises the lake's natural tranquillity. The northernmost lake was named Bug Hunter Waters, and this reflects the winner's (a mother and her 4-year old son) joy of catching bugs at the lake.

Bug Hunter Waters, also known as Northstowe Waterpark, is owned by Anglian Water and is used as a balancing facility to help to manage surface water run-off and is key to ensuring the local area, including roads and homes are protected from flooding. Even though it looks like a simple lake, there is apparently a fair amount of technology installed beneath the surface. This means the lake itself cannot be used for recreation purposes, and is left purely for wildlife. There is a pathway around the lake that provides a scenic route where residents can enjoy a stroll while admiring the picturesque view.

On 16 June 2024 the waterpark became home to a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event called Bug Hunter Waters parkrun. It is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk, and also to wheelchair users. People running or walking with buggies and dogs are also welcome, but dog owners should familiarise themselves with parkrun's policy on participating with a dog. Participants just need to register for free in advance and ensure they have scannable version of their personal barcode (can be used at any parkrun worldwide) available for scanning at the end. It is also an ideal opportunity for anybody that would like to become involved as a regular or occasional volunteer. We visited Northstowe on 24 August 2024 and took part in event number 11.

For the majority of non-locals, travel to the venue will involve the Longstanton Park & Ride which is located to the west of the venue. If using public transport, the only option that gets you all the way to the venue is a bus. However if you are travelling from further afield using national rail, it is possible to head to Cambridge railway station and complete the journey using The Busway Route A, or Cambridge North railway station and use The Busway Route B. For most of its route The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway uses the path of the former Cambridge to St Ives railway line where the buses are guided along the road by using a special kerbed guidance system to steer the bus. With a total length of 25km, it is the longest guided busway in the world. The bus station is also served by the number 5 and 5A buses.

The park & ride contains a car park which can accommodate 350 vehicles and parking is free-of-charge for up-to 18 hours. This is the official place to park for the parkrun and doing so has been fully endorsed by Cambridgeshire County Council. The only request is that those attending parkrun use the part of the car park that is furthest away from the Busway station - there were signs and a car park marshal in place when we visited. There may be other local places where vehicles can be parked, but it is important that parkrun participants stick to the agreed parking arrangement and do not park on the residential streets. The park and ride also has loads of bicycle parking, with some of it being covered, plus there are a further two bicycle racks within the park next to the start/finish area. Lastly, there are also toilet facilities at the park & ride which should be open from 7am, but please note there are no further toilet facilities within the park itself.

The park can be accessed directly from the park & ride car park and when we visited there was a 'Caution Runners' sign placed at the gate - making it easy to identify. The walk from the entry point to the parkrun meeting area is about 850 metres, so it is important to leave enough time to cover the distance. All you need to do is follow the tarmac footpath until reaching the triangular grass area next to the lake's bridge, where you will find all the usual parkrun paraphernalia and plenty of volunteers milling around. I used my Garmin to record the walk from the car to the meeting point via the toilets so please feel free to take a look if you think it would be useful.

The briefings both take place on this triangular piece of grass and the participants are then asked to move across to the start area in small seeded groups. The first to head over are the walkers (along with the tail walker and any official parkwalkers), and they are followed by the rest of the field in time order with those expecting to complete the course in under 20 minutes heading over last. This system appears to work really well and is very useful given that the start area is only the width of a regular footpath with no usable over-spill (the grass next to the path is on a steep bank).

The parkrun takes place over a two-lap hourglass-style course which is negotiated in a clockwise direction. It is mostly pancake flat but there are some very small changes in elevation at some points around the course - my GPS data reported a total of 5 metres of elevation change over the full 5 kilometres. Underfoot is approximately a 50-50 split between ultra smooth tarmac paths and slightly gravelly country park-style paths (it's probably a hoggin path), so I'd say it will be absolutely fine in road shoes in all conditions. The only section that leaves the paths is the finish line which is set up on the adjacent grass area.

