Osterley parkrun

Long week, so I reverted to semi-local tourism and visited Osterley parkrun for the second time this weekend. The original plan was to capture another ‘far away’ missing LonDone location, but the early morning parkrunday alarm clock did not agree with me for once. I still have 16 LonDone venues that I visited before starting this site and my YouTube channel. Plenty to keep me busy for weeks I don’t feel like going far.

Osterley parkrun is the only National Trust parkrun venue in London. Or anywhere close to London, frankly, if you scroll through the list of 26 NT venues shown on the related parkrun challenge on the Running Achievements app. And it is a truly special venue, with a gorgeous mansion as central focus and nice grounds to run on. Mixing open fields, landscape woodland and two lakes. All of this, on great surface and totally flat. Bingo!

Every now and then, a question comes up: what’s a convenient venue next to Heathrow someone could run before flying out or shortly after landing? While not exactly nearby, Osterley parkrun often features. It is gorgeous and it very easy to reach from London Heathrow airport. Other frequent answers are Stockley County parkrun, Upton Court parkrun, or Bedfont Lakes parkrun. All great in different ways.

Anyway, enough with myl rumblings. It’s time to dive into some more info about Osterley parkrun!

Trip to Osterley parkrun and parking

Osterley Park is in Isleworth, in West London and in the Borough of Hounslow. Pretty much half way on a straight line connecting Central London and Heathrow. A nice riverside historical settlement with plenty of landmarks and two major motorways cutting through it. A strange mix of sub-urban and mass transport to be honest, but you barely get a hint of that while you are inside the Osterley Park grounds.

If you are using public transport, options might seem less than ideal, but they are actually better than they appear at first sight. The closest tube station is Osterley, about 15 minutes walk from the venue. This sits on the Piccadilly Line, hence the recommendation if you are coming from Heathrow Airport. If you are coming by train, Isleworth station, served by usually decent SouthWest, is about 25 minutes walk away.

If you are driving, Osterley parkrun is nested between the M4 and the A4, with its entrance very close to a junction off the A4. So any travelling pain will involve getting onto either of those major motorways, but once you are on the system, reaching it will be easy. And before 9am, most likely fairly traffic free. Leaving after 10am will probably be a very different experience.

There is plenty of room for parking less than 5 minutes walk away from the meeting point. Parking is chargeable, but if you are coming for parkrun, there is an exception and you can park for free leaving a copy of your barcode in the car.

Osterley parkrun: start and briefings

If you are coming from the car park, seconds after you leave it you join a paved path going around the beautiful smaller lake that sits by the Manor House. This is a great introduction to the grand locations, because you have to walk a short curve around the lake and then join a tree lined path with the House framed at its end.

You can already see other parkrunners from here. The local team meets on the steps of the house and if it is not raining, people can roam just in front of it. Toilets are available just behind the Stables block, after the main House.

If it is not raining, the First Timers briefing is held on the lawn in front of the House. The route is not difficult to explain, so this seems to be mostly a great occasion to welcome visitors to the beautiful venue and encourage genuine new joiners.

Then it is time to line up. A wide start line naturally forms on the paved area in front of the House. Don’t wander around during the Main Briefing, because that is the actually start line, people will not need to move further once the talking is done.

A loudspeaker system is used, but it does not seem to be very effective. I think on the day, most of the time was spent celebrating local runners you had survived the London Marathon one week ago. Kudos to them, I know the high they are still experiencing, having run the 2023 edition. Cheeky link above. 🙂

When formalities are over, the countdown comes pretty quickly. The start is wide enough to avoid pushing and shoving and to get everyone going fairly efficiently.

Time to go!

Osterley parkrun course review – star ratings

Osterley parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 331 parkrunners on the day I visited. Looking at historical results, attendance seems to be fairly consistent in a 300-350 range, with some spikes around or above 400. It is a well attended event, but not extremely busy for London standards. I think this is a healthy field size for Osterley parkrun. The start is manageable, the field thins out but groups are always around and the couple of potentially problematic areas are still ok. The course itself could take more people comfortably, but then it would start feeling busier than you would want it to.

There are a couple of bottlenecks around the course. The first turn after the start happens in a slightly narrower path, but it is not too bad yet. 2/3 of the way in, there will be a sharp right turn with a couple of barriers to get through. If you are not coming in a large group, they are wide enough to run through without even having to slow down. If you are in a large group, it will get slightly messier. I had to stop briefly here during the first lap. Also, 2 sharp turns lead you into the woodland section. Nothing really difficult, but large groups will see people coming very close to each other.

Surface-wise, it is probably 2/3 hard path and 1/3 tarmac. No grass and no quicksands. The tarmac bits are great, with perfect, fast surface. The hard path ones are also pretty good, comparatively speaking. There is some mud on the sides, but the main path seems to drain pretty well. I think, unless you are visiting after very persistent rains, road shoes will usually be fine here.

