On 2 July 2022, I went on a pedal to Bestwood Village parkrun mini-adventure.
This was my first “new” venue since Unisee in Germany three weeks earlier.
Just after we returned from Holland, I drove up to Clumber parkrun where I met my Dad, ran with him, and then went on to his house to pick up our dogs.
Last week I cycled 4 miles each way to Wollaton Hall parkrun (my 5th time there) and met up with my friends, Chris and Dan.
Pedal to Bestwood village
I didn’t have particularly high expectations for my bike ride to Bestwood Village, as I knew around half of it would be on the Nottingham ring road.
It was a 10-mile ride each way, so I set off just after 7.15am. I rode out of Beeston, up past the University of Nottingham (where I used to cycle commute to every day) and joined the ring road by the Queen’s Medical Centre.
Nottingham is currently in an e-scooter trial and scooters strewn across pavements and cycle lanes have become an all-too-regular sight.
For the most part, the cycle infrastructure around the ring road isn’t too bad. There’s a dedicated off-road cycle lane all the way round, although how good it is it varies significantly. A large section was improved a few years ago, and green paint was put down across all the side roads to indicate that bikes have right of way.
Since then changes to the Highway Code mean that cyclists now always have right of way in this situation. I wonder if having green paint across some junctions but not others has become confusing for motorists who might not be fully up to speed with the changes.
There’s a useful underpass at Jubilee Island. It was re-painted during Covid as a tribute to the NHS, as it’s on the route between Nottingham’s two hospitals. It’s lovely, bright, and cheerful!
I think I‘ve probably been spoilt by the amazing infrastructure in Holland and Germany, but I can’t help but feel annoyed when I come across “Cyclists dismount” signs when crossing the road on a cycle route. Would it be that hard to put in a toucan crossing!?
Soon after leaving the ring road and heading up towards Hucknall, I came across the Hucknall Road Walkway, which also has a cycle route through it.
This lovely little path provided a bit of an oasis away from the busy main road, and took me through wide open grassy areas and some pretty woodland.
There was some fly-tipping and broken glass, but you can’t have everything!
I soon started to spot some signs I was getting closer to the site of the parkrun. I had to check Google Maps at this point, to make sure I knew which way to head as I entered the park in order to find the start.
Bestwood Village parkrun
I arrived at the start at around 8.35am. There were lots of volunteers but I think I was probably the first runner there.
There’s a big metal fence right by the start/finish which was perfect to lock my bike to.
People soon started to arrive and I had a quick chat with a lady who was touristing from Sheffield and running with a buggy.
Bestwood Village parkrun has been my NENDY (nearest event not done yet) for absolutely ages. I think its fearsome reputation for being the hilliest parkrun in the area has definitely been putting me off. I’m pretty sure it’s the first parkrun I’ve ever done that has a gradient profile displayed at the start!
It was a very friendly atmosphere and had some really nice touches – a gazebo for the volunteers, a bespoke set of coat hooks that were hung on the fence, and a token sorting board.
I attended the first-timers’ briefing where there were quite a few other people nervously anticipating the hills to come! The Run Director described the route in great detail including all the different sections of “up”, and said that we would probably have to walk up the second hill(!). Thankfully, he did also assure us that most of the ascent would be done by 2km.
As the main briefing was given it started to drizzle a bit, and this would continue for about half the run.
Then we were off!
After the first hill which zig-zagged its way upwards in the woodland, we were treated to a bit of downhill and we passed through the pretty Alexandra Lodge, which is the base for the park rangers.
Then it was time for the BIG HILL! It’s not actually that long but it is incredibly steep. I managed to keep “running” although it was probably a lot slower than I’d walk on the flat!
The next couple of km were mostly downhill, and then there was one final drag up towards the end. There were only 76 runners and the path is quite twisty towards the end so I was often running with no one in sight ahead of me. Thankfully I went the right way, and made it to the finish in a time of 28.56 which I was pleasantly surprised by!
The Dynamo House café opens at 9.30am on a Saturday, so it’s perfect for a post-parkrun breakfast. There’s a toilet in there too. There aren’t any toilets close to the parkrun start before the event.
The parkrun takes place in Bestwood Country Park – on the site of an old pit which closed in 1967. The land was designated as a country park in 1985, from which time it was completely re-landscaped. The winding engine near the parkrun start/finish was restored with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The pedal home
I cycled home pretty much the same way I’d come. For one glorious moment the sun came out, and I even popped my sunglasses on!
At one point I was waiting at a crossing and a bloke in a van shouted something at me. I didn’t actually hear what he said but it annoyed me, particularly because it was the second time it’s happened this week (the first being when I cycled home from the gym on Thursday). It’s unnecessary and very irritating!
I finished off by going a different way for the last two miles or so for a bit of variety.
Final thought
I’d 100% recommend Bestwood Village parkrun and I’ll definitely do it again one day.
It’s 682 out of 706 in the list of the UK’s parkruns from fastest to slowest. So, effectively it’s the UK’s 24th toughest parkrun.
I think my legs are definitely stronger for two weeks of cycling long distances every day although I’m not sure my lungs can keep up with them!