Tag: vegan brunch

It was time for some more London parkrun tourism with Branka, and this one was going to fill a nice hole in our Voronoi maps. Brockwell parkrun is very close to Herne Hill station, which is on the Thameslink line, so I headed to St Albans to get on a direct train from there, meeting Branka at Herne Hill station.

You can pretty much see the park from the station, so we just had to walk into the park and locate the start, which was very simple. It was great to walk through the park so early- we could see lots of the central London skyline from the park, and on our way to the toilets saw the team wheeling their kit up to the start.

It was very windy so we had to hold the pop up while we took photos, but thankfully after what felt like a week of rain, the morning was fairly bright.

We left our bags on a bench inside a sort of shelter (it looked like an old concrete bus stop but it couldn’t have been as it was a traffic-free park), listened to the first timers welcome and then it was time to head down to the start line. They seemed to have a bit of trouble with people chatting during the run brief, even with their speaker system set up (and some people shouting “quiet!” to try to help), but we could just about hear the warnings against funnel ducking and the reminder to keep right rather than the more common left. They mentioned that they had received complaints from members of the public using the park at the same time, and so the compromise was to ensure that the parkrunners kept to the right so that some of the paths were clear for others.

After a few milestone announcements we realised that everyone was moving and the parkrun had started.

It’s pretty much a two lap course, with a little bit of extra in the first lap, and it’s undulating for sure. It is all on tarmac paths which was partly why we had chosen it (so many local runs to me are muddy and we just fancied finishing a parkrun without muddy socks). It was a really pretty park with lots to see on the way around, although I found the circular nature meant I totally lost my bearings. At one point on the first lap I noticed a lovely carved frog bench, and so on the second lap I got my phone out ready to take a photo, but I was so early I kept thinking I’d missed it.

The finish is pretty tough too, as you think all the hills are done but the short section into the finish funnel slopes uphill too. I was happy when I could stop!

The team had moved the pop up to the top of the hill (by the finish) rather than by the start line, so I got a few photos there as there was a lovely backdrop of London behind, plus some nice autumn colours and even a hint of blue sky.

We walked back to the station and popped into a bakery (there are plenty of very posh looking bakeries and cafes near the station) but nothing was labelled vegan and so I said to Branka that I’d get out the train at Kings Cross and head up to Angel to visit British Patagonia (a bakery and cafe that does the most amazing vegan pastries)- Branka decided to come too so we headed straight there. Angel also houses a Bird and Blend, so of course we popped in there on our way past. I had a matcha latte because I need some caffeine after I stop running.

We got the pastries to go, so luckily I had a cereal bar in my bag which I could have with my matcha for breakfast, and then I had pistachio pastry when I got home. Oh my goodness me they are delicious. (Top tip- they sometimes have bags of mixed pastries that are close to their sell-by date- I got one this time to pop in the freezer but they are always a good deal- the one I got had 3 or 4 pastries and was about £7).

Onto the map update:

It was very pleasing because after going to Dulwich and Peckham Rye, I had a little gap in the map, but going to Brockwell filled that one in. We didn’t get our results through until about 10:30 pm, and my placing was quite different to my token number, so I imagine the poor team had a few things to sort (even though they reminded people in the briefing not to funnel duck…).

That was parkrun 429 and location 146. Obviously with more events, Lon-DONE is one of those where the goal gets ever bigger, but this of course helped and was my 36th London event (out of 66 currently).

It does remind me that apart from getting up early (my St Albans train was about 7:15am) it can be really easy to do some London train tourism.

Up next? Well, who knows basically. I am not keen on making big plans at this time of year in case bad weather means loads of cancellations, although the peas do have a trip pencilled in for before the end of the year.

Stanborough parkrun started around a month ago, but due to various weekends away and parkrun touring, this was the week I managed to head there.

(Dad was keen to do his 100th different event soon, and we had originally planned Wendover Woods as a venue, but he had family coming over at 11am today so could not go far, which is why we went to WW last week and Stanborough this week)

Matching 100 tops for my dad, brother and me to celebrate!

