Category: Travelling Tales

Leavesden Country parkrun to reclaim Queen of Herts

We’ve not had a new parkrun in Herts for ages, and there was much excitement when Leavesden popped up a few weeks ago.

I would of course be travelling there with Dad. We were in no rush to head to the first one, and anyway had plans (his 250th venue had already been chosen) so we were there for event 4 in November.

Listened to With Me Now in the week I heard that Danny, the presenter, would be heading there, which also meant lots of listeners were heading there too. We’d already arranged it so it was a happy coincidence and of course I had to wear my WMN cooldown hoodie.

I had seen a few posts on their facebook page regarding parking, and chose the main car park as the postcode for the satnav, but it turned out to be OK and not too busy when we arrived at 8:30. I think by then the tourists had died down a bit, meaning they didn’t have such huge numbers as in their first few weeks.

The starting field was full of With Me Now merch, and I got to say hi in real life to a few running insta friends (Hi Branka and Holly) which was lovely.  The venue has everything you could need- parking on site, a lovely looking cafe (plus toilets), a playground and lots of interesting sculptures linking back to the history of the park in aviation.

The course was three laps, going around playing fields and then through woods. There is one narrow part where you meet runners in the other direction (almost like the middle part of a figure of eight) so you were asked to not overtake in this section, but it was only a few metres long so it’s easy to wait until after if you were in that position. It isn’t flat, but not hilly either, just a bit undulating. I think trail shoes might be better in winter but at that time the ground was fairly firm and the muddiest part was the field in the start/finish area. I don’t always like lapped routes, but as each lap was varied I really enjoyed it and was quite surprised as we came into the finish.

At the finish, Danny was chatting to someone else about lovely Ellenbrook Fields, so we joined in with the chatting and I asked for a photo. Last time I met him (at Kingdom parkrun) I chatted to him but felt a bit awkward asking for a photo, and regretted that as he always says on the pod that he’s happy for photos. Of course, I am not looking at the camera in the photo, but at least my eyes are open!

Of course I got a picture with Dad too, to commemorate our visit and to celebrate Queen of Herts once again!

That was my 90th different parkrun venue- gradually chasing down the Cowell!

How many parkrun events have you been to? Does your region have any good names? I quite like Champshire for completing all the parkruns in Hampshire! 

DLP October 2022

For the start of October half term it was time to head to the Eurostar to head over to DLP. Originally this was going to involve a parkrun in Paris for me, as we were travelling to Paris on Friday night and had booked a hotel near Disney from the Saturday, but sadly all the parkruns in France are cancelled at the moment (as they wrangle with the legal team about participants not needing medical certificates- they need them for races but parkrun had always published results in alphabetical order as we all know that parkrun is a run and not a race…).

Kings Cross on Friday night with loads of police cars…./ iced tea for the journey/ themed toiletries in our room/ Disney themed packing- the autograph book was a gift for our niece and nephew.

We were meeting Andy’s family on the Saturday as they all travelled out that day, and we then had a few days of fun together in the parks. Our niece particularly enjoyed the animation academy and we ended up in there 3 or 4 times over our few days- I love it too so was very happy to head in there and do some drawing. We also saw the parades as they were properly back, and even one showing of the drone show (D-light)- one day it wasn’t on due to windy weather.

Blue skies at the castle, pumpkin decorations and drawing fun

The weather was glorious with blue skies most of the time- perfect for when we were spending so much time outside. Last year we did a similar trip but it was still full of covid protocols- you had to wear a mask all the time (inside and outside), show your pass, check into places to eat with the track and trace app, no character meets, distancing in the queues….. It was great to enjoy a more normal visit.

Mocktails in our hotel, pineapple whip, vegan croissants and a pretzel

Of course some good food was enjoyed too. DLP is better for vegan food but we tend to eat breakfast in our room before heading in, and even though you can usually buy vegan croissants in the supermarket there, I brought some with me instead. We looked for the Dole whip on all of our days but one day the stand was shut, one day it had run out and only on our final day did we get to actually have some.

Back home on the Tuesday evening via Eurostar (my favourite way to travel) after a brilliant few days.

Blickling parkrun

As previously mentioned, at the end of October we had a weekend in Norfolk. There were quite a few parkruns fairly close, but the most interesting to me was Blicking, at a National Trust venue. On the Friday drive up we stopped in Norwich and had dinner in The Waffle House (they do an amazing hummus and avocado waffle)- this would be good to combine with a parkrun if you were going to any of the ones in Norwich.

Even though our Air BnB was around 10 miles away from Blicking, it was a good half an hour drive through twisty country single track lanes- not my favourite!

Wet in the car on the way, waffles from Norwich, parkrun token bucket and start area

As I walked to the car park I got absolutely soaked and I did consider going back, but I knew I’d regret it. I was dripping all over my notes for the journey, and the first bit of the drive was not fun as the lanes were full of huge puddles, but the rain eased off and when I arrived it had stopped raining altogether.

It was easy to find as I got closer as of course the NT has the lovely brown signs. The car park was nice and big (and free for members if you scanned your card) and the start was close to the car park.