From the start the course initially heads north but gradually turns to head towards the western end of the park, which most people would have already walked along during the walk from the Park&Ride. With this whole area being brand new, the tarmac is crisp, flat and simply a pleasure to run, walk or roll on, and at this point the path is mostly bordered by areas of grass with plenty of young trees dotted along the route. Incidentally, this path was home to a large number of slugs (brought out by the rain, no doubt) and the event definitely felt more like 'Slug Hunter Waters parkrun'. At the very end of the path, the course effectively does a u-turn when it reaches the 'Busway Hairpin', and transfers onto the gravelly path which runs alongside the Busway.

You can't really see the guided busway due to the bushes that line the northern border of the park, but every now and then you may hear a bus wooshing along to the left. This path is split into two sections - the first is mostly straight and is basically parallel to the tarmac path, but rises to a slightly higher elevation. The gravelly bit also feels a bit more natural as it is bordered by short bushes and shrubs. The end of the first section of gravel path is where the course's hourglass shape is formed as the path drops down and rejoins the tarmac for a split second. The second section of gravelly footpath continues the nature theme as it meanders its way along the northern side of Bug Hunters Lake itself.

At the most easterly point of the course the gravelly path has a slight climb and the route returns to tarmac. This path leads down to the most southerly point of the course and then back around to the original start area. However the course takes a quick diversion back onto gravel just before reaching the start area (you don't pass back through the start area), and this then completes the lap. Once the second lap has been completed, participants can then enter the finish funnel which is located on the original triangle of grass where the briefings are held. The barcode scanning takes place just after the finish and once the tail walker crosses the line the team heads over to Northstowe Tap and Social for the post-event refreshments and social gathering. As mentioned above, I recorded the course with my Garmin so feel free to take a look at the GPS data on Strava. There is also a Relive course fly-by video that can be viewed on YouTube.

We visited on the day that Storm Lilan hit the UK, and the official results page shows the number of finishers was 187 at event 11, which was considerably lower than the number of attendees present in the few events prior to our visit. At the time of writing the event had been averaging attendances in the mid-to-high 200's, with around 50% of the field being tourists. Considering the event is only 11 weeks old, the percentage of tourists is still high and considering the event's quirky name, I expect this will remain a popular tourist destination. I should mention that the course was very well marked out with signs and cones placed in all the right places. Overall it is generally a pretty straight-forward course to follow and providing you've had a look at the course map it would be fairly simple to navigate even without the signs. There were also a number of marshals (I think there were 7) out on the course meaning it was never too far between friendly faces.

As far as cancellations are concerned, there is an annual event called Northstowe Festival of Running which started in 2020 as a virtual race, but since 2021 has used the park's paths as part of their race routes so this means the parkrun cannot take place. The festival is usually held at the beginning of September, but the 2024 event fell on the last day of August. I'm not currently aware of any other events that would result in the parkrun cancelling, but I will update this write-up should any come to light. Given a large amount of the course is on tarmac, snow and ice are the obvious weather conditions that could cause a last-minute weather-related cancellation.

For post-parkrun activities the obvious one would be to explore the waterpark and try to find some of those wonderful bugs which give the lake its name. Even after only being established for a short period I hear it is home to lots of them including catepillars, beetles, and maybe even some dragonflies. Sadly there's not really anything else to do in Northstowe itself and the town came in for some criticism in 2023 when it was reported in the press that it had no shops, cafes or GPs. There were plans for a heritage centre but my understanding is this idea was scrapped in September 2023 when the contractor went bust.

However the Busway connects directly to the centre of Huntingdon, St. Ives and Cambridge so there are three easy-to-reach places which also give you the perfect reason for taking a ride on the world's longest guided busway. Although we would have loved to have taken a ride into Cambridge, we didn't have the time to do so on this occasion, so that day-out remains on our post-parkrun to-do list for now. Lastly, I'd just like to extend a huge thank you to all of the volunteers that helped to put the event on.

