Homewood parkrun (Ottershaw Memorial Fields)

I first visited Homewood parkrun when the event was based at its original venue, Homewood Park, in Chertsey. However, after only a few weeks at its original location, it was announced that the event would be permanently moving a mile down the road to a different park.

The blog for the original venue is here - blog7t: Homewood parkrun. By moving location, this venue became an oddity in my parkrunning record and as such became my 'Schrödinger's parkrun' - A parkrun that I had simultaneously visited AND not visited. It was time to open the box.

Despite moving to a new venue, the event has retained the name of its original park. I don't know if this has caused any confusion, but an update of the name would seem to fit in better with parkrun's event naming guidelines. Anyway, after finding a space in my parkrunning calendar, I headed over to check out the new venue, in Ottershaw.

ottershaw memorial fields

Ottershaw is a village in Runnymede district of Surrey. Although separate from its larger neighbour Chertsey, it still falls within the same postcode area. The village sits on what was originally heathland and over the years has been home to a number of small farms.

In the mid-19th century, the village began to be known by its current name which it took from the local country estate 'Ottershaw Park'. The owner of the estate at the time also gave the village one of its most notable landmarks, the Grade II listed, polychromatic style, 'Christ Church'.

briefings

The venue for this parkrun sits just to the north of the grounds of Ottershaw Park on the land formerly known as Potters Park or Potters Park Farm (at least, that's what I can make out from some old maps). A significant portion of the area is woodland but some of the land was formerly used as nurseries which supplied vegetables and flowers to the markets of London.

At some point between 1960 and 1973, the nurseries were developed into Ottershaw Memorial Fields and these are in memory of the people of Ottershaw who gave their lives during the second world war. If you look closely you'll find a couple of memorial plaques and a memorial garden. Also, the Ottershaw and Hamm Moor Cricket Club Pavilion is home to a memorial clock.

start and lap of field

The park consists of the main playing field which is primarily marked out for cricket but is sometimes changed to a football field, a tennis court, basketball court, bowls green, and children's playground. However, there is slightly more than meets the eye because the park extends into to adjacent woodland which includes Ether Hill.

We travelled over to the venue by car and had the option of parking in either of the park's two, free car parks. For anyone travelling by public transport, it's not quite so straight forward - the closest train stations are Chertsey and Addlestone which are both around 2 miles away from the venue. There are a couple of bus routes which stop within ten minutes of the venue, so they may be an option for some.

in the woods

Once in the park, there are toilets located adjacent to the car park next to the cricket pavilion. As the park consists mostly of a large open grass area, it is pretty easy to spot where the parkrun crowd are forming. The meeting point is on the grass in-between the two car parks and once the first timer's briefing has taken place (one of the best I've ever heard - delivered by Steve), the whole field gather for the main briefing. The run itself starts just next to the Fox Hills Road car park which is, unsurprisingly, adjacent to Fox Hills Road.

The course is made up of a partial clockwise lap of the playing fields, where the runners pass the bowls green and cricket pavilion on the eastern side of the park before the being sent off on an anti-clockwise three-lap roller coaster ride adjacent-to and through the woodland which covers and surrounds Ether Hill. Underfoot is a combination of grass and dirt (mud during the wetter seasons).

in the woods

It's not the ideal course for buggy running and I certainly wouldn't encourage less-confident or ill-prepared buggy runners to do so here. However, if you have a proper running buggy, are confident, and the occupant likes a bumpy ride then you'll get around the course - it won't be pretty, but it should be fun!

The first section of each lap is run on the grass adjacent to the woodland which has a very gentle incline leading into the woods themselves. Once inside the woods the ground underfoot changes to dirt paths which were pretty uneven, but manageable when I visited. There were plenty of arrows and marshals posted in the woods and the route was easy to follow.

in the woods

In the woods, the course undulates most of the way around. There is a notable incline early on each lap with one section being particularly steep which has been lovingly named 'Achilles Hill' - I imagine a fair percentage of the participants would be briefly reduced to a walk here. However it is fairly short and over quite quickly.

