Skip to main content

Mildenhall Hub parkrun

This week I decided to make some more progress on the Fibonacci Sequence challenge by attending event number 5 of the new Mildenhall Hub parkrun!

The area

Mildenhall is a small market town located between Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. The modern town's population is heavily influenced by the two airforce bases located on the outskirts of the town, with up to a third of the town's residents being born in USA!

The town is also where the Mildenhall Treasure was discovered - a collection of Roman silverwar considered to be perhaps the most important and valuable Roman treasure find in Britain. Owing to its importance and value, the treasure is now on permanent display at the British Museum.

To the west of the town lies Mildenhall Hub, a newly built community centre, and host of this week's parkrun event!

Mildenhall Hub from the back

The course

One lap of the course follows an initial out-and-back section, followed a lap of the adjoining meadow, with runners following the route two and a half times (3 out-and-backs, but only two laps of the meadow. There are several surfaces throughout, with the majority being run on tarmac or grass, with a small amount of gravel, and it is very flat.

Free parking is available on site, and toilets as well as a cafe are available within the hub itself, as well as many other facilities.

The run

During today's run briefing, we were reminded that it is one year since parkrun's return, which seems like a very long time ago! As the event was so young, the First Timer's Welcome was delivered as part of the main briefing, so everyone could hear it, and from the number of shoutouts and milestones, there were a lot of tourists like myself who appreciated it!

Despite being a relatively simple course on paper, it is actually a very pleasant one to run, with the out-and-back section providing a chance to see other runners and cheer them on, and the lap of the meadow providing some very pleasing views over neighbouring fields.

Grass path around the meadow (right) with open fields (left)

Thank you to the volunteer team for a great event - it was hard to tell that this was only the 5th event; everything went so smoothly!

After the run

Unfortunately, I only had limited time to explore my destination today, and so after the event, I followed the River Lark eastwards towards Thetford Forest Park.

The River Lark

Along the river, I encountered the town's beacon, which was likely last used during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee earlier in the year.

Mildenhall town beacon with coat of arms

Thetford Forest Park is located on the western boundary of Thetford Forest. As I discovered when I first visited Brandon Country Park parkrun, as with much of the rest of the forest, the park is made up of a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees planted on the grounds of former flint extraction facility.

Deciduous and coniferous trees in Thetford Forest Park

The site has been used for farming rabbits since the 1300s, with the 600-year-old Mildenhall Warren Lodge being one of only two warren lodges dating from this time remaining in the area.

Mildenhall Warren Lodge

While at the Warren Lodge, I was reminded of the fact there are multiple air bases near by, with multiple planes landing within short succession of each other.

Links: Results | Strava

Labels:
Location: Sheldrick Way, Mildenhall, Bury Saint Edmunds IP28 7JX, UK

Popular posts from this blog

Coldham's Common parkrun

As my recovery from injury is still underway, I decided that I would attend a flat course this week to avoid any potential for reaggrevation. Unfortunately this means I will need to pause my completion of the Essex events, as the remaining courses are all somewhat lumpy. Having visited all of the other Cambridge parkruns, including Storeys Field parkrun, Fulbourn Hospital parkrun, and Cambridge parkrun knowing that they are all relatively flat, I decided that this week I would complete the Cambridge set. The area Coldham's Common has a long history, serving as both a hospital during the 17th century smallpox outbreak, and a quarry during the 19th century, as well as a rifle range also during the 19th century. The course The route follows two laps of the perimeter of the common through an hour-glass shape, connecting two fields through a five-bar-gate. The course is all on grass, and is all flat. Limited parking is available nearby, while toilets are available in
Read more

Aldenham parkrun

Icey conditions in days leading up to parkrun day meant many events were cancelled this week. While I would have ideally been able to visit another event in Essex, I decided that I valued having options more in the event of cancellation this week, and so I instead headed to the cluster of events surrounding the Watford area. The area Aldenham Country Park is located near Watford, and centres on Aldenham reservoir, with grassland and woodland surrounding the reservoir itself. The reservoir was excavated by French prisoners of war during 1795 as part of the wider management of the Grand Union Canal's water levels, and now serves as a reserve water supply. In addition to the reservoir, the country park also supports the breeding of a number of rare species of farm animals, including cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep. The course The course follows two laps of the reservoir, with the second lap skipping the inner peninsular. The course is flat, and is run mainly on trail pat
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