Related Links:

• Bug Hunter Waters parkrun GPS data (24 August 2024 / event 11)
• The Relive course fly-by video (24 August 2024 / event 11)

• The Cambridgeshire parkrun venues (blog7t page)

• Longstanton Park&Ride to the parkrun meeting point GPS data (24 August 2024)

Fulbourn Hospital parkrun

Fulbourn is a village on the outskirts of the city of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Fugleburn or Fugolburna which is said to mean 'stream frequented by waterfowl'. Historically there were five manors in the area (Zouches, Manners, Colvilles, Shardelowes and Fulbourne) and these were collectively known as 'The Five Manors of Fulbourn'. The only manor that survives to this day is the Grade II Listed Fulbourn Manor and this has been a private residence of the Townley family since 1788. The village itself is home to around 4,500 people. If you follow the road from Fulbourn towards Cambridge you will spot the Fulbourn Windmill which has stood here since 1808. A little further along on the very edge of Cambridge is Fulbourne Hospital, which specialises in mental health treatment.

The hospital first came into existence as a result of the Lunacy Act 1845 and the County Asylums Act 1845 which mandated that all local authorities must provide asylums for the mentally ill. Thirteen years later, in November 1858, 'The County Pauper Lunatic Asylum for Cambridgeshire, the Isle of Ely and the Borough of Cambridge' finally opened. Although built in the Victorian era the design of the building was Elizabethan. An on-site farm existed and was tended to by the patients. The original grounds to the front of the building were well-known for their large petal-shaped beds. Each petal had a different crop planted within it and the produce used to feed the patients. 

The name of the facility changed throughout the years, in addition to its original name, it also operated under the names 'Cambridgeshire County Asylum' and 'Fulbourn Mental Hospital'. The hospital became part of the National Health Service upon its creation in 1948 and it is now known simply as Fulbourn Hospital. Additional buildings were added over the years and the housing of patients moved from the original building into smaller bungalow-style buildings. The main 1858 building is called Victoria House and is now home to the headquarters of 'NHS East of England' with some of the adjacent land being home to a business park. The main modern-day hospital sits just to the west of Victoria House.

In December 2019 the hospital became home to its very own free, weekly, timed, 5km event, Fulbourn Hospital parkrun, which became the second UK parkrun to be staged within the grounds of an active NHS facility. The first was Bethlem Royal Hospital parkrun, in London. I visited the event on a lovely, sunny morning in June 2023 and took part in event number 94. I travelled by car and parked in the free-of-charge, on-site car park. For cyclists there is a sheltered bicycle rack, adjacent to the car park, which ended up completely full just before 9am. I've never been to Cambridge before but I think cycling is a popular way to get around.

For anyone travelling to the venue by public transport, the nearest train station is Cambridge, which is in the city centre. The onward journey to the hospital is around 3 miles, so if you don't fancy walking/running, the Citi 1 and Citi 3 buses may come in useful. I hear they will get you to the Fulbourn Cherry Hinton Tesco Superstore which was built in c.1992 on land which was formerly part of the hospital. From here there is a footpath that leads from Tesco into the hospital grounds, or you can walk around using the main roads. The travel options are all very well covered on the Fulbourn Hospital parkrun's official course page. Once at the venue the main meeting spot is in front of the brand new Resource Centre building which conveniently houses the toilets and the cafe - the building should be accessible from around 8am.

The briefings take place at the meeting point and everybody then moves across to the start area which is just on the other side of the nicely landscaped open grass field. The 5k parkrun course is made up of one small lap around the main grass area, followed by four full laps of the course - all in a clockwise direction. The terrain is largely flat, but there is one section where there is a gradual incline that has to be done five times. Underfoot is mostly grass, but also has sections on a concrete path and a tarmac road. I'm told that the drainage is very good due to the chalky soil in this area, so it should never get overly muddy here. Those who prefer to be cautious may wish to go for trail shoes in the winter, but in the dryer seasons road shoes will be just fine. Buggy runners will be fine here, but please note that no dogs are permitted at this venue.

