Oriam parkrun

Posted on June 28, 2026 by lindaharley

parkrun #415 event#117

Reason for visit: – attending the launch of the rebrand of the https://rscds.org/ in lovely Edinburgh. I’d already done Edinburgh, Portobello and Holyrood, and this one, based at Heriot Watt University, was on the way to EDI for my return flight on Saturday afternoon.

Access:

The University is well served by frequent buses, with a bus stop right beside the Oriam Sports Centre. I got a taxi (£20), but make sure you tell the driver where to go – one runner arrived 10 minutes after the start time because his taxi had left them at a different building. He still managed to catch the tail walker! I made the onward journey to the airport by bus and tram.

Facilities:

The spaceship like sports centre has lots of clean loos, as well as showers and lockers. But you’ll need your own padlock to use those, as they are not coin operated. You can hire a towel, and even buy toiletries.

The cafe sells a good variety of coffees as well as Bovril (a very Scottish thing), and snacks and crisps. There are a few seats inside, and plenty of picnic tables outside, complete with QR codes to scan and order. Start and finish is at the same spot in the walled garden, so it’s safe to leave a bag (at owners risk).

Course:

It’s an out and back with a few twiddly bits. Mostly on forest trail paths – watch out for any presents left by horses! Very well marshalled.

Crowd:

Uni types, plus Mums and Dads visiting their college offspring. Very dog friendly, though buggies might struggle with the terrain. I chatted to a park walker (also called Linda) and her dog Scout (same as my uncle Sid’s, and named after To Kill a Mocking Bird)

Time:

I’m still mostly walking, and I’d been a little unnerved by some of the previous results that there didn’t seem to be many walkers. But here was a good bunch of us on my visit, including a cheery Tailwaker dishing out fruit pastilles. I got round in well under an hour.

Gear:

I was en route to the airport, so was carrying my handbag with me. Black trousers, Saucony trainers, Jog Lisburn top, 250 volunteer buff and light rain jacket. This had proved woefully inadequate for the non stop Friday rain, so much so that I’d had to by a waterproof bucket hat. But the Saturday was warm and sunny, so I ended up carrying my coat most of the way.

And the rest:

The rebrand launch was very good, and has received much positive feedback. I stayed in the Thistle Hotel, nice and quiet but still very handy for the West End. The World Cup was on, I didn’t want to reveal that I had drawn Morocco in the work sweepstake, given that they were playing Scotland that night – I’d hoped to watch the match in my hotel room rather than a noisy pub, but the TV wasn’t working. The plane was full of burly farmers attending the Highland Show. On the way home, the usual airport lounges (Escape, Aspire) were full, but my Priority Pass card got me into the Turkish Airlines lounge, which was absolutely lovely. My Ryanair plane sat for an hour on the tarmac before getting going, and as I was in row 2 I though I stood a fair chance of getting a glass of wine from the trolley. But the stewardess informed me that they don’t serve alcohol on UK flights. I’m fairly sure this is not true, but I wasn’t going to argue. It was possibly something to do with the farmers, not that I’m casting nasturtiums….

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Pomeroy Forest parkrun

Posted on June 9, 2026 by lindaharley

parkrun#414 event #116

Reason for visit – attending a dance event in nearby Desercreat, and ticking off the newest babies in the NI stable.

Access:

Pomeroy forest is pretty much bang in the centre of Northern Ireland, so you are definitely going to be driving some windy country roads! No public transport options, sadly, but there is plenty of car parking spaces.

Facilities:

There’s a shiny new visitor centre with clean toilets. I was able to change for my dance event in comfort. A little cafe, Woodies, in the courtyard supplies coffee, buns, crisps etc. It was a really rainy morning when I visited and shelter was hard to come by, even under the umbrella tables.

Crowd:

I was there at event number 3, so the hardy regionnaire chasers were out in force, But there were still less than 70 participants in total, the remoteness saving them from being overrun. Lots of dogs, they do seem to love a forest run.

Course:

2 laps with a bit of an out and back. Plenty of marshals on the route, as well as helpful signs. There’s a bit of a hill towards the end of the lap, and the surface is all forest path. The forest is home to some amazing wooden sculptures depicting fairy tales and legends, definitely one to bring the grandkids to! Oh, and lovely views over the Mid Ulster countryside.

Gear:

I was in my blue Hokkas, windproof trousers, and black rain jacket, with cow bobble hat. Despite the rain there were also lots of midges, so insect repellent would have been a bonus.

