Fulham Palace parkrun

Fulham is a predominantly residential area in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London. It has a population of around 87,000 people with the wider borough being home to 186,000 people. There are a few theories as to the origin of the name. The first theory is that the name comes from the personal name 'Fulla' and the Old English word 'Hamm' meaning land hemmed in by water, marsh or higher ground. So it would have been an area of hemmed-in land belonging to someone called Fulla. However, other theories suggest that the name could come from the abundance of birds, largely water-fowl, residing in the area, which led to the Saxon name of Fullenhame or Foulenham. A third theory suggests the name comes from Fullanham or Foulham, and reflects the 'dirtiness of the place'. It was recorded as Fuleham in the Domesday book.

Archeological evidence suggests the land has been occupied on-and-off since Neolithic times, about 5,000 years ago. Like many areas in London, it was once agricultural, providing food for the people of London. It subsequently became home to many industries including weaving, ceramics, brewing, stained-glass, and pottery. The area even has a link to aviation thanks to aviation pioneer, Geoffrey de Havilland who built his first aeroplane in Fulham. It was also home to the Lillie Bridge maintenance depot, which looked after the maintenance of rolling stock on the Metropolitan and District underground lines for well over 100 years. There are two major football clubs based in the area, Chelsea and Fulham. Other sporting facilities include The Queen's Club tennis club which was the world's first multi-purpose sports complex, and the Hurlingham Club which one of the world's finest private members' clubs and regarded as the birthplace of modern-day polo.

Fulham covers only a very small part of what was historically The Manor of Fulham which covered most of Hammersmith, Acton, Ealing and Finchley. The manor itself was acquired by the Bishops of London in either 694 or 704 AD. The manor house is called Fulham Palace and sits adjacent to the River Thames in the south of Fulham. For 1,300 years it remained the official residence of the Bishop of London until 1973 when Deans Court in the City of London took over. The palace and grounds were subsequently leased from the Church of England by the local council. The manor house and its gardens once sat within a 1.4km long moat, making it the largest domestic moated site in medieval England.

The current land occupied by the house and gardens is now considerably smaller than it once was. In 1918 part of the grounds was converted to allotments for producing food during the first world war and later sold to the council, while the palace formed part of the Fulham Military Hospital. The allotments are still being used to this day. Before that, in 1893, a section of the grounds alongside the River Thames was given to the Fulham District Board of Works on condition that it be made into a public recreation area. It was then opened as Bishops Park. By 1900 further land had been added and the park was expanded.

Bishops Park is nestled into a relatively narrow piece of land that sits between Putney Bridge and Fulham Football Club's stadium, Craven Cottage. The park is now Grade II Listed and contains a few distinct areas such as Bishop's Meadow, West Lawn and Fielder's Meadow. It has a number of children's play areas, a sculpture garden, rose garden, an ornamental lake and even an urban beach. Sports facilities include an outdoor gym, a basketball court, bowling green, table tennis and the Rocks Lane tennis facility. The park and the adjacent All Saints Church were immortalised in movie history when they were used as locations in the 1976 horror film, The Omen. If you are unfamiliar with the film or need a refresher, you can watch the scenes on YouTube. 

On Saturday mornings Bishops Park is home to a free, weekly, timed, 5k event called Fulham Palace parkrun. It is open to all abilities including those who wish to walk the course. The event is primarily a community event and relies on volunteers, meaning that there are plenty of opportunities for those unable or uninterested in completing the course to become involved. The inaugural Fulham Palace parkrun was held on 19 October 2013 and that was when I first took part in the event. I revisited with the kids and my brother on 19 October 2024 and took part in the 11 year anniversary event. This write-up is from that second visit.

The most sensible way to travel to the park is by using public transport, and the closest station is Putney Bridge underground which is served by the Wimbledon branch of the District Line. Alternatively, if travelling exclusively on national rail trains, the best station to head for is Putney which is on the opposite side of the river, at the far end of Putney High Street. It is served by South Western Trains running between London Waterloo and Kingston, Windsor or Weybridge. Being in London there are a large number of bus services that pass close-by. The closest bus stops are on Fulham Palace Road and Putney Bridge Road, and are served by the 14, 22, 39, 74. 85, 93, 265, 378, 424 and 430 London bus services. This is not an exclusive list and there will be other services that also stop within a reasonable walking distance.

