Dartford Heath parkrun

This parkrunday I visited Kent once again and enjoyed Dartford Heath parkrun for the first time. Familiar territory after visiting Swanley parkrun last week, but a bit of a change from my mid-week appearance at the special event of Amager Faelled parkrun in Copenhagen. Or was it? Actually not, the reason why I picked Dartford Heath parkrun was to continue on the ‘back-to-basics’ rustic parkrun I have enjoyed during my Danish escapade.

I will turn things around this time and start with a short impression about the course: I really liked it! It is not a huge event, but the course is a lot of fun and the team is as usual very friendly. Fun not because of crazy turns or incredible vistas: fun because it offers different terrains and running features. All while keeping it simple: a run in a beautiful green park with no bells and whistles. I would have loved a cafe with outdoor seats near the meeting point, but you cannot have everything.

This part of Kent bordering with London benefits from a cluster of wonderful events worth visiting. It reminds me the area around Crawley, in Sussex. Here you can find unique lavender fields at Lullingstone parkrun and beautiful parks at Leybourne Lakes parkrun or a beautiful winery at Squerryes Winery parkrun. Lucky area!

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

Trip to Dartford Heath parkrun and parking

Dartford Heath is a large wild conservation area South-West of Dartford, in Kent. The large green area is separated by a number of roads, so we are robbed of the opportunity to see a 1-lap course design, but can still stay and explore more of the heath after parkrun.

In terms of location, Dartford Heath is roughly at the Easter-South-Eastern corner of the M25. This means great road connections, but those looking for public transport alternatives will not be as lucky.

According to the official event site, the closest station is Crayford, served by SouthEastern and with connections to Dartford and Sidcup. The station is 1.5 miles away from the event, so a good warm up jog or walk to get there. Apparently, services to this station are not very frequent, because the official event site mentions Dartford station as an alternative with more frequent services, even if 2 miles away from the meeting point.

If you are driving, the Heath sits very close to the M25, just a few minutes drive up the A2. Once you reach it, a bit of weird twists and turns around local roads before being able to access Heath Lane. About half way through it you will be able to access the car park. As pointed out on the official event site, the dedicated free car park is small and it gets busy early. It seems like this area of the Heath is very popular with dog walkers on parkrunday morning, not only parkrunners. I arrived at 8:30 and it was already nearly full, so if you want to use it, bear that in mind when planning your journey.

If you park here, then you are 2 minutes walk from Dartford Heath parkrun’s meeting point.

Dartford Heath parkrun: start and briefings

I will not try to describe how to reach the meeting point from the stations: I’ve read on social media and event reviews that some people have found it hard to navigate. If you are coming by public transport, I would recommend using the 5K ‘get me there’ function. It links to google maps and it is usually pretty good in getting you to the right place. Alternatively, I have found a what3words location for it: ‘circle.mock.snow’. I haven’t tested it, so try to sense check it if you are planning on using it.

If you are in the car park, just enter the Heath and walk straight and then right for a a couple of minutes. At the bottom of a small hill you will see a clearing with people coming together. That is the meeting point of Dartford Heath parkrun.

Around 8:50, the RD called new comers and tourists for the First Timers briefing. It was a welcoming but simple affair mostly focused on health and safety, banking on the promise that the route would not be difficult to follow. As it happens, there were plenty of marshals along the route to ensure this would be the case. There are few turns, but they were all clearly marked and mashaled.

Soon afterwards, the RD also held the Main Briefing, with a focus on some important local milestones and a very quick reminder for the usual practicalities we hear every parkrunday. Then everyone walked up the hill and about 250m to the open fields to the West of the meeting point. This is where the start line is. Time to bunch up all together and get ready for a comfortable, uncongested start.

Then, I heard the RD start the countdown. ‘3, 2, 1, go!’. It was time to go.

Dartford Heath parkrun course review – star ratings

Dartford Heath parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 120 parkrunners on the day of my visit to Dartford Heath parkrun. Looking at historical results, this is on the higher end of attendance levels for this event, but not a record. There was one event above 130 in 2025, besides one in the 160s in January, benefiting from fleeting NY resolutions. In general, it looks like the event is subject to a bit of seasonality like many cross country events, with attendance ranging from around 70 to 120 depending on the week. Paths are generally wide and there are no major difficulties around the course, so if attendance were to double or more, I think the only issue would be parking.