Time:

I was jogging the downhills and walking the ups, so was quite happy with a time of about 54 minutes.

And the rest:

Still not a regionnaire – Claudy still to be ticked off, and there are no doubt a few more in the pipeline. I went into Cookstown afterwards, a nice big wide main street to explore, where I found a bargain pair of baseball boots!

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parkrun tourism: Lough Head

Posted on March 24, 2026 by lindaharley

parkrun#410 event#114

Sometimes things just fall your way – a Saturday where I wasn’t working, had access to the car, and the sun was shining. Time to reclaim my regionnaire status and head to Lisnaskea in beautiful Fermanagh.

Access:

The course is run at Lough Head nature walk just on the outskirts of the village.

Facilities:

Plenty of car parking, I didn’t see any loos onsite.

Crowd:

I was at event number 23 and came in just ahead of the tailwalker taking position token 47. They had over 100 on New Years Day, but the average attendance is around 50. Dog and buggy friendly.

Course:

The usual course is a 2 lap figure of 8, but due to ongoing construction work the course I ran was 4 laps of the nature walk. Gravel all the way, flat apart from the odd culvert. Lots of pleasant views and birdsong.

Time:

I was trotting along with Toby, stopping to take photos, and playing parkrun trumps with the voluntoruing tailwalker. Happy enough with my time of 52 minutes.

Gear:

I was trialling my amusing “Saturday Running Club” sweatshirt that I’d recently got on Vinted. Fine for walking, bit too warm when running. Cow bobble, Saucony trainers.

Afterwards:

There are a number of cafes in town, but none of them dog friendly. Instead we stopped at Unhitched in Augher, for some excellent coffee and their famous cheese toasties. Note – one of these is enough to split between 2, and then you would have room for one of their tasty looking traybakes. Fancy stuff like overnight oats also available.

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parkrun tourism: Largs prom

Posted on February 18, 2026 by lindaharley

parkrun #408 event#113

Reason for visit – trying a weekend away with Toby!

Access:

We took the ferry to Cairnryan and drove up the lovely Ayrshire coast. Largs is well served with buses and trains, so public transport is an option as well.

Facilities:

Parking is available at the Vikingar museum complex – there’s even a couple of electric charge points, which we made use of. There are public toilets near the Fishworks, 40p, tap your card.

Course:

It’s up and down the prom 3 and a bit times, dead flat, with a “keep left” advisory and watch out for other prom users, especially dog walkers. Turnaround point is by the Fishworks restaurant, and a visit to this award winning establishment is highly recommended! When we visited the weather had turned from being grey and dreich, to being sunny but icily cold. This meant a rather spectacular background, with the snowy peaks of Arran behind the closer island of Cumbrae, the ferry going back and forth.

Crowd:

It’s a fairly small event – I was finisher 60, and I’d been doing most of the course with the tailwalker. But there were some visitors form Manchester and other parts of Scotland. I was delighted to discover when the infographics summary was produced that I was the runniest runner! Friendly and welcoming volunteers.

Time:

We’d set off at a pleasant jog, keeping up with some of the other canine participants. But. One of the things I’d been worried about Toby was that he is such a creature of habit, always goes potty in the same spot in the garden, never when out on a walk, that I hoped he’d be able to find somewhere suitable in this foreign land. So when the moment happened during our run, I was happy enough to stop and clean up. And then 10 minutes later, another one! And then a full 5 minute pee. By this point the tail walker (and gorgeous dog Charlie) had caught up with us, so we spent the rest of the run chatting together. So my time of 50 minutes was OK I reckon!

And the rest:

We absolutely loved Largs, with its many dog-friendly establishments. The Haylee Hotel couldn’t do enough for us, and the Anchor Inn, with its roaring fire and Toby curled up under the table was the picture perfect weekend away setting. Toby took most of his new experiences in his stride – the Pet Lounge on the ferry, sleeping in his travel crate, getting in a lift, but the ferry stairs with their open treads were just a bit too scary (hence the lift). They were OK going down, mind.

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parkrun tourism: Greenwich peninsula

Posted on January 27, 2026 by lindaharley

My Event #406, location #112

The newest baby in London, this one has fantastic views of the river, and circumnavigates the iconic O2 arena, formerly the Millennium Dome.

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/greenwichpeninsula/

Access:

Public transport is pretty good across London, even early on a Saturday morning, and even with disruption on the Tube! You can get to North Greenwich on the Jubilee line, but since it wasn’t running that weekend I caught the 188 bus from Aldwych. It takes an hour so give yourself time. I find the City Mapper app invaluable in situations like these.

