Great to be back in Cambridgeshire after being over 4 years away with today’s parkrun in the lovely market town of Whittlesey that is located 6 miles from Peterborough and is on the edge of the Fenlands

Natural Solution

Speaking to one of the volunteers Andy I asked about this stunning section of Manor Field that was planted with beautiful wildflowers?

He said that this specific part of Manor field suffered a lot a great deal with being waterlogged and it was decided to plant these flowers as a natural way to soak up the water!

What a brilliant simple natural solution to solve a problem that helps the wildlife and looked stunning running past in the summer sun today 🙂

Course

The course at Manor Field is made up of 2 recreational fields with a small stripe of land that adjoins them that is flat, and course is entirely run-on grass.

You start in the small field and complete one clockwise lap, then go on to complete 3 more bigger laps of the entire parameter of both Manor Fields.

The end of the 3rd big lap you peel off onto the field where the finish funnel awaits!

Points to Note

• Being by the river this course could get very muddy after prolonged periods of rain, but to be fair the council has placed wood chippings on the run section by the river Briggate.
• So, if you are not sure course conditions, I would take along an addition pair of trail running shoes in the boot of your car!
• Finally, the course is very well marshalled and marked out, so it is impossible to get lost.

For me it was a struggle running in the summer morning heat, but the flat nature of the course and the lovely scenery kept me going 🙂

Facilities

There is free parking Manor Leisure Centre that is near to the start of this parkrun, but there is limited number of spaces available so I would recommend getting there no later than 8:30am postcode PE7 1UA

There are other free car park alternatives in the town they say is only five-minute walk from the start!

Toilet facilities are available at Manor Field pavilion from 8:30am that is always welcome to us parkrun tourists who have travelled a long way.

Currently post covid there is no post run coffee available Manor Field pavilion, but I have been told they are thinking of starting it up again!

There are a great number of current post run coffee alternatives at the moment that are available in the town centre that is only a stone’s throw away from this parkrun including The George Hotel that has Wetherspoons restaurant.

Conclusion

I would like to thank this week’s run director Erica and her excellent supportive team of volunteers that included Marcel is has fetching for the weather Hawaiian shirt 🙂

Erica you are definitely in my top 10 list of favourite run directors, and I now know the secret of fast park running is corn on the cob just a shame I was not there when you sing to your parkrun community 🙂

So, if you want a flat course that includes a river and beautiful wild flowers to run beside then Manor Field parkrun is a must to visit 🙂

Best

Mark aka Silent Runner