Skip to main content

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

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

Popular posts from this blog

Rickmansworth parkrun

The area Rickmansworth is a small town near Watford, inside the M25. The town was built on the point three of waterways merging to form a major tributary for the River Thames further south. Rickmansworth Aquadrome, the host of today's parkrun, is a former quarry site which has been filled with water and stocked with fish, while the surroundings have been managed as a nature reserve. The stone excavated from the quarry was used in the construction of the former Wembley stadium. The course The course is lollipop shaped, starting with two laps of the woodland path, followed by a straight adjacent to the lake. The route is all on tarmac paths, and is flat throughout, though there are some areas where tree roots make the path slightly less smooth. There is free parking on site, while toilets and a cafe are available at the visitor centre, though the cafe can get very busy! The run The weather forecast predicted today to be another sunny day, similar to the weather ...
Read more

Brentwood parkrun

This week I decided to return to making more progress towards completing all events in Essex by visiting Brentwood. The area While the modern town of Brentwood is a popular commuter town, being served by the Elizabeth line, it is also where the first events of the Peasants Revolt took place. Locals refused to pay a poll tax imposed on them, and instead rioted, threatening to kill the commissioner trying to collect the tax. Word of these riots spread to the wider country, initiating the wider revolt, including at Littleport , Billericay and North Walsham . The town is surrounded by countryside, and in the west lies Weald Park; the remains of a former country estate. The park was originally considered as a possible location for the mountain biking course during the 2012 Olympics, before the committee ultimately decided that Hadleigh would prove a more challenging course. The course Owing to the wet weather, today's run followed an alternative route nicknamed "The B...
Read more

Castle Park parkrun

I had intended for this week's parkrunning to be at Great Dunnmow, but an ill-fated wrong turn onto the M11 and the resulting 30 minute diversion would have meant missing the start (assuming I could even park), and so I diverted at the last minute to Castle Park parkrun in Bishops Stortford, arriving at the start line at 08:57 - the closest I have ever been to missing the start! The area Bishop's Stortford, or just Stortford to locals, is located on the same A120 as Great Dunmomw, Great Notley , Markshall Estate , Colchester Castle and Highwoods parkruns , which roughly traces the route of the Roman road; Stanes Road from St Albans . The town is currently rated the best place to live in the UK. Castle Park is the site of Waytemore Castle, which was a motte and bailey castle built during the reign of William the Conqueror (though there is speculation the site is much older), though it is now ruined. The park also shares a number of similarities with Clare Castle parkrun...
Read more