Crowd:

I was expecting huge numbers as many runners like to complete their Londone status, and the first few weeks had seen 600-900 finishers. But it was a bitterly cold morning and I was one of only 360 hardy souls. There were a few who joined me on the bus, and when we alighted at North Greenwich we were able to spot many others in cow cowells, alphabet sweatshirts, and milestone Tees. We dutifully and patiently queued to have the compulsory photo by the pop up sign. And gave an enthusiastic round of applause to those doing their first ever parkrun.

Shortly after my visit, neighbouring Victoria Dock announced that it was suspended indefinitely, so a lot of their regulars will no doubt cross the Thames to this one instead.

Gear:

I was woefully underdressed, missing my gloves most of all! And very glad of my cow bobble hat. Road shoes recommended.

Course:

There’s an out and back, then a longer out and back, so a pretty strict “keep left” instruction is reiterated frequently. It’s dead flat, all on concrete, but the sharp 180 degree turns at each of the turnaround points need a bit of slowing of pace.

There are lots of large outdoor works of art along the route, which is one of only a few that crosses the Greenwich Meridian, meaning you are running in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The views of the London skyline are fantastic, and you have the cable car and planes overhead.

Such big crowds and a narrow course mean a very long finish funnel, created with a lot of yellow string.

Time:

I was jeffing, and stopping for photos, so I was pleased enough with a time of 46 minutes in position 344. And lookit, I completed the Staying Alive challenge, that I hadn’t even been aiming for!

And the rest:

I was in town for Paddington the Musical, which is astoundingly good – see it if you can, but it’s heavily sold out, and eye wateringly expensive. But I also got to see my daughter’s new place, which is handily a stone’s throw from here, so I may well revisit in the near future.

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parkrun tourism: Belvoir Forest

Posted on October 17, 2025 by lindaharley

parkrun #401 event #111

My current NENDY, and a lovely one to tick off!

Sadly Knockbracken Reservoir parkrun ceased to be earlier this year, but the team were quick to identify a suitable nearby location in order to keep momentum going for local runners.

Access:

It’s in the Belfast metropolitan area, so there are buses (Metro 6c and d) that operate nearby. Car parking is recommended at the Boys Brigade hall, rather than the closer playground park or Belvoir Activity Centre, in order to keep the spaces there for those users.

It’s a bit of a walk to the start line, so make sure you leave plenty of time! But I got a 6d at 10.40 afterwards which was perfectly timed.

Facilities:

Loos in the activity centre. The team currently seem to be providing tea and coffee afterwards in the playpark car park, but that may be temporary. Start and finish are in the same area, so find a tree for your jacket!

Course:

It’s one small lap and 2 large ones (which also incorporate the first small one). It’s one of those courses which seems to be all uphill, even though I know that’s a geographical impossibility! Keep the River Lagan to your left, do not cross over the river! The paths are typical forest terrain, packed gravel, watch out for puddles and squidgy grass.

It’s quite a narrow start – runners are encouraged to self seed and place themselves in the appropriate area. There’s an important crossroads point, well manged by cowbell wielding volunteers. And you run past the ancient Belvoir Oak, as well as many other fabulous trees and forest life.

Crowd:

I was there at event 4, along with 170 others. So I would expect it’ll even out around the low 100s. It’s rather volunteer heavy, that might be an issue in winter months. Great one for dogs, a bit tricky for prams or wheelchairs.

Gear:

I was tailwalking in my windproof trews, world tourist jacket and jog Lisburn hat. I also had a backpack on as I was heading downtown afterwards. Blue Hokkas. Could have done with walking poles!

Strangely Appropriate Song:

I don’t use headphones when I’m tail walking in case I need to be on the alert for urgent safety messages. But that cowbell at the crossroads was a great indicator of where I was. So here’s my favourite song featuring a cowbell.

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=couldnt+get+it+right+video&&mid=F5A311B8204B10F9B14BF5A311B8204B10F9B14B&mcid=DD89E45304E54884AC237E5588560F1F&FORM=VAMGZC

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parkrun tourism: Newry Greenway

Posted on August 23, 2025 by lindaharley

parkrun #398 event #110

Regionnaire Regained!

Now the past couple of years, a part time job in tourism, coupled with being a one-car family, has seriously hampered my regular parkrun attendance. So it’s with great elation when I discover that I have a day off work AND access to the car, and oh lookee, there’s one left of the newest crop of Norn Irn runs that I need. AAAAND, it’s a letter N which I need for my Namely challenge. So off to Newry I went!