It turned out to be an excellent week to visit, as loads of OH ladies were there, either volunteering or participating, and Branka and Holly could make this weekend so we planned brunch after as a belated birthday celebration for Holly.

As we were going out for brunch after, I took a rucksack with me as I wanted a jumper for after (and I was doing a tea swap with Branka), so the 2 mile run there was a bit of a run-walk where each time the rucksack got too annoying I would stop and walk! But it was lovely weather, not as cold as I was expecting, and I arrived nice and early at around 8:30. I think Stanborough is now marginally closer to home than Panshanger is, but I feel very lucky to have two events within running distance.

OH ladies pre parkrun and the three peas after!

The queue for the pop up was pretty big- I was called over for an OH ladies photo, but the rest of us decided to wait until after where it would be a bit quieter. Dad spoke to Jacqui (the RD) about his Cowell, but his name was already on the list (thanks to lovely Nicola- one of the ED’s -as she had already put his name down)- he was very chuffed to have his name mentioned at the start.

Soon the main briefing started (a big clap for my dad) and then we moved a few metres on to the start line. The course is very simple- 3 laps within the park:

Each lap began on a short slope, and then you were up running along a ridge with views down to the lake. I was regretting no sunglasses as the sun was shining right into my eyes as I ran up – not so easy to see the rabbit holes! You then turn right and have a lovely long gentle downhill, a sharp right (almost a u-turn) near the lake, and then run back along the bottom, finishing each lap with a gentle incline.

It really didn’t feel that the uphill matched the downhills in this route. It is all on grass, so after a few weeks of rain it will be more muddy and slippery, but this week was pretty perfect as it was firm enough that you were not sliding about, but not hard rutted earth that can be sore on the ankles.

I run through this park a lot on my runs anyway, but wasn’t expecting to like the course as much as I did. Of course the weather helped- it was a glorious autumnal day. But what really made it for me was all the people- I saw so many OH ladies (and hangers on e.g. partners/ family members), and it almost reminded me of Ellenbrook Fields as I felt like I was among friends.

I ran with Dad, a little way behind my brother, and had a good catch up. We considering the number of people participating (351) we didn’t see too many people overtaking us on our second (and their third) lap, however that was probably down to us chatting as we knew one of the barcode scanners was running first (hi Tim) and didn’t notice him passing us! If you were being overtaken on the ridge it is a bit narrow there, but we were down in the main part of the park where the paths were very wide so there was plenty of space.

After finishing, we took a few photos to celebrate his 100th location, but then they had to head off. Once the three peas had all finished, we visited the purple pop up together, and the started making our way into town for brunch. After Holly changed her shoes (a good idea- mine were muddy but I didn’t want to carry trainers in the rucksack too), Branka drove into town while Holly and I jogged up there. If you are thinking of visiting, the town centre is around a mile and a half from Stanborough, and after running uphill to the Gosling sports centre it’s a flat route from there and was very enjoyable to run and chat. There were a few potential brunch locations, and we opted for Megan’s. They do delicious vegan pancakes so I was a happy bunny, and they even brought out a birthday brownie for Holly! Holly was keen to see the Knife Angel sculpture (pictured below) as it is touring the country and will be in WGC until the end of October, so there was plenty to do during parkfaff time. A police officer said it would be going into storage after this month (I guess no town centres want it next to their Christmas trees) but would probably be back out touring in the spring.

All in all it was such a happy morning spent with friends and family- the best kind of parkrunday.

Pancakes, the knife angel and the fountain that is pink for breast cancer awareness month.

Voronoi update:

So that was parkrun 424 for me, and location 143. Queen of Herts is again achieved after having a gap when Stanborough started, and I am on event 26 of my tourist streak. I would very happily go back there, so it’s fab to now have two events that are so close. If you are visiting and planning on driving, I would recommend that you look closely at the parking information on the course page, as you need to register in advance via a link on their page or send an email (again the address is listed on the page) to avoid being charged for an entire day.