The course was just under two laps, so the main briefing was close to the car park, and then we were all walked to the start, completing the just under two laps. It was through really pretty grounds, with views across fields, a section through wood and with some interesting buildings to see. The paths were fairly wide, it was undulating but nothing hilly. As it was nearly two laps you ran past the finish area on your first lap which was good too- lots of volunteers out clapping etc.

I got to use my new 250 band for the first time- I was so paranoid when I ordered it that I would have entered the incorrect barcode number, so I was very relieved when the results text came through!

89th venue visited and another very enjoyable one. There was a nice looking cafe (The Muddy Boots cafe- what a great name!) but I was heading back to breakfast with Andy.

Tesco Wicked Kitchen cinnamon roll for breakfast, sea views, massive lunch and the pretty stained glass window in the place we stayed in

We spent the rest of Saturday exploring various parts of Norfolk- a walk along the coast to see the seals, an NT place actually called Horsey Windpump (it’s actual name- a sort of windmill that pumped water from the land) and then back to Blicking for a late (and huge) pub lunch and a walk around the water and through the woods.

Walking through the woods and then a cosy cup of tea to warm up

So, event 89 visited and hooray that my 250 band scanned! Much easier than flipping over the blue one (as the barcode is now on the outside but ICE details are on the inside).

 

Harlow parkrun

During September I was mainly visiting Panshanger parkrun due to various factors (Dad being away so not visiting Jersey Farm, not having the car so needing to go to one I can get to on foot), but I also fancied a bit of tourism. I know I won’t be getting to my Cowell (100 different events) this year, but I am inching closer.

I was looking on the 5K app (now that the tourist tool seems to be gone) and noticed Harlow parkrun (not to be confused with Harrow parkrun). It isn’t new, but for some reason I had not scrolled in that direction before. It was around a 25 min drive so one weekend in September I headed off on a solo tourist trip.

It was very easy to find following the course page directions. The car park was right by the start- the car park is in a dip and the park is sort of around and above it, so I headed up and out (with the exit on my right) and saw the parkrun sign straight away. I was there fairly early so did a short warm up run but as it’s quite twisty I ended up going back on myself a bit.

The course sounded a little confusing, but it is basically two non identical laps, with the second lap being slightly shorter (and avoiding “the hill” of the golf course section (which isn’t in their winter course- a course that seemingly the regulars prefer). There was an out and back lollipop section too, but really just think of it as two laps. It was well signed and with lots of marshals.

It was a really good day weather wise- the beginning of autumn, so I took it fairly steadily and stopped for photos as I ran around. I can’t believe that I’d not been there before, as I think it’s been going on for a similar amount of time to Panshanger. Of course being able to run to a local one is fab, but this was a short drive.

So, my 88th venue visited. Slowly getting closer to the big 100 venues!

 

DLP August 2022

It’s always sad leaving Florida, but what helped this year was knowing we would soon be back in the Disney magic, with a Bank Holiday trip to DLP.

We got the Eurostar over (my fave way to travel), and stayed in a hotel in the Val D’Europe area (either one stop on the train or around 20 min walk from Disney).

The 30th anniversary celebrations were still going strong, although as it was warm they were only doing the extended parade (with a big dance section in front of the castle) in the morning, with the other parades just being the traditional ones that keep moving. They have the catchiest tunes there!

It was also the end of Princess Week so we got to see some additional princess parades. When we had been before the Marvel Campus had not opened, so it was good to wander around there and see the superheroes on the roof, sample the new ride and food in the new restaurants.

As it was warm and open for long hours we headed in early each day and then went back to the hotel for a rest in the afternoon before going back for the evening. This worked well and meant we managed all the rides that we wanted to visit, plus we got to see the parades a few times, plus of course the awesome drone show before the fireworks.

Parade finale, 30th celebration vegan panini, vegan stand in the studios and my winning score on the spiderman ride!

The food trucks were still in the studios too, so I was spoilt for choice with food options which is something I never thought I would say about France!

Dole whip, vegan chocolate cake, mocktail in our hotel and the 30th Starbucks mug

Of course we had plenty of Dole Whips (it was very warm in August), and had to have the vegan chocolate cake one day. Starbucks had the 30th mug in (it had been out of stock on our previous visits) so I was pleased to take one home as I do like those mugs- they are such a good size (huge) and stand up in the dishwasher well.

I was a little apprehensive about how I’d cope with the long days, as after avoiding covid for however long, I finally succumbed to it in the holidays and had it the week before we went to DLP (thankfully I tested negative really quickly)- it took a while to get my energy levels back after spending a few days totally in bed. I had packed my running kit, as I thought it was better to have it and not need it than wish I’d packed it, but as we ended up going in fairly early each day I took the kit home unworn.

The new Marvel campus is quite fun- there were random things happening like spiderman fighting on the roof of one of the buildings. One ride is a re-jig of the rock and rollercoaster (not something I would go on), but the other ride was really good fun- a bit like the Toy Story Mania in Florida-it had motion sensors so you had to wave your arms around and shoot the spider-bots. We finally found out that my arachnophobia is good for something as I got a much higher score than anyone else in the carriage!

Next up- spooky season!