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Ipswich parkrun

This week, I am in need of an "I" event. Fortunately enough, even though there are only 5 "I" events in England, one is in the East of England - Ipswich! As this was also the halloween event, the event team asked runners to wear orange and black, or fancy dress!

The area

Ipswich is the oldest English town, and able to trace its history to the 5th century. Owing to its age, the town has a very rich history, which is evidenced in the buildings in the town centre.

Chantry Park is the grounds of the Chantry House mansion, and is the largest public greenspace in Ipswich. The site opened to the public in 1928, after it was acquired by the council following ultimately unsuccessful plans to develop the site. The mansion is now the home of a neurological care charity.

Chantry House from the front

The course

The route is run mostly on grass, with some sections on trail and tarmac. Runners begin with a lap around the cricket pitch before setting off on a very well marshalled route around the grounds of the park. The GPS trace of the event suggests the route is more complicated than it felt on the day.

Free parking is available within Chantry Park, toilets are located near the playground, while a cafe is located close to the mansion.

The run

It was a wet start to the morning, with lots of rain prior to the run. Fortunately, the weather didn't dampen our spirits, and many runners turned out in fancy dress, or just in halloween themed clothes.

Ian running, wearing halloween coloured clothes

The run was actually quite a challenging one - a combination of the rain making the grass more difficult to run on, extra mud, and the course was also more lumpy than expected for the grounds of a mansion house, which I have found to be typically rather flat. The hill towards the end definitely sapped any remaining energy from the legs!

Thanks to all of the volunteers for a very fun event, even if the rain did try to dampen our spirits.

After the run

I explored the town centre after parkrun, making a point to find the Ancient House along the way.

The Ancient House

As the rain had also eased off by the time I returned to the park, I also took the opportunity to better explore Chantry Park itself. To the side of the house lies a pond with a statue dedicated to world peace.

Lily pond at the side of the Chantry

Further around the house lies the formal garden, with an excellent view of the house.

The formal gardens, with the Chantry in the background

Links: Results | Strava

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Location: Chantry Park, Hadleigh Rd, Ipswich IP2 0BS, UK

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