Up next? Well, I have one more week here before a bit more travelling, so of course now the temptation is to go to another event (not already in the streak)- local ones that are not already within my streak include Stevenage, Westmill, Leavesden, Henlow Bridge Lakes… But I might decide that going to a local one with friends will end up being more enjoyable and easier!

Who knows! Are you good at planning ahead or do you just see what you fancy each week?

I’ve been touring a fair bit recently, and this weekend was no different. Branka was achieving her Cowell (100 different parkrun events) and wanted to go to Egham as it was near to her uni. Dad was keen to come too as he is closing in on his Cowell too (this was his 93rd event), and after enjoying the trip last week, Mum came along too.

Holly and Branka were going to meet us there, but of course the weather forecast was not playing ball, with flash flooding and lightning predicted. I had originally planned to pick up my parents as they are on the way to the M25, but I asked Dad to drive so that I could check my phone in the car, as if Egham cancelled we would divert elsewhere. Dad was a bit apprehensive about us travelling that far when I got there, as he was (understandably) worried about flash flooding, but as the rain had not been too heavy by that time, and the lightning wasn’t then due until the afternoon, after a message from Holly about how the roads were OK, he was happy to go for it. The journey was OK, with some spray from vehicles and a few slower sections but nothing like we had expected.

The parking is next to the leisure centre, with friendly marshals pointing you to the overflow car park. The course page mentions that you have to cross a level crossing, which may be closed for up to ten minutes, so definitely factor that into your journey time. As we exited the motorway we could see the section of red road on google maps, but by the time we got there is was back to being blue, so it must have been closed during that time.

There are toilets in the leisure centre, but only 2 cubicles, so there was a bit of a queue which meant we missed some of the first timers welcome. Never mind, the RD (who was brilliant, very engaging) had us all chant “three, three, nearly two” to help us remember the laps. I was pretty convinced that I would get lost or go wrong, but it was fairly simple. At one point I ran past the start/finish area, and carried on straight (as there was a cone there) before realising I had to go right and go around the perimeter of the field, but with the volunteers there I don’t think they would have let me go off the route.

The first 3 laps were anti-clockwise laps of the field by the leisure centre, you then went under the motorway (through the “party tunnel”) and then did 3 clockwise laps of a little wooded area, before going back through the tunnel and doing basically 2 laps of the leisure centre field again. The “nearly” aspect is because you come out of the tunnel part of the way around the field. Dad quite liked that we did both clockwise and anti-clockwise laps, just like the M25 that we passed under. It was strange to hear the constant hum of the traffic- it really was quite noisy even with the thick row of trees between the park and the motorway.

I ran with Holly, with Dad going off ahead (not on purpose but he is a bit quicker and so naturally ended up further ahead), and Branka was parkwalking with one of her friends, Adam. I thought we would see them more during the course, but we passed them during our third lap of the first field, and that was all. Apparently Branka saw us at one point but we were too busy chatting (sounds about right). I only saw Dad when he had finished and we were doing our final lap of the leisure centre.

The first three laps had quite wide paths, so being overtaken was OK, but the wooded section was very narrow. I thought that we would have been finished being overtaken by that point, but in the woods we still had people coming up behind us, and we still overtook a few people too.

For a lapped course (and basically nearly 8 laps) it did not feel repetitive, and I agreed with Holly who said she enjoyed it a lot more than she had expected to. It was flat apart from a little downhill slope on the leisure centre laps, the wooded section had some tree roots to look out for, and there would be some shade on a hot day. The event team really shone though, they were all so friendly and this really added to the occasion.

After the horrendous forecast, the weather actually wasn’t too bad. There was some rain, but it wasn’t heavy for the most part. After I had scanned, I ended up chatting to Shelley, who I know on Insta (another With Me Now pod connection- and I saw later on that her friend Kel was also there), and then we saw Branka and Adam coming around so decided to join them on their final lap. I made sure I moved way over a long time before the finish funnel, but the timer volunteer still called over to me to check I had meant to avoid the funnel. (Side note- as mentioned above, the timer had a mini umbrella to cover the phone which was total genius!)