Access:

Newry is well connected by the A1 dual carriageway, and the directions on the parkrun website plus the postcode (BT34 2EQ) will guide you through the city’s one way cobbled streets to get close to the start. There’s plenty of on street parking (2 hours for £1.60) as well as a number of handy carparks. The Buttercrane Shopping Centre is also nearby.

Public transport is less easy – the train station is 2km outside town, and the first Goldliner bus from Belfast arrives at 9.30. Mind you, the bus station is very handy to the start line so if you do arrive this way then it’s a short hop, skip and a jump.

Crowd:

I was there on their 13th event, and there were just over 100 runners. Plenty of folk walking, pushing buggies, and running with furry friends. Chatted to a few folk I’d met before, but didn’t spot any other cow cowls.

Course:

Dead easy out and back along the side of the canal. Flat all the way, packed gravel surface. There’s a friendly marshal at the turnaround point who might even take your photo.

Gear:

The weather was fine, quite warm but no too hot, with a slight dampness in the air. I was in my grey skirty calf lengths, I think they are really a tennis garment, but I like them for comfort. Rarely worn 250 T shirt, because the numbers are peeling off. Sauconys. Zippy waist pocket which is too small for my phone, but I was carrying my phone taking photos so that didn’t matter.

Facilities:

Toilets at the market, or the shopping centre. Coffee afterwards at Courtneys, though I opted for Krem, where an americano and a granola bar cost me the very non-Belfast price of £4.50.

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:

I’ve got out of the habit of running with music, but I had dug out my Aftershox and charged them up for today. I was doing a “jeffing” approach of run for 20 seconds, walk for 20 seconds, but when running with music I up that to 32 bars, as anything else messes with my inbuilt musical qi. Lots of Eurovision songs came up, these are great for running to as they are 3 minutes long, usually upbeat and in neat 8 bar phrases. But I laughed out loud when Vangelis Chariots of Fire appeared.

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Podcast glory

Posted on August 23, 2025 by lindaharley

Now this might be a bit of an ouroboros, in that it’s a blog post about a podcast interview I gave about writing a blog.

Alan Ladd, a sports coach and nutritionist, broadcasts a weekly podcast, https://www.therunningrules.com/ covering all sorts of information connected with all sorts of running. I was flattered when he asked if he could interview me about this here parkrun blog, given that I’m coming up to my 400th run. I’m episode 133 if you’re interested.

Over a zoom call we chatted for more than an hour about milestones, how I started running, how I put the blog together, parkrun disasters, and advice for newbies. After the call I thought – I didn’t even get to talk about cow cowls, or dressing up, or cakes, or the many wonderful friends I have made along the way! But he was well jel of my Milestone Running Buddy, which does take pride of place on my kitchen windowsill.

It was a very enjoayable experience, I did manage to forget that I was being recorded, and just rabbit on. I could indeed talk parkrun until the cows come home.

Now I’d better go find my I’verunallthenornirnparkrunssoIhave T shirt and update its buttons, and think about what I’m going to wear for my arbitrary 400th….

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parkrun tourism: Victoria Dock

Posted on July 24, 2025 by lindaharley

parkrun#395 event #109

Reason for visit: seeing the fab-u-lous Jemima Brown in Midsummer Night’s Dream!

Access:

OK, I am notorious for being beset by travel problems, and this weekend had them writ large. Flight out on Friday afternoon (Belfast City to Luton) was delayed by an hour because of French air traffic control strike (meant the incoming plane had to take a longer route), but the airport link and train were all pretty good, and I got to London Bridge about 7, time to find my hotel (Premier Inn on Tower Bridge Road), check my route to the Bridge Theatre, chat to security guy Dominic to see where the stage door was and where I might get some flowers, get some pink roses, deposit them at stage door, and go for a kick ass Bloody Mary at The Ivy in time to see Jemima’s post that she had received the bouquet.

Saturday morning should have been a short stroll to Tower Gateway to catch the DLR, but when I got there the barriers were down, and staff told me I’d need to get a replacement bus. Hmmm, choices. Abandon parkrun and go back to hotel for a leisurely breakfast and shower? Walk to previously done parkrun tourism: Southwark? Or put my big girl pants on and find the replacement bus? I mean, how hard can it be?

Finding bus stop L was a bit of a puzzle, if you are ever looking for it it’s tucked inside the bus depot. But safely aboard I enjoyed the ride through “Call the Midwife”‘s Poplar, before alighting at Canning Town. Where I found lots of other parkrunners, and we all made the one more stop to Royal Victoria, from where you can practically see the start line.