Please note: The course has changed slightly since I visited.

The course starts on a concrete path which runs alongside the main entrance road. It can just about accommodate two people side-by-side so expect a bit of over-spill onto the adjacent grass. Within about 80 metres the route turns onto the grass and makes its way around the main grass area. The exact path to take is marked by a seemingly endless number of disc cones, which must take ages to put out and then clear away, but do come in very useful. There was a warning during the briefing to watch out for rabbit holes while on the grass areas, and although I did see some, the main route was surprisingly free of them. In fact, the grass paths used for the course are very smooth and enjoyable to run/walk on.

This main first section of grass is where the gradual incline can be found. According to my GPS data, the incline lasts for around 100 metres and rises by about 5 metres, so it is fairly gentle. When reaching the end of the incline on lap 1, everybody is directed to the right by one of the brilliant marshals and the course simply works its way around onto the opening concrete path where the small lap is completed. For the record the small lap is 500 metres in length.

The next four laps all start the same but when you reach the marshal at the end of the incline everybody goes left through the trees and into another section of the hospital grounds. This section initially remains on grass, but does eventually end up on the tarmac road for a short stretch at the far end turnaround loop. The biggest thing to note about this section is that it features two crossings of the internal road (which is closed during the event, but I would still advise to keep an eye out for vehicle movement). These crossings both involve a kerb down and another back up onto the grass.

After the second road crossing, the course heads back into familiar territory and eventually rejoins that concrete path and the full lap is complete. The full lap is around 1.1km in length, and after completing it four times the course peels off from the concrete path where the finish line awaits. It's worth pointing out that there is a lot of lapping happening on this course, so every single participant will either lap someone or be lapped themselves. Most will probably find they do both! The main thing is to remember to keep count of how many laps you have completed, or if you are wearing a running watch just keep going until you hit 5 kilometres.

Barcode scanning currently takes place right after the finish line. Once that is done the natural thing to do is cheer some other parkrunners into the finish and then head across to the main meeting point at the Resource Centre building and grab some refreshments from the cafe, 'The Edge Cafe @ Fulbourn'. The Edge Cafe is a social enterprise with a focus on supporting members of the local community with their recovery following specialist mental health treatment, which of course fits this venue perfectly. It is run by a mixture of paid staff and volunteers.

The results were published online shortly after and 84 people participated in event 94 in times ranging from 18 minutes through to 55 minutes. I recorded the course using my Garmin, and you can take a look at that data if you'd like to see the course in more detail. There's also the Relive Course Fly-by Video which was created using that data and can be viewed on YouTube. I'd had such a lovely morning at this delightful venue, and I'd like to thank all the volunteers and other parkrunners for making me feel so welcome.

Related Links:

The course GPS data (3 June 2023)

The Relive Course Fly-by Video (3 June 2023)

The Cambridgeshire parkrun Venues (blog7t page)

Bethlem Royal Hospital parkrun (blog7t write-up)

Cambridge parkrun write-ups:

• Coldham's Common (not yet visited)
• Fulbourn Hospital parkrun write-up (2023)
• Storeys Field parkrun (not yet visited)
• Milton Country parkrun write-up (2024)

The Cambridgeshire parkrun venues

The ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire is made up of Cambridgeshire County Council and the unitary authority of Peterborough City Council.

The pins on the map mark the locations of the parkruns within the county. The green pins show the venues I have officially visited while the red pins are venues I still need to visit. The map below covers 5k events only, not junior parkruns or those not open to the public (eg prisons).