If driving to the venue, parking is extremely restricted, as is quite common for London. All of the local roads are covered by some kind of parking restriction, and many of these only allow residential parking at all times. However, just outside the park there are two roads, Bishop's Avenue and Bishop's Park Road which have a better system in place for non-residents. The main thing to remember is that the restrictions vary depending on whether Fulham Football Club are playing at home on the day. If it is a non-match day, you can park on one of these streets and pay for your desired time period. If it is a match day, parking on these roads is limited to a maximum of 1 hour, even at 9am in the morning. Payment can be made at a payment machine or by using the RingGo app.

Should you happen to be visiting on a match day and require more than 1 hour of parking or just looking for an alternative location to park, the following places may help. Firstly, next to Putney Bridge tube station there is a Premier Inn which has a public car park. There only seems to be one price point for parking and that seems to be £22 for 24 hours which isn't too bad if you are staying at the Premier Inn. For everybody else, even if you were only parked for an hour it would still cost £22, so it's a bit pricey for a short stay. However, my preferred option would be to park in the Putney Exchange shopping centre on Putney High Street. It is open from 8am on Saturday mornings and the current charges can be found on their website. Finally there are several bicycle racks dotted around the park, the best positioned for the parkrun are on Bishop's Avenue, outside the entrance to Fulham Palace or the park's racks adjacent to the toilets which are next to the Bishops Park Road entrance.

The meeting point for the parkrun is in the large circular area in the very centre of the park and this is where the briefings take place. This area was home to a bandstand from 1894 until 1960, and an open-air theatre after that. It was redesigned during the park's 2011 restoration and now features family-friendly recreation zones (playgrounds).

The parkrun's standard course takes place over an almost-three-lap anti-clockwise course, but at the time of writing (October 2024) there is a temporary course in use which is just over three laps. The good news is that both courses are completely flat and almost identical. The temporary course configuration is being used because a section of the far north end of the park had been closed off (since 2018, I believe) to store building materials while Fulham football club redevelop their riverside stand.

The surfaces underfoot are tarmac and light gravel so standard road shoes are the best option at all times of year. Participants pushing buggies are totally fine on this course, as are wheelchair users. The main consideration is the sheer popularity of this event which can attract around 600 participants, which is quite a large number for this three lap course to cope with. The result of this is that there is a lot of lapping and we were advised to keep to the left and let those lapping us pass on the right. As of 2024 the course didn't have any signage, but all of the turning points were marshalled and the route is very easy to follow. 

The standard start area of the parkrun is on the park's northeastern path which is adjacent to Stevenage Road. However the temporary course starts on the outer south-western side of the large circular area where it simply follows the curve and joins the parkrun's main loop near the Fulham Palace main entrance. From here the course heads north-west towards Craven Cottage where the route simply follows the tarmac path as it turns left at the end, following the temporary tarmac path that crosses Fielders Meadow. Once Fulham Football Club has finished the redevelopment, the closed-off section of the park will be restored (and I imagine the parkrun will revert to its standard course). My understanding is that it was due to be returned in mid-2025, but I've read the football club may be requesting an extension. The parkrun course then takes another left-hand turn onto the path that runs along the riverside.

The riverside path is officially part of the 185.2 mile long Thames Path National Trail which runs from the source of the Thames in the Cotswolds through to Woolwich in South East London (an extension of the path, but not part of the national trail, continues through to Crayford). The embankment which houses the path was completed in 1893 and was built by Joseph Mears, who was the father of Joseph and Gus Mears, the brothers who founded Chelsea Football Club. The path has trees and bushes to its left and railings to its right, and from here there is a view over the Thames and as the route progresses Putney Bridge comes into view. An interesting fact about Putney Bridge is that it is the only bridge in the Britain to be flanked by churches at both ends. I would also note that there is a bit of a chicane in the path as it passes around an old set of steps leading down to the water.

