parkrun tourism: Portobello

Posted on March 28, 2023 by lindaharley

parkrun #336 event#91

Reason for visit – celebrating the centenary of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society! The www.https://rscds.org is headquartered in Edinburgh, and was holding a fabulous Ball in the Assembly Rooms.

Access:

My journey to the city was, as usual, fraught with difficulties. I’d originally booked with FlyBe, about 2 days before they went into administration. So I rebooked with Easyjet going out, and Ryanair coming back. And then Ryanair cancelled THAT flight. So, feeling a bit guilty about my carbon footprint, I booked myself onto the rail-and-sail option. Except there were road closures just north of Cairnryan, and the long diversion meant that my bus was just pulling up to the ferry terminal as the boat was setting off. Note to travellers, there is NOTHING to see or do at Cairnryan, so make sure you have a book or magazine, and a handy snack, just in case.

I was staying at the Premier Hub just behind Waverley Station, which was a good central location. I did take a taxi to the parkrun to make sure I got to the right place on time (not always an infallible plan, see parkrun tourism: Beeston). And I got to Figgate Park in plenty of time to have a wander and try to take some photos, though my phone camera was playing up. Remember that Scottish parkruns start at 9-30! It was simple enough to find a bus to take me back to the city afterwards.

Course:

The course is all on tarmac paths, 3 laps of the rather linear shaped park around the lake and burn. No hills to speak of. Volunteers hold up expected finish times at the start line, so that some self seeding takes place as it is quite narrow.

Crowd:

There were 2 other cow cowl wearers, so we had fun comparing stories and adventures. The RD for the day was originally from Belfast – bout ye! A couple of buggies and dogs weaved their way through the youngish crowd.

Time:

I didn’t have headphones with me, so I was using a rough guide to “walk a minute, run a minute” by counting to 60 (for the runny bits) and to 30 (for walking), in English, French, Spanish and German. And I skip-changed over the finish line at just over 47 minutes.

Gear:

It was a dreich morning, so my MVP was my world tourist rainproof jacket, a lovely turquoise layer that handily folds into its own pocket and clips around the waist. It also provides a good talking point. I was very glad I had gloves and a headband, and my winter trousers which have an extra bit at the front of the thighs for warmth. I wore my Saucony trainers – road shoes for this one.

Facilities:

There are NO loos in the park, so make sure you go before you leave. The nearest cafes are on the charming promenade, where I tucked into a haggis roll and an Irish cream latte from the Crumbs kiosk. The beach stretches as far as the eye can see, with dogs cavorting up and down, living their best life.

And the rest:

The whole weekend was rather splendid, travel woes aside. It did mean I could carry home my limited edition centenary bottle of scotch. And my feet have just about recovered from 2 evenings of dancing to some fabulous live music, with friends from all over the world.

All my parkruns:

NI (and other) parkruns: summary list

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parkrun tourism: Holyrood

Posted on August 18, 2022 by lindaharley

parkrun #315 location#85

Reason for visit: en route to St Andrews Scottish Country Dance summer school

I’m sure other parkrun tourists do the same when booking accommodation – have the parkrun events page open on one browser, with a map searching for BnBs on another, trying to find a close match. When I’d booked my Edinburgh Air BnB a few months back, I’d thought it was close to Portobello. But when I arrived it was going to be a bit of a journey to get there, and anyway, the new kid on the block had started just 3 weeks previously in Holyrood. And it was a simpler option.

Must get me one of these! You can decide whether I mean the tartan skort or the big dog.

Access:

The course takes place in Holyrood park, which is very close (walking distance) to the city centre and the foot of Royal Mile. A number of buses have stops nearby, all set out on the event’s course page. Buses take contactless payments, and I found the range and frequency of routes to be very user friendly.

Course:

The course is just one lap, starting and finishing near the same point close to St Margaret’s Loch. It is all on tarmac roads. The first 2 km is a steady uphill climb, before it levels off round the far side of the hill, and then a glorious 2 km downhill. You could be quite canny about your racing line here if chasing a PB – stick close the the inner side of the circuit, but take the shorter straight line when the path curves.

