Old Deer Park parkrun

A short break from exploring new venues this week, with a return to my semi-local Old Deer Park parkrun. And let’s settle a foundational question first: while Old Deer Park parkrun is in Richmond, this is the one without deer. No-Deer Park parkrun I guess… or Old Deer as in there used to be deer, not old, wise, respectable deer. Oh well, plenty of horned overgrown goats in the neighbouring venues Richmond parkrun or Bushy parkrun, if that’s what you are looking for!

One interesting fact that was pointed out by Clare on the Lon-Doing Facebook group is that this is your perfect parkrun venue if you are a fan of the Ted Lasso TV series. A lot of the outdoor scenes were recorded in central Richmond around Richmond Green. This is less than 5 minutes walk from the Old Deer Park car park, so go have a wander if you are a fan! And if you have never heard of it, give it a look. It is a great little series set in Richmond. (Note: this post does not endorse Facebook: it is a sewer and it is run by an evil corporation, but for parkrunny stuff, it is convenient)

This week I was ‘kind-of’ planning to drive down to Lewes for one of the recent additions to the parkrun family, mostly to contribute to my Wilson Index. But plans changed on Friday, I was feeling a bit under the weather and during my upcoming holidays I will hopefully visit two new venues abroad, so it was time for a local, more convenient one. Old Deer Park parkrun was the only venue in South West London I had not covered yet on this site, so that’s done, now.

Old Deer Park parkrun is often talked about as a small, very friendly and welcoming venue with a relatively boring course design. A bit of a spoiler, but let’s address this points one by one.

Small: it used to be one of the less busy parkruns in London, but since my last visit, it seems it has become significantly more popular. It now attracts in excess of 150 runners a week, so roughly double the volume it used to have before Covid. Beckton parkrun definitely keeps the controversial crown of most undeservedly overlooked parkrun in London.

Friendly and welcoming: no doubt about that. It retains a very specific community feel and the team goes well beyond the call of duty to make everyone feel part of their family for 1 hour on parkrunday mornings. They seem to have issues sourcing enough volunteers during summer: please help them if you can. They deserve it.

Boring course: yeah, a bit. Three laps around playing fields, with very limited environmental features keeping your mind occupied while soldiering through the grassy terrain. It’s close to the Thames, but you don’t see it. It’s close to wooded areas, but you barely cross a little copse. It is a bit repetitive, but the atmosphere makes up for it. This was my third visit and I am sure I will be back for more.

Anyway, enough with my rumblings. It’s time to dive into some more info about Old Deer Park parkrun!

Trip to Old Deer Park parkrun and parking

Old Deer Park is in Richmond, South West London. Straight under the nice flight path bringing one big commercial airliner down to Heathrow every minute or so. Don’t worry, you get used to it pretty quickly and the nice surroundings make up for it. While this section of the park is fairly open and mostly meadows, you are very close to the Thames and the Thames Path to the North and Kew Gardens to the North-East. So plenty of very scenic locations around. By the meeting points you also have Pools in the Park, if you fancy a swim after your run.

The closest station is Richmond, served by the District Line, the London Overground and SouthWestern National Rail services. From there, it is an 8 minutes walk to the meeting point according to google maps. So pretty convenient, if you have easy access to the right lines.

If you are driving, the venue is also relatively easy to get to, for London standards. It sits right on the A316, with easy access to the South Circular and not far from main motorway networks. That said, while getting here should be a breeze, this area will usually turn into traffic carnage mid morning on parkrundays. So using public transport is highly recommended.

Parking is easy and plentiful at Old Deer Car Park, just across the road. Do not park at the smaller car park dedicated to Pools on the Park. Parking is chargeable and relatively expensive.

Old Deer Park parkrun: start and briefings

If you are coming from tube station, your walking route will lead you to the car park. Once you are there, weather you have been environmentally friendly or not, head for the pedestrian bridge and cross the major road. On the other side, turn right and in 30 seconds you will reach the meeting point, just around the corner to the right.

Old Deer Park parkrun is smaller than your average London venue, so you will not be overwhelmed by a huge number of runners if you arrive early, but attendance numbers will build up. It seems like it has grown a lot in popularity since my last visit about 18 months ago.

The meeting point is by the back fences of Pools on the Park, next to an area with mature trees that provide shade in summer (not really needed this year), and shelter from rain in winter (or summer, if it’s a summer like the 2024 one).

The First Timers briefing is called around 8:45 and the volunteer who delivered it during my last visit was welcoming, fun and enthusiastic. It was, as is often the case, a perfect example of the ethos of parkrun and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Then, at around 9am, the RD lined up most volunteers on the little hill where the FT welcome was and started the Main Briefing. Praise to her energy, she was remarkable!

Once this is done, it is time to walk about 200m North, around a fenced area with tennis courts and go half way towards the NE corner of the main loop. Everybody then lines up for a wide start on grass.

Finally, it comes: it is the countdown. 3, 2, 1.

Time to go!

Old Deer Park parkrun course review – star ratings

Old Deer Park parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 186 parkrunners on the day I visited. A lot more than I met last time I was here about 18 months ago, but still not too many to lose the special feeling of familiarity this venue was known for. Nowadays, it seems like attendance averages around 180 parkrunners per week, with swings between 140 and 200 depending on the week. It seems like attendance increased materially in April 2024. Are these levels indicative of the future now? As a grassy course, it might be seasonal, but the increase on historical levels is undeniable.