The course leaves the Thames Path via a shallow left turning which is then followed by a sharp left turn and the course then works its way along the opposite side of Bishop's Meadow heading back towards the original meeting area. This particular path is very popular with cyclists, so you do need to stay aware. Once at the end of this path, the course swings to the right and then immediately to the left where it joins the northeastern path and the lap is then complete. The finish is located at the end of the Bishop's Meadow path so at the end of the third lap the funnel can be entered. Barcodes and finish tokens are scanned within the large circular area and once this has taken place, participants can place their token on its respective hook on the bespoke finish token board.

I recorded the course used on 19 October 2024 using my Garmin and the resulting GPS data can be viewed on my Strava account. I also have my original GPS data from my visit to event 1 on 19 October 2013. However the actual standard course is slightly different, so I have acquired that GPS data too. There are also Relive course fly-by videos for all three and they can be found on my YouTube account - links are below. The results were processed and published online later that morning and there were 429 finishers at event 469. This is on the lower side of the normal range of attendees, and I suspect the lower turnout was caused by a combination of the rainy weather and some curious locals venturing to Battersea parkrun's second event. There seem to be a few other events that mean the parkrun has to cancel, such as the annual boat race, the Action Challenge charity event and the Guy Fawkes night fireworks display / lightshow (not taking place in 2024). So be sure to check before visiting.

There are two on-site options for post-parkrun refreshments. Firstly there is the park's cafe called The Tea House, which is located right next to the finish area - we had some tea and hot chocolate here, which was very nice indeed. Alternatively you can head into Fulham Palace (entry is free) where there is also a cafe within the palace itself. Both options have indoor and outdoor seating. While we didn't sample the refreshments in the palace, we did pop in and explored the palace and its gardens which contain a walled garden and a 500 year-old oak, which were very pleasant and worth a visit.

Despite the rain, we had a really nice day out in the park and the palace, which we would never have visited if it hadn't been for the parkrun. A huge thank to all of the volunteers that looked after us during our visit.

Related Links:

• Fulham Palace parkrun GPS data (Standard course)
• Relive course fly-by video (Standard course)

• Fulham Palace parkrun GPS data (Temporary course as of 2024) (Current course)
• Relive course fly-by video (Temporary course as of 2024) (Current course)

• Fulham Palace parkrun GPS data (Original course 2013)
• Relive course fly-by video (Original course 2013)

• The London parkruns (blog7t)
• Fulham Palace parkrun 2013 write-up (blog7t)

Fulham Palace parkrun

There is a newer write-up for this venue available here: Fulham Palace parkrun 2024 write-up

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Fulham Palace is of medieval origin and is situated on the North side of Putney Bridge, it was the country home of the Bishops of London from the 11th century until 1975. The Palace is now managed by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the Fulham Palace Trust. The Palace grounds originally covered 30 acres, it has now been reduced to 12 acres. It also boasts the longest moat in England. Admission to the Palace and its grounds is free and is definitely worth visiting.

next to the Bishop's Avenue entrance

The meeting point for the Fulham Palace parkrun is at the Tudor Gate entrance to Fulham Palace. At the meeting point there is the usual parkrun briefing before runners are lead into Bishop's Park, where the whole run takes place. I'm not entirely sure why the briefing takes place in the Palace grounds and I wouldn't be surprised if it is eventually moved over to the start area.

Bishop's park was formerly part of the Fulham Palace estate (this explains the reduction in acreage), and was opened for public use in 1893. Its south-west border forms the embankment path along the Thames which is a very small section of the 296km-long Thames Path National Trail. It is also adjacent to Craven Cottage - the home of Fulham Football Club. The park, along with the Palace, have recently undergone a restoration project with the entire site being altered and modernized.

The lake / picnic area

In the park, you'll find fifteen tennis courts, bowling greens, children's playground, statues, gardens and a couple of open green spaces. There's also a very pretty lake, sand pit / beach and picnic area, which is a dog free zone. Talking about dogs, there were quite a few of them around but they didn't seem interested in the additional 192 runners plodding around the park.

