Sadly, over the last five weeks I’ve only managed to pedal to two parkruns – Wollaton Hall on 5th March and Long Eaton on 2nd April.
I‘d planned my first overnight adventure to Grantham for Belton House parkrun on 12th March. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be as I tested positive for Covid on 8th.
I got the all-clear nine days later, then I was working at a Boccia England competition in Crawley on Saturday 19th and I hiked the Yorkshire Three Peaks on a trip I’d organized for the YesTribe on Saturday 26th. The challenge was gruelling but incredibly enjoyable, and something I’ve been wanting to do for ages. We were blessed with amazing weather!
Wollaton Hall parkrun
Wollaton Hall is probably my favourite “local” parkrun. The event only started a few weeks before lockdown. This was my third time there and I’m ashamed to say the first time I’ve cycled there, despite it only being 4 miles away. In my (weak) defence I did give other people a lift both times I drove…
If you do drive there, make sure you allow time to sort out the parking payment, particularly if you’re as inept with technology as me! You have to pay via Ringo and I wasn’t prepared the first time I went – I hadn’t set an account up and didn’t have my card with me to add the payment details. Luckily my friend came to the rescue and paid for the parking via his account.
Anyway, this isn’t about driving!
The cycle route from my house in Beeston is largely traffic-free. I rode along the Beeston Canal, and then around the back of the Boots site on a nice tarmac cycle track. The route then goes over a bridge and pops out opposite the University of Nottingham’s South Entrance.
From there I took a trip down memory lane, cycling through the edge of the campus and past my old office – I worked at the University for four and a half years, so this first part of the journey was my morning commute for quite some time.
Then I picked up the cycle lane along the A52 just as far as the tree-lined pedestrian entrance to Wollaton Hall and Deer Park.
I’d noticed a bit of a scraping noise coming from my back wheel on the way there, but it turned out just to be the plastic guard behind my cogs catching on my spokes. A bit of an adjustment and it was fine again – phew!
I arrived in time to get a quick photo with the purple sign – a lovely lady touristing from Leeds happily agreed to take it for me.
The course is lovely. It’s one lap that goes past Wollaton Hall itself and around the lake at the bottom of the hill…so there is a bit of uphill running. My watch clocked 45m of elevation gain in total.
I had a quick chat afterwards with a university student who had done the course for the first time that day. He enjoyed it and said he’d be back.
I cycled home the same way and had to pause on the way out of the park to let a herd of deer cross the path.
Wollaton Hall parkrun is definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for a Nottingham parkrun that isn’t completely flat but doesn’t have the brutal hills of Gedling or Bestwood.
Wollaton Hall and Deer Park belongs to the local Council and the Hall was used as Wayne Manor in the Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. There are often visiting exhibitions at the Hall so it’s worth having a look if you need to book tickets in advance – at the time of writing there is a T-rex skeleton on display! There’s also a café in the grounds as well as an adventure playground and an industrial museum so there are plenty of options for post-parkrun faff if you’re visiting from afar.
Long Eaton parkrun
Four weeks after Wollaton Hall I was finally able to scratch my parkrun itch again!
Up until a few days before I was planning to cycle the 14 miles to Shipley Country parkrun, a course I haven’t done before. However, I’d have had to set off at around 7am and the forecast was for a chilly zero degrees at that time, so at the last minute I decided to go to Long Eaton parkrun instead. Long Eaton is only 5.5 miles away, so this meant setting off at around 8.10am by which time the BBC suggested we’d be at a balmy 1 degree!
Needless to say, I wrapped up warm – I’m very nesh with terrible circulation so I doubled up on socks, gloves, snoods, and jackets for my bike ride!
It’s a really lovely route from my house to Long Eaton. I cycled along the River Trent through Attenborough Nature Reserve, and then along a service road by the railway line until I reached the outskirts of the town. Consequently, the first 4 miles of the route were completely traffic free.
I rode past a heron that was right next to the path and was treated to the lovely sound of bird song in the frosty morning sun (albeit muffled through my extra layers!).
I think I took a bit too much time messing about and taking photos and videos, because by the time I looked at my watch when I entered the park on the opposite side to the parkrun start it was 8.54am – whoops! After I sprinted across the park, whipped off all my extra layers, and locked my bike to a railing I joined the crowd about 20 seconds before “Go!” time.
Long Eaton is known for being a fast course – it’s two completely flat laps on smooth tarmac. I think I set off a bit too fast though, as I got slower and slower each km. But I finished in 25m 34s which is only 19 seconds away from my PB – it’s eluded me now for four years! But maybe the key is to arrive flustered at the very last minute every time!
There was an elderly chap called Harold who was walking the course and apparently being filmed for a BBC documentary. Everyone was cheering him when they passed him on the second lap and I shouted some encouragement as I cycled past him on my way home. I’m looking forward to hearing his story so I’ll be looking out for him on TV!
I finally had a moment to get the obligatory purple sign photo once I’d finished. Then it was time to layer up again and ride home. I chanced it without snoods to start with, as I was pretty warm at this point, but after a couple of minutes my ears were freezing and I had to stop and get one back out of my bag.
There are two level crossings on the cycle route and I’d been lucky not to have to stop at either of them on the way there – I definitely would have missed the start! I wasn’t so lucky on the return trip when I had to wait at both.
I did enjoy watching a train-spotting llama though!
On the way back the frost had pretty much gone and the nature reserve was much busier with walkers and other cyclists.
If you’re looking for a PB then Long Eaton might be the course for you. It comes in at number 13 of 706 in the list of UK parkruns from fastest to slowest in 2021.
The parkrun is in West Park, which covers a vast area and contains a rugby club, tennis courts, a skate park and much more. There is also a leisure centre right next door. Long Eaton is between Derby and Nottingham and has a station with trains that can take you to either city in around 15-20 minutes.
Coming soon…
My delayed pedal to Belton House is re-scheduled for next weekend so watch this space!