On a bitterly cold day I found solace and reflection at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire that was completely unexpected but beautiful!

Henley-on-Thames is one beautiful English town to visit that famous for its annual rowing regatta! What hits you when you cross the grade II listed bridge over the Thames is a wonderfully sense of nostalgia as the town centre looks like a beautiful picture on a chocolate box that’s frozen in time of a England we all love, stunning!

Sue Ryder – Henley Woodland

So Henley Woodland that makes up part of this parkrun course, is a joint venture between Sue Ryder hospice, Henley Town council, Timberland and Henley in Transition to create a new 2 acre woodland for the community to love and enjoy!

 

The noble aim of this project is very close to my heart, as Sue Ryder hospice sees this woodland as a place of reflection for family members lost, where you can sponsor a tree in their honour!

Wow this has a very powerful meaning for me as very recently after losing my dad and but not connected fundraising through running help raise vital funds for my local Keech Hospice Care!

This endeavour gives me some comfort in the most difficult times for me and my family!

A celebration

It is always a pleasure to me to write about a positive story on my travels, so at Henley this week I bumped into hen party held in the honour of Verity Fisher who will tie the knot in a couple of weeks, good luck and enjoy your big day!

Course

This course is 2 anticlockwise laps of the perimeter of 40 Acre Field that comprises of a scenic trail paths that are very undulating in nature following the natural hill line, then a rewarding downhill finish that is always great!

 

Due to the difficult nature of the course restricts permission to some park runners for the following reasons that Henley states, ” This run does not permit buggies, because of safety on the steep course. Also, dogs are not permitted, because some sections of the path are narrow.”

Definitely a trail shoes course, but tough and rewarding! My time at the finish was 40 mins dead and as my watch played up for a time at the start so I used their course map for my blog report!

Points to note

• Very challenging but rewarding treelined hill climb up Sue Ryder Hill as named on Strava
• Short out and back section is a little bit tight for runners passing each other in both directions!
• In very wet conditions be very careful of the dog leg turn on the top of the hill as it is very slippery and remember you are running this in a downhill direction
• Be wary of exposed tree roots, and there are a few drainage covers on the downhill straight to the finish

Facilities

There is enough free on road parking near the start of this event at Deanfield Road Sat Nav RG9 1UU, please note there are no toilet facilities available at this event location!

For the post run coffee they retired to Athlete Service’s Café sat nav RG9 2AA

Final Verdict

I would like to thank Kirstin Henderson and her team are volunteers for making me feel warmly welcome on this coolest of March mornings, thanks guys!!!

So if you love a physical challenge than Henley-on-Thames is definitely the parkrun for you with stunning views over the Chiltern Hills and a beautiful town to explore afterwards, a must go venue for any avid parkrun tourist!!!

Best

Mark

Event 81 Brentwood 31-03-2018

Extra News

It had to happen but I have lost me Greater Lon-done regionnaire status after 2 new parkruns had their inaugural events this weekend and they were Hazelwood and Victoria Docks respectfully!

Oh well, now looking forward to getting my regionnaire status back and adding more memories 🙂