The park, along with the adjacent 'All Saints Church' (currently encased in scaffolding), played a role in the 1976 horror film The Omen - The scene in question is where a priest is subject to a freak storm after revealing some information to the film's lead character played by Gregory Peck and is subsequently impaled by a lightning rod thrown from the roof of the church. If you haven't seen it, check out this video on you tube.

Peeking through the (tudor?) gate into the Fulham Palace courtyard

Anyway, back to something a little less sinister - parkrun!

I arrived by car and parked on Bishop's Avenue just outside the Bishops Park Tennis Academy (which explains the large number of tennis courts) - Please note that parking in these metered spaces costs £2.20 per hour, but are limited to one hour on days that Fulham Football Club are playing at home. It is worth checking the fixture list beforehand. I did and Fulham were not playing at all on the day I visited, which was the inaugural event on 19 October 2013.

pre-run mingling

Another way to reach the venue is by public transport where, providing there are no engineering works, you can easily take a district line train to Putney Bridge which is only 700 metres away from the park. If using the mainline trains you'd be looking to alight at Putney, walk down Putney High Street and then cross Putney Bridge. Alternatively you could cycle and lock your bike to one of the many bicycle racks around the park - the obvious racks to use are the ones next to the start line or the ones on Bishops Avenue, right next to the entrance to Fulham Palace.

There are toilets right next to the start area, I visited them briefly but I was disappointed that there was no toilet paper or soap available. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day and it's important to remember that a poorly equipped toilet is better than no toilet at all!

The start

I and Mrs7t-before-she-was-mrs7t actually lived just across the bridge in Putney a few years back, so it was nice to be back in one of my favourite parts of London again. We both still have a huge soft-spot for this area of London and were sad to leave.

Apart from the last few metres, the entire course is all on tarmac. It is pancake flat, and is made up of about two-and-three-quarter anti-clockwise laps. It starts on the northern side of the park, next to the lake and picnic area (it also has a large sand pit) and heads north-west towards the football stadium. I'd advise staying to the centre / left along this section as the right hand side is marked as a cycle path.

The first section (note the cycle path on the right hand side)

Once in the shadow of the local area's second largest football club (Chelsea FC is just down the road), you'll swing left - watch out for the benches on the path about half way along this stretch, especially on the first lap while there is still congestion. When you reach the river, you turn left and run along the river path (this is the one that runs adjacent to the river behind the line of trees - not the one before the trees next to the grass).

Now for your run along the lovely tree lined embankment path. Trees to your left, river to your right. This path is a popular vantage point for viewing the first section of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race. The embankment path does have a slight interruption where you have to break your stride in order to work your way around some steps that lead down to the river which, as I understand, were used to board a ferry service across to Putney in the days before there was a bridge (if that is wrong please let me know and I will update).

The river path

It's not long before Putney Bridge comes into view and just before you reach the Spanish Civil War Memorial, the course takes a slight left hander before dishing up a second, much tighter, left hander where you start heading back in the direction of the start area.

Next up, as you reach the playground there is a nice sweeping right hander that leads into a sweeping left-hander, where you emerge back at the start line. On the third lap, you'll find the finish line on Bishop's Meadow - which is the open grass area flanked by trees just before you reach the right hand turn.

The final sprint

The course is perfect for a spot of buggy running and to prove the point there were a couple out on the course today - one of them overtook me near the end of the first lap and finished well in front of me - I suspect their time was well under 19 minutes.

A huge thank you to all of the marshals, and especially to Louise (@Abradypus) who was on the first corner and enthusiastically cheered me on by name as I passed her on each lap. The post run social is held in the Bishop's Garden Cafe, which is near the start line / playground / toilets. Unfortunately I couldn't hang around as I had other post-parkrun commitments (shocking, I know).

Bishop's Meadow

It's a lovely park for a parkrun and the course is super fast. In fact, it's so fast that I ran a new 5k personal best, taking 7 seconds off my previous pb which had stood for two years, one month, and three days. That's 109 weeks (or over 1 million minutes)!

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Update: There has been a slight course alteration since I ran at the event - The finish is no longer on the grass and the start has been moved slightly. The course map has been updated to reflect this. I also understand that the briefing now takes place in the park rather than the grounds of the Palace. Please see the comment from Rob C in the comments section below.