The course is very open, there are no real bottlenecks anywhere. The start is wide-open on grass and the whole route is either on grass or on hard paths with low grass on its sides. There is one short segment under mature trees where the path narrows a bit, but that’s really it. Overtaking is never hard and you never feel crammed.

Surface-wise, it is largely on grass. In several segments, the grass is so heavily walked (or parkrun) on that it is slowly morphing into hard path. Where there is less grass, the terrain is very hard, which makes the course a bit slower than it could be. There is a small section on tarmac, but it’s not more than 100/150m long. Having run this course both in summer and winter, I can say that it holds very well during winter months. It does not turn into a mud bath like some nearby venues, so it could still be a viable alternative in wet months.

Elevation-wise, at 15m elevation gain over 3 laps, this definitely qualifies as flat. The official course page describes the course as mildly undulating, and while technically true, it is probably a bit of an overstatement. As it can be seen on the elevation plot picture, it is NEVER fully flat, but also look at the scale. Gradient is barely noticeable in a couple of areas, mainly the North half, but it never adds to the required effort.

In terms of course design, it is as simple as it gets. 3 laps around playing fields, nearly perfectly squared. With the exception of one small westerly detour in the corner farther away from the start.

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

The detailed route description of Old Deer Park parkrun will probably be very very simple. Similarly to basic, simple three-lappers, like Ally Pally parkrun, Dulwich parkrun or Tooting parkrun.

After the briefings, everybody walks North from the location on the SW corner of the course to reach the start line. You get past the first corner, turn right and walk half way up this straight. Then it is time to turn around and line up. It’s a grass field, the start line can be as wide as it needs to be, so there won’t be any risk of congestion.

When it is time to get going, people start their run on an open field. It feels comfortable and exciting, it is fully free. So you tend to go faster than you should: focus on your pacing. After less than 100m, a half left turn gets you away from the side of the tennis fields and heads diagonally towards the initial meeting point, where the finish funnel is. This is on a gentle descent, adding to the risk of giving in to the initial exuberance. Pass past volunteers and funnel, keep going for 10 more metres and then turn sharp right.

Now we will be running along the busy road to the South of the park, but there is enough distance that you don’t really realise it. After a long segment on grass, the path starts leaning towards the paved path and diagonally approaches it. It is not 100% clear where you need to merge into it, so people end up taking slightly different lines here. That said, it won’t make much of a difference and everybody will get there. Once on the tarmac path, enjoy the smooth surface for a short while and head towards a group of mature trees. As you get closer to them, head left briefly on a hard grassy path that will enter into the small tree copse.

When you enter it, the path narrows. It looks nice under the trees, with pleasant light effects since the exit is only 50m in front you. At the end, break again out into the fields and you reach a marshal and take a 90 degree right turn. It is time to head North. Cross the paved path and enter the fields again. Now it is time for a short section on open grass. Leave some more trees to your right and reach another 90 degrees turn, left this time.

A short detour on a path through an area of slow grass cutting through higher grass. Turn right and go through a similar segment on a light uphill up to another 90 degrees hard right turn. This will lead you to the longest straight of the loop. The Norther straight is all on grass, with some small patches of hard path. It is on a light uphill gradient, mostly, but it is barely noticeable. At the end of it, hard right once again and you are back running alongside the tennis fields.

Turn the next corner again and you will be ‘descending’ towards the finish funnel. I know it is very tempting, but don’t go in yet. You need to do it all twice more!

At the end of the third lap, just take a slight left turn left and ease into the short finish funnel

Congratulations on completing Old Deer Park parkrun!

Facilities at Old Deer Park parkrun

There are no facilities here other than what is offered by Pools on the Park. This hub is no more than 2 minutes walk from the meeting point, so any urgent needs can be satisfied. At the briefing they mentioned toilets are available also before the event there, but I have not tested it..

After the event, the cafe of Pools on the Park was available for refreshments. In the past, I visited twice during winter and we were able to enter and sit in the cafe inside. Not sure if this was possible when I visited last: the entrance was blocked by turnstiles and it is did not seem many people were heading that way. However, I did not ask the ladies at reception if I could get through.

Instead, there is a ‘hole in the wall’ window with a few outside tables available just by the main entrance. No menu is available for food, so you have to ask to know what’s available.

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 Old Deer Park parkrun, I ordered a single espresso, a Diet Coke and a chocolate croissant. This cost £6.3, which is relatively fair for London parkrun cafes… but stil pretty obscene if you think about it.

Old Deer Park 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

Old Deer Park parkrun is not talked about often. Which is probably understandable, with it sitting in a part of London where major historical parkrun events are all sitting very close to each other. Every time I hear about it, it is because of how welcoming the team is, and that is undeniably true.

Yes, the venue is not breathtaking and it is three laps. It will never be a bucket-list or destination venue, but it is a solid, successful and enjoyable local event. Come, if you want to experience the true spirit of parkrun.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Old Deer Park parkrun team for your hospitality, once again!