Elevation-wise, Osterley parkrun is as flat as a pancake. And a very well mixed pancake: no air bubbles. 9m elevation over 2 laps means 4.5m over 2.5km. Yeah, there are a couple of areas where you feel a very mild gradient, but it really is barely noticeable. The only one I kind of remember is a slight downhill shortly after the start. If I look at the elevation plot below, I see the start is actually mildly uphill, with a bit of a bump soon after. No recollection of that bump whatsoever.

In terms of course design, it is super simple. Two laps around a simple nearly squared loop. There are a couple of points where you could take the wrong turn, but they are both covered by marshals, so no risk to pick the wrong turn.

A quick Relive route plot is on my YouTube Channel, with longer video highlights embedded below.

Once the Main Briefing is done, people already find themselves lined up to start. Fast countdown and the herd starts moving, with some fairly aggressively trying to swing around people. Most are not though, so things are fairly efficient and at the end of the first short straight in front of the House, everyone starts running a wide semi-circle. Lean right and then lean left on still wide tarmac paths, until you meet the first marshal stopping anyone tempted to take a shortcut.

Here you then enter the first long straight, on hard path. The first half is through a beautiful tree-lined path, that then transition to a narrower path lined by shrubs on both sides. At the end of it, a small open gate next to a little house leads you to the first corner, with a sharp right turn.

This will be the longest straight of the loop, with, I think, a barely perceptible positive gradient. The hard path because slightly less even and if you want to overtake, the sides were slightly muddy when I visited in April 2024. Both sides feature mature trees again, helping with shade in summer but, most of all, shielding the path from the M4 just beyond the fence. The ‘bucolic illusion’ is broken a bit here, but considering you are running along one of the busiest motorways in London, it is not too bad.

At the end of this straight, it is time for another right turn, this time gentler than it looks no the map. Once past it, you will run by a beautiful larger lake with views straight towards the Manor House. Picture time justified here, if you want an excuse to stop and take a breath. After the lake, a short bit still on open terrain before turning right through an opening with speed barriers. These are not excessively narrow, but if in a big group you will have to slow down.

After negotiating those barriers, time for another change of scenery, with a straight cutting through open meadows. Must be pretty unpleasant if wet and windy, because there is no cover here. Conversely, it looks open and peaceful during a good day. I liked it. At the end, a sharp S-section with two turns gets you into the short landscaped woodland segment. Here you wiggle around the path under mature trees and large covered spots. It is strangely beautiful and fun, even if it cannot be more than 100 metres or so.

When you leave this ‘hidden segment’, you are out by the car park. So it is time to join the tarmac path again and run alongside the lake and the tree-lined short avenue that will lead you back to the Manor House. During the first lap, run by the very supportive local volunteers to start your second lap.

At the end of the second lap, it is time to sway right slightly to enter the short funnel positioned on grass. Everything works very efficiently here, as expected. Scanning will also be fast and efficient in front of the Manor House.

Congratulations on completing Osterley parkrun!

Facilities at Osterley parkrun

Osterley Park is a very nicely landscaped, fairly large park. Once you enter it by car, you are immediately welcomed by a grand tree-lined avenue. Fields with cows and ducks are on your sides. It makes for a pretty impressive first impression, especially considering just 2 minutes earlier you were driving on the ugly, sub-urban A4.

If you need toilets, they are 100m further on beyond the meeting point. Walk there before the meetings or you will not have time to do that.

The Stables cafe is open after the event. It offers a great outdoor sitting area if the weather allows it. Inside, it is pretty small and cramped, but the staff is efficient and there is a nice spread of warm and cold choices.

As a competitor to the McDonald’s index, I am continuing to collect data for the parkbreakfast index: how much is breakfast at each location?

At Osterley parkrun, I ordered a single espresso, a lemonade and a chocolate brownie. This cost £9.1, which is expensive. The lemonade I got was one of those ‘organic, premium’ ones that added 1 quid to the bill, but even at £8.1, you are paying a premium for the location.

Osterley parkrun: Video Highlights

As usual, I’ve taken a few video snippets during the run to give an idea of the course. If you like it, please subscribe, it’s a fun past time for me 🙂

The other parkrun videos on my YouTube channel are all linked on the course review and video highlights summary page.

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Achievements and performance

Conclusions

This is a truly beautiful location. Tucked away in a part of London you probably rushed through many times, totally oblivious of the little jewels hidden in it. The team is extremely welcoming and the cafe, while overpriced, offers a great location for a chat and some time sitting outside resting and enjoying the grounds.

As a run, it is varied, flat and has the potential to be fast. I know I will be back and I do often recommend it as one of the most interesting venues to visit for people who happen to be in London for a short stint.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Osterley parkrun team for your hospitality once again!