Ben's Yard, Ely - Ely's Yard, Stuntney Estate, Ely, Cambridgeshire

Course: Two laps

Underfoot: Gravel and field

Profile: tbc

Notes: Great view of Ely Cathedral

Further reading: Not visited

Brook Leys - Brook Leys Lake, Eddington, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Course: Two laps of lake / out-and-back / one lap of lake

Underfoot: Various hard surfaces (tbc)

Profile: tbc

Notes: Replaces Storeys Field parkrun

Further reading: Not visited

Bug Hunter Waters - Bug Hunter Waters Waterpark, Northstowe, Cambridgeshire

Course: Two clockwise laps (hourglass)

Underfoot: Tarmac and compacted gravel

Profile: Flat

Notes: No toilets within / Closest are at Longstanton park & ride (adjacent)

Further reading: My Bug Hunter Waters parkrun write-up from 2024

Coldham's Common - Coldhams Common, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: Grass
Profile: Flat
Notes: No toilets at the venue
Further reading: not visited

Ferry Meadows - Ferry Meadows Country Park, Ham Lane, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
Course: Single lap, double out and back with a loop at each end
Underfoot: Tarmac
Profile: Flat
Notes: Formerly Peterborough parkrun / beautiful park
Further reading: My Ferry Meadows parkrun blog post

Fulbourn Hospital - Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Course: Five laps (one small lap followed by four longer laps)

Underfoot: Grass with some concrete and tarmac

Profile: Mostly flat with one gradual incline each lap

Notes: Dogs are not permitted at this venue

Further reading: My Fulbourn Hospital parkrun write-up from 2023

Huntingdon - Hinchingbrooke Country Park, Brampton Road, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Course: Two anti-clockwise laps
Underfoot: Mostly concrete (tbc) but also some grass
Profile: tbc
Notes:
Further reading: not yet visited


Littleport - Littleport Recreation Ground, Littleport, Cambridgeshire
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: Mixed terrain (grass, tarmac and trail)
Profile:
Notes:
Further reading: not visited


Manor Field - Manor Field (Manor Leisure Centre), Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire
Course: 1 small loop, followed by 3 full laps
Underfoot: Grass
Profile: Flat
Notes:
Further reading: not visited


March - West End Park, City Road, March, Cambridgeshire
Course: Four clockwise laps
Underfoot: Grass with some paths
Profile: Flat
Notes: The course may contain some steps (tbc)
Further reading: not yet visited


Milton Country parkrun - Milton Country Park, Cambridge, (formerly Cambridge parkrun)
Course: Start tail, two-and-a-bit clockwise laps, finish tail
Underfoot: dirt paths, can be very muddy
Profile: Flat
Notes: No dogs permitted.
Further reading: My Milton Country parkrun write-up from 2024

Pocket parkrun - Barford Road Pocket Park, St Neots, Cambridgeshire
Course: Two laps
Underfoot: mixed
Profile: tbc
Notes: No buggies due to narrow section
Further reading: not visited


Soham Village College - Soham Village College, Soham, Cambridgeshire
Course: Three laps
Underfoot: mixed
Profile: tbc
Notes: School grounds - no dogs permitted
Further reading: Not visited


Storeys Field - Storeys Field, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire NO LONGER IN OPERATION

Course: Three laps

Underfoot: Paths

Profile:

Notes: This event has closed down and has been replaced by Brook Leys parkrun

Further reading: I did not visit this venue


Wimpole Estate - Wimpole Estate, Arrington, Royston, Cambridgeshire
Course: One lap
Underfoot: Off-road - Mostly grass and dirt (mud).
Profile: Undulating
Notes: Stunning location - There may have been some slight course alterations since my visit
Further reading: My Wimpole Estate parkrun blog post (normal course as of 2013)


Wisbech - Wisbech Park, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

Course: Four laps

Underfoot: Paths (tarmac) tbc

Profile:

Notes:

Further reading: not visited

Please note: Information contained within the blog posts, such as the course configuration, parking arrangements, availability of toilets etc, may change. Please always check with the relevant events' web page and social media channels for the latest and most accurate information.

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