Course:

This part of the river is heavily used by other sporty types, so the usual route as described on the web page was not feasible today. Instead we were running an out and back 3 times. Dead flat, but the surface is a bit cobbled. With all that out and backing you’ll have runners going in both directions, so a fairly strict keep left instruction is in force. London City airport is nearby, so there are frequent planes passing overhead.

Facilities:

No loos, though there are a few cafes etc dotted around for parkfaff – I had to dash off to get back and changed ready for the afternoon matinee. The start area is right beside the cable car, although it currently doesn’t start before 9 am. I ruled it out as a return journey option as I assumed it would be taking me out of my way – actually it would have joined me up with the Jubilee line so I really should have looked at a map….

Crowd:

I’d chatted to a South African runner with a 50 venues T shirt on – no, I had no matches. And then someone approached me cos of my cow cowl and said, you’re not local I take it, where are you from? When I said “Norn Irn” she said – you’re Linda aren’t you! It was none other than Cathy, who I’d met before at the NI Cowfest , also in town for a thing. I mean, it’s London, there’s always something on, so this is a big tourist friendly event. Lovely encouraging volunteers, well marshalled course. Lots of dogs!

Time:

Still hobbling and shuffling rather than running, so 50 minutes and some seconds was perfectly respectable.

Gear:

Cow cowl, With Me Now T, blue hokkas.

And the rest:

My baby sister, who resides in Oz, was also in town this weekend, so we managed to squeeze in a quick catch up over coffee, before she queued to get returns to the play wot she wrote her dissertation on.

Well Jemima is just stunning, if you get a chance to see Midsummer Night’s Dream before 20 August 2025, then go there!

My journey home on the Sunday (Stansted to International) saw me getting a bus to Liverpool Street, where there were many signs about the perils of taking the Stansted Express. But look, on the departures board there’s a Greater Anglia train, the livery of the train is GA, and the wifi on board is provided by GA. So I was rather taken aback when arriving at Stansted I was forced to pay a £50 fine as – no madam, that was in fact the Stansted Express. The fact that there was a fully staffed desk and a queue of 20 people in the same position as me reassures me this was not just me being dumb. And they were indicating on the fine ticket how you could lodge a claim. (I have lodged a claim, it has been rejected).

Boarded the plane, in the rain, stairs rolled away, and the pilot comes on to tell us that yes, it’s raining so heavily that air traffic have restricted the number of take offs to 11 per hour, and we are number 29 in the queue. So another 90 minutes was spent on board before take off ….

Seriously, never travel with me!

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parkrun tourism: Loughmacrory

Posted on June 23, 2025 by lindaharley

parkrun #393 location #106

No fewer than 4 new parkruns have started up in Norn Irn in recent weeks, so getting round them all when I work part-time and don’t often have access to a car on Saturday mornings is proving challenging. But lo and behold – a work free Sat, an available vehicle, and the sun was shining! Time to head west for the rather remote but beautiful Loughmacrory.

Access:

The sat nav took me down some very hairy twisty country lanes, often meeting a tractor head on. It might be less scary to stick to more main roads and go via Omagh, though that would make the journey longer. 54 miles from me, so an hour and a bit’s drive. The postcode given on the parkrun page will take you there, and it’s wasy to spot the GAA club.

Facilities:

Plenty of parking, though it does get more congested as the morning wears on. Loos available. Post parkrun coffee in The View, where to my delight they had a delicious selection of overnight oats – for a non meat eater I always sigh at the usual parkrun special offer on bacon butties. My ONO and iced latte was definitely not-Belfast prices, costing just £5-20.

Course:

2 laps of the GAA pitch, then 2 laps of the Lough. It is absolutely beautiful – tree lined around the waters edge which was a blessing in the hot sun, and fairly flat.

Crowd:

Even though it’s still a baby (I was there at event 7), they are not overrun with tourists. I walked round with the tail walker and came in at position 41. There were a few of my Jog Lisburn stable mates there, and couple of rarely spotted 500 T shirts. And 3 dogs. I do worry that they might struggle for volunteers during the winter months.

Gear:

It was a warm day. I opted for capri pants and my With Me Now T shirt, Saucony trainers.. Cow cowl of course, and sweat wristband. Sunglasses, though it was thankfully a bit overcast during the run time.

Time:

That was a fairly brisk walk, at 52:38, and we were not the only ones walking. Results were processed by the team in the cafe, and were very quickly sent out.

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