We chatted for a bit longer with some of the volunteers, and then headed into Egham for brunch. The leisure centre cafe looked nice (nicer than the one at Jubilee) but it was mainly coffee and cake, and we wanted breakfast food, so the Liberto Lounge had been chosen. It’s around half a mile away, so you could leave your car and walk in, but it was raining heavily by this point and so we drove and parked in the Tesco (this was what one of the volunteers recommended when we asked).

Leisure centre lap, the woods section, breakfast and everyone heading off at the start.

If you’ve not been, the Lounge chains are really good for mixed parties, as you scan a QR code at the table and order and pay, (or you can order at the bar)- this means no worries about splitting the bill or anything like that. They also have an entire vegan menu, and are good at catering for different dietary requirements. I opted for the avocado on toast, tea with oat milk, and I loved that the jug came with a little oat milk sticker on it as this is one of the things I am most paranoid about.

Holly and I gave Branka a Cowell notch (a gold one, as apparently that is rules!) to mark the occasion. It’s been fun to join in with so many of their touring adventures. We spent ages chatting (mainly about parkrun touring but also other topics), and later on were joined by Branka’s friend Ruth, who had been token sorting. It was a lovely laid back morning, and it had even stopped raining by the time we walked back to the car!

So that was my 412th parkrun, and 137th location. It doesn’t count towards the Lon-DONE challenge, but it does count towards the Lon-DONE+ (which is all the parkruns with a section of the voronoi map inside the M25…. yes those challenges are quite specific!). It does give me another nice purple chunk- you can see I am less likely to visit the parkruns close to Heathrow!

Up next- a holiday, so a few Saturdays will be parkrun-less for me, but I am hoping to repeat one while I am away (no new events).

As you may well know, I will never pass up an opportunity to go to Brighton, so when Holly said that she wanted to celebrate her Cowell (100 different parkrun events) in Preston Park in Brighton, I was very happy to tag along.

Holly and Branka had the Friday off, so headed down in the day – they were staying at a different hotel to me so I would meet them in the morning. Andy got the train from home, and I drove from work (as work is close to the M25 so I am part of the way there). Of course Friday traffic wasn’t great but I got in around 7pm, so time for us to order a pizza (Purezza- so good) and then enjoy a breezy walk by the sea.

The weather had been to hot locally, but in Brighton there was a lovely cool breeze so it was actually really enjoyable to cool down for a bit.

In the morning I jogged the mile from our hotel to Preston Park, arriving just after Holly and Branka. We had all worn our 100 milestones shirts in celebration!

Pop up photos, chatting, first timers welcome and before we knew it, it was 9! I decided to line up around the 28 minute mark as it’s a fast course, and I was pleased to finish in 28:12.

That was my 9th time there and just as enjoyable- it is a busy course now but the paths are wide and you don’t have a long time with runners passing you on their final laps.

We didn’t chat for too long after finishing, as I had an 11 o’clock check out and wanted to have a shower before we met for brunch. I had a bit of a dramatic jog back, as I passed a domestic disturbance outside some flats (with a lady and two kids shouting and crying that this guy in their flats had tried to hit her)- I ended up calling the non-emergency police number as I was not sure if she was on the phone to the police at that time too- it turned out not so then police were dispatched- I was glad I had called but it did make for a bit of a panic jog back to the hotel when I finally got off the phone. In the end I got back at 10:30 so I didn’t have long to shower and pack!

Then the three of us met up in Bill’s for brunch, where I found that they do vegan pancakes so of course that is what I had. We spent ages chatting about parkrun (and life, parkrun adventurer style), as always so good to spend time together catching up and making plans.

Holly and Branka were getting a train back after lunch, whereas I was staying all day, so after a little wander around the shops they headed off and I met up with Andy for our typical Brighton Saturday- a walk by the beach towards Hove, Bird and Blend visits and dinner at Oowee before driving back home.

What a fab 24 hours in Brighton!

Next weekend is a non-parkrun weekend as I am off to DLP, but after that I have a few more bits of touring to fit in before the summer holidays.