The views are nothing short of spectacular, and there was even a swirl of the bagpipes to be heard carried on the morning breeze.

Watch out for other users, particularly cyclists.

Crowd:

As a newcomer, situated in a capital city, this is going to be a big attraction for tourists. The inaugural attracted over 500, and there were 400 and something when I visited at their event number 4.

Despite this I saw no other cow cowls, and even though I was wearing a WMN top, I got no “Dolly or Bev?” “Arbitrary!” exchanges.

Good range of ages and run times, and plenty of dogs.

Gear:

Zippy run belt held my phone, keys, and emergency fiver.

I wore my grey “is it fancy dress” WMN top, and grey skirty capri pants. Cow cowl, headband and sunglasses. Saucony trainers – road shoes are fine for here, tarmac surface all the way.

Time:

I’m nursing a problem heel at the minute, and walked the uphill section, but was quite impressed with my time of 43-06, which was faster than I’d done Crystal Palace in a few weeks ago.

After:

I had a lovely cappuccino and croissant in the Holyrood Cafe, which has lovely clean loos, and a fresh water station. There is also a cafe in the Holyrood government building nearby.

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:

I was running without music, listening to the birdsong, and that bagpipe air drifting across from the town.

And the rest:

It was great to be back at Summer School after the Covid-pause, though my heel wasn’t improved by all that hopping and the long walks between venues.

All my parkruns:

Link NI (and other) parkruns: summary list

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parkrunDANCER

Posted on September 23, 2017 by lindaharley

I was inspired by a member of parkrun tourists UK, who had enjoyed an ice cream after each parkrun, often a cornetto.  And who posted photos, often with the hashtag #parkruncornetto.  Even though his mates teased him about this being a “thing”!

And so he decided to run a series of parkruns that would spell out “parkruncornetto”.  And when he had accomplaished this, his mates presented him with a T shirt suitably emblazoned with “#parkruncornetto – it’s a thing!”

Heading into summer 2017, I knew I was visiting Scotland, and the United States.  So I looked at the parkruns I might be able to visit during those trips, as well as some near events that had missing letters of my alphabet.  This gave me Edinburgh,  Crissy Field (in San Fran) and Navan.  With a bit of creative thinking I could see that I could spell, using other locally available letters, DANCER.  I’ve been a dancer all my life, with a core of ballet, but also incorporating tap, salsa, and line dancing, and most recently have thrown my devotion to Sottish Country Dancing, where I’m hoping to become a qualified teacher.

Sooooooo…offf we went. In order to have the word read correctly on event history, they have to be run in reverse order.  So first up was local run Rostrevor!  I’d run it before at Christmas time, but didn’t manage to beat my previous time.  But I did meet a guy who asked “Were you on a double decker bus 30 years ago?” who turned out to be  BBC film maker who interviewed me and Ronan….

Loved Edinburgh, took the slow coach bus down from St Andrews along the Fife coast, just magical.  My E for Emily girl, who I found in the new runners briefing, went on to be second lady!

I found the waiting, the gap bewteen letters, to be enoormously frustrating.  I did a bit of volunteering at my home run, Wallace, but getting out of the routine of Saturday means parkrun was discombobulating.

Off to the States for our super dooper trip that we’d been planning for years, including running Crissy Field parkrun in San Fran.  Which I learned, 2 days before, had been cancelled!  aaargh, but hey ho, and I could re-schedule…..

Back in NI, I’d toyed with running my NENYD at Castleblayney, but a Saturday dancing lunchtime committment and a callout from Carrickferus for a VI guide changed my plans, and I was delighted to accompany Pete putting into practice my Guide Dogs training.

Navan was as planned, and had a realy great time running with them.

I knew I’d be in London to see my son working on Evitia – had originally planned Dulwich but that had to be changed to the only A in London – Ally Pally!

And oh my goodness, the last bit of the jigsaw – D and my nearest one is Dundalk!

Dundalk…Done Dancer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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