There aren’t any real bottlenecks around this course, with two minor exceptions. These are the 180-degrees turnaround point and a small segment on narrow path you walk to reach the start on your first lap and then run on your second lap. If you are in a big group when reaching either, you will probably have to slow down a bit and won’t be able to overtake freely, but that’s all there is.

Surface-wise, this is a mixed path. At the beginning you will be running on tarmac and a pretty bad quality one. I guess it is water managed, with limited maintenance. After that, it is mostly hard path and gravel, with some short sections on very short grass. There are a few tree roots here and there, but nothing comparable to a real trail course. On the day of my visit, it was very dry, so road shoes were absolutely fine. I don’t know how muddy it gets in winter, it might be on the verge between need-trail-shoes and not.

Elevation-wise, at 23m elevation gain over two laps, this is a flat course. There is a small, noticeable descent towards the end of the lap, just before turning back towards the meeting point and a very short climb after the meeting point, leading back towards the start line. Besides that, there must be some light climb because the back section of the out and back does feel downhill, but it is barely noticeable. I would call it flat, because it is.

In terms of course layout, it is 2 separate sections. First you have a out-and-back section with a small loop at the end. Then a wide loop around this section of the heath. On your second lap, you will also run the segment you originally walked from the meeting point to the start line. On the other end, you finish your second lap early at the meeting point, so, technically, slightly less than two laps.

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

As said, everyone starts walking and go about 300m past a little copse of trees and narrow path and into the middle of large open areas with green fields. That’s where the start line will be. It’s not a busy event, so everyone can position themselves comfortable at or around the start line and there will be no congestion when it is time to go. The start is flat and on a straight line, on a comfortable hard gravel path. After a short segment under tree cover, turn right and head up towards what will be the centre of the two parts of this course. A volunteer is here to show everyone where to go.

The first time you reach this point, turn 90-degrees left onto a bad paved path to enter an out and back segment. The path keeps going straight on the side of the open green area for a few metres before entering a region of the heath with more mature trees. Go straight surrounded by trees on both sides for a little while before a gentle right turn that will head towards a more dense forest. This is where I started seeing the speed demons coming back towards me in the opposite direction. I always like these counterflow areas: it makes things interesting and it looks busier. Especially for a smaller event like Dartford Heath parkrun.

After about 100m, when you are well into the denser forest, turn left to enter a circular loop that will get you back to the exact same spot where you entered. But this means there is no counterflow for a little while anymore. Once you have finished the loop, keep going through the out and back segment in the opposite direction until you reach the point where the two parts of this course touch each other, as mentioned before.

This time, turn left and start crossing the open fields towards their Northern edge. Keep going with shorter trees and shrubs on both sides until the end of this portion of the heath, by a small road. Here you will find a volunteer sending you to your right to continue the circular loop that will bring you back to the original meeting point.

You will be alternating open areas with areas under tree cover, all on hard path with a few tree roots here and there. There are also some very mild elevation shifts, but nothing that will impact your run or walk. Eventually, after a very short but slightly steeper bump, you cross a field and then enter a straight with the finish funnel and meeting point visible at the end. Once you reach it the first time, keep going to the left and climb the mini hill getting you out of this clearing. Then run the narrow path you walked before, turn left once you reach the meadows and right to enter the straight where the start line was. Once you are there, keep going for lap number 2.

The second time you approach the meeting point, you can enter the finish funnel and bask in glory.

Congratulations on completing Dartford Heath parkrun!

Facilities at Dartford Heath parkrun

Pretty simple section to fill here: there are no facilities at Dartford Heath parkrun.

No toilets, so come prepared or be ready to take advantage of the many bushes available around the park.

Also, no cafe anywhere nearby. The clearing where the meeting point is would offer a wonderful spot for one in spring and summer, but I understand why the area was intentionally left unspoilt. The team suggests people bring their own refreshments to join a spontaneous picnic after the event.

Dartford Heath 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

I really enjoyed my first visit to Dartford Heath parkrun. It is very much back to basics here, with a nice wild area and a 5K run. No bells and whistles, no facilities, no majestic vistas. But a friendly welcoming team and a group of like-minded people enjoying parkrunday.

I would love to come back and who knows, maybe something in the future will bring me to the area once again.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Dartford Heath parkrun team for your hospitality!