The woods are beautiful and the official course description says that there are wonderful views over the adjacent golf course, but I didn't get to see that because I was mostly looking down and trying to avoid the sheer number of tree roots lurking on the paths, just waiting for an innocent foot to grab hold of. I imagine that the risk of people tripping or twisting ankles here is fairly high, so if you are prone to face-planting, this might not be the best venue for you.

in the woods

I ran here in the early summer and everything was very dry and in these conditions road shoes would be ok. However, I wore my trail shoes and I was happy that this was the correct choice for me as the extra grip they gave through the woods was very welcome. If running here during the winter, I imagine it will take on the feel of a proper cross-country course bringing with it plenty of mud - trail shoes would be a must, but some people may even opt for cross-country spikes.

The second half of the lap features more tree roots than the first half, but has more of a downhill theme going on. At the end of each lap, the runners exit the woods and start the lap again. As the laps progress most people will either lap someone or be lapped themselves. With all the tree roots and some narrow paths it is important to listen to the marshals and keep an eye out for each other. With those points in mind, I would avoid wearing headphones here.

end of lap / exit woods

Once the three laps are complete, the runners emerge from the woods and head back around the playing field, past the pavilion and bowling green, before finally reaching the finish line which is adjacent to Fox Hills Road, but not quite back where it all started. Barcode scanning is taken care of right next to the finish line.

Anyone in desperate need of a post-run beverage can make use of the 'Eastwick Coffee Company' portable coffee van that will probably be parked up in the car park next to the bowling green. Those with a little more time or a need for a more substantial breakfast may choose to carry on to the Old School Cafe with the rest of the team.

back on the fields

With the run all done and dusted, I uploaded my GPS file of the course to Strava and you can view it here: Homewood parkrun 31 (Ottershaw Memorial Fields). The results for event #31 were processed a short while later and 115 people had taken part. I really enjoyed my run through the woods and I'd be interested to give it a go during the winter. A big thanks to all of the volunteers that made it possible and to my wife for making sure I had some extra photos for the blog.

Link: blog7t - The Surrey parkrun Venues

Homewood parkrun (Homewood Park)

Please note: Homewood parkrun is no longer based at Homewood Park - The venue has changed to Ottershaw Memorial Fields which is about 1 mile away from Homewood Park. A post covering the new venue can be found here - Homewood parkrun (Ottershaw Memorial Fields).

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Just over a mile to the south west of Chertsey town centre, you will find the stunning, grade II* listed, Palladian style building that is Botleys Mansion. It was built in the 1760s on an elevated site where it is thought a 14th century manor house once stood. The architect, Kenton Couse, was also responsible for the remodelling of 10 Downing Street between 1776 and 1775.

homewood park

The estate was known as Botleys Park and its ownership passed through many hands over the years. By the 1930s, the mansion and grounds had been sold to either London or Surrey County Council (conflicting info exists) and become a central part of the 'The Botleys Park Colony for Mental Defectives', which covered 334 acres (135 hectares) and eventually became known as the Botleys Park Hospital.

The mansion is now owned by a company called Bijou and is used primarily as a venue for weddings. Most of the original grounds have been consumed by the adjacent St. Peter's Hospital and some office blocks. The remaining parkland now covers just 23 hectares and is a public space managed by Runnymede Borough Council called Homewood Park, which is where Homewood parkrun takes place.

run briefing / start

I wasn't feeling particularly touristy on the day I visited, but I dragged myself out of bed and soon found myself 'Homewood bound'. I visited the venue on a frosty November morning to take part in event number 6. I parked the car in the car park just off of Stonehill Road where parking is free for up to 3 hours, but you must obtain and display a ticket from the machine to cover your time there (just press the green button and it will dispense a ticket).

If you were to look on the Homewood parkrun webpage, you would see that the recommended car park is the St Peter's Hospital Woodland Car Park, which costs 80p per hour. However, I would imagine that the majority of people will use the closer, free option above. There seemed to be plenty of space to accommodate the day's 98 runners plus volunteers and still leave space for other park users.

first section of lap

The closest train station is Chertsey, which is right in the middle of the town centre (as mentioned above, just over a mile away from the park). I didn't spot any cycle racks in the park, but there are a few places where a bicycle could be secured.

Toilet facilities are available just next to the Stonehill Car Park, which is also right next to the parkrun meeting area. It's worth noting that the local council's webpage states that the toilets are open from April to September, however the parkrun event team hold the keys so they should be open for parkrunners all year round.

far end of the course

The grounds here are gently undulating and very scenic. They consist of areas of open, roughly mown grassland, a few small wooded patches and the odd outcrop of trees. The mansion stands proud at the highest point of the park and is an impressive sight from any angle. As I waited for the run briefing there was a friendly chatter in the air which made the event feel much more established than I would have expected for such a young event.

The run itself takes place over three, gently undulating, clockwise laps of the park (in fact, it's almost an out-and-back course). Underfoot you'll find a combination of stony, slightly gravelly paths, tarmac and grass. I imagine the preferred footwear will vary throughout the year as conditions change. I opted for my light trail shoes and these worked out just fine as there were only a few small patches of mud, but during the summer, I suspect road shoes will be the better option.

the way back

As for a little description of the lap, here goes - the runners start on a gravelly, bridle path and follow this as it weaves around and changes elevation on its way towards the far end of the park. I'll make a special note of a short, sharp incline early on which leads into a sheltered, wooden section (lots of leaves underfoot in autumn).

The path continues to weave along the northern border of the park until reaching the eastern tip where there is a small footbridge to cross which is followed by a very tight right-hand turn. The runners now run along a stretch of pavement which follows Hillswood Drive for around 200m. Another sharp right hand turn over a second footbridge returns the runners to the main body of the park.

the final section of the lap

The path here is gravelly to start with and it leads the runners through another small, twisty wooded section and underfoot changes to a narrow, heavily cambered tarmac path which leads back towards the start line and past the meeting point (expect lots of cheers here - thanks marshals!). A u-turn around a large tree followed by another short wooded section completes the lap.

At the end of the third lap, the runners continue past the u-turn point and head onto the grass where they have the opportunity to use up the last of their energy before entering the finish funnel, collecting a finish token and taking a well-earned breather. You can see my full GPS course data here: Strava - Homewood parkrun.

the finish

During my visit, barcode scanning took place in between the finish and the meeting area where I gave the scanner a choice of my UK wristband or my brand new Polish wristband to scan. After a few tries at scanning the deteriorating barcode on my UK band, the barcode scannerer promptly moved onto the Polish one which scanned straight away. Info on barcode options can be found here.

As it was cold and I didn't want to stand still for too long, I headed off around the park for a cool down and to take some photos, where I bumped into fellow parkrunner, twitterer and core team member Stephanie the Magpie, who, according to The parkrun Show, is not actually a real magpie (if this makes no sense, just go and listen to the entire back-catalogue of The parkrun Show). Also interesting was the cryptic teaser that I might want to revisit this venue again in early 2017...

... Update: A few weeks later an official announcement was published which solved the mystery and as of January 2017, Homewood parkrun will be based at a new venue. Please see the official Homewood parkrun news page for more information. I will of course visit the new venue, Ottershaw Memorial Fields, and write a new blog post (I'll add the link here once I have visited).

post-run

I was asked if I would like to join the team for some post-run refreshments at The Old School Cafe, but sadly, I had to decline as I was due back over in Dartford before midday. Now 'Homeward Bound' I reflected on a very pleasant morning at this fab new Surrey parkrun venue, which also marked the occasion of me re-completing the set of parkruns in Surrey. A huge thanks, as always, goes to the team of volunteers who made it all possible.