Panshanger parkrun

Last parkrunday I visited Panshanger parkrun for the first time. In part, I was very much attracted to the single lap loop, in part I guess I caught the Hertfordshire bug over the last few weeks. But mostly, I must be masochistic and in need of a morning biathlon session: running through puddles and swimming in mud.

Late January and February have been exceptionally rainy in the South East this year and I seem to have been trying to collect very muddy venues recently. Stanborough parkrun, Church Mead parkrun and Leavesden Country parkrun all gifted me with the looks of a survivor from an obstacle course post event. And I have a guilty confession to make: after upgrading my trail shoes, I quite enjoy going through mud without having to find improbable paths through it.

There were no other reasons to come here this week, besides getting the Voronoi polygon right next to Stanborough, I was originally keeping it for a summer date, but there are so many scenic trail courses, so why not.

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

Trip to Panshanger parkrun and parking

Panshanger Park is very big, 1,000ha big. Size matters in this case when you are planning your trip. The park goes from Welwyn Garden City all the way to Hertford and the car parks available can be very far from each other. Also, the course of Panshanger parkrun has moved, from a corner closer to Hertford to a corner closer to Welwyn. Make sure you get to the right place if you don’t want a 2 miles jog as a warm up.

According to the official event site, if you want to come by public transport, the closest train station isHertford North station. It offers connections to Moorgate in London and Stevenage. Once you get here, however, you will still be more than 2 miles away from Panshanger parkrun meeting point. If you are committed to a low carbon footprint trip, the official event site offers bus recommendations, but I would still recommend to check online and plan your connections carefully.

Since I am lazy, I drove there. If driving, set Panshanger Park, Panshanger Lane car park as final destination. This is a large car park that was opened in October 2025 and it can accomodate a good number of cars. Most of my trip was on major motorways, up to very close to the venue. A couple of km from your destination, you will get into what looks like a local rural road and the entrance to the park was on my right. It’s not difficult to find.

Once you get into the park, there is still a short drive before you reach the car park. It is well signposted and when you get closer you will also start seeing familiar parkrun colours. The car park is not free, but it is reasonably priced. It can be paid with the RingGo app for convenience.

Panshanger parkrun: start and briefings

Once you are in the car park, head the opposite way you came from and you will see a coffee truck just outside the car park. Head towards it, exit the car park and Panshanger parkrun meeting point will be 50 metre away in front of you. It will be in full view from the car park too, since it’s on open fields. The path to it was extremely muddy on the day of my visit, as a sign of what was to come.

It was not only a grey and muddy day, but it was also raining quite heavily, at least until around 8.45. Volunteers were prepared and they had pitched a tent to cover their things, plus a second tent will come up after the start, to protect timekeepers and funnel managers.

When time came, a friendly and enthusiastic volunteer called tourists and first timers for the First Timers briefing. There is a permanent wooden sign here for parkrun, including a map of the course. It is a fairly regular and well marshalled loop, so the volunteer focused on identifying hills and muddiest areas. I don’t think anyone could get lost here.

Afterwards, as everyone positions on the field where the open start will be, the RD took over and delivered the Main Briefing using a very good sound system. I could hear him! Announcements smoothly transitions on pre-run checks, It was nearly time to go.

After a short countdown, the time came. Parkrun.

Panshanger parkrun course review – star ratings

Panshanger parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 230 parkrunners on the day of my visit to wet and muddy Panshanger parkrun. It was a miserable rainy day, following several miserable rainy weeks. A local runner told us after the event that mud and puddles on the course were ‘the worst he had had ever seen’. I guess this might have affected local attendance slightly, with 230 being at the lower end of average attendance levels Panshanger parkrun seem to attract. Historical attendance seem to be more on a 250-300 range, with some peaks above that and even a Christmas event above 700. In general, paths are pretty wide and it’s a one lap route so the field will spread fast. Numbers don’t seem to be a major concern here.

Congestion is never really a problem on this course. As said, paths are quite wide and even the turns tend to be gentle, with very few exceptions. There are, however, several gates you will have to run through. Some are narrower than others, so if you get there in the middle of the pack, you might have to slow down a bit. All of them are marshalled to my memory, so seeing the bright viz vest will warn the pack well in advance. Besides that, no bottlenecks, no tight turns, no 180-degree turnaround points.

Surface-wise, this is a mixed terrain trail run. It starts on good carriageways. Which would be good with dry weather, but if muddy they get very very muddy. Then it is complemented with some field crossings on grass and a few segments of forest trails. Towards the end, there is also a short segment on a paved road, but it doesn’t last long. Definitely, wear trail shoes if you come here after a rainy week. Or even a few rainy days, to be honest. It did not give the feeling that water would drain well, in general.

Elevation-wise, at 50m elevation gain over a single lap, Panshanger parkrun is undulating, but aggressive hills are unlikely to be what you will remember this course for. There is one blatant hill about 1k in, on a longer exposed trail. You see that approaching it and it is scary, but it is not very long. Afterwards, there are a few more inclines and one more pronounced uphill, but in general the course is not terribly painful. At least not because of elevation changes. The downhill are also not terribly noticeable, so the respite you get from them is minimal.

In terms of course layout, it is a single lap, roughly circular. I did not find it easy to orientate myself while on the course, but the general direction was never surprising.

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

Once it’s time to get going, everybody lines up in front of the little volunteer tents, facing downhill. There is large carriageway and fields around it, but on the day of my visit it was mostly mud, with muddy grass on the sides. It is downhill tho, so this is one of those events where enthusiasm and gravity work together to make sure you get off the blocks too fast. The start was fun and comfortable and after a short downhill, the route lean slightly left, before taking a sharp 90-degrees turn right and get on a narrower, but slightly less muddy path.

As you can see on the video below, however, this is where you will encounter lake-sided puddles. They were kind of fun, but must have been less fun for the two girls I’ve seen landing face first into one. They were fine and started running again immediately. Here you are running on a flat gradient, with trees on your left blocking your view of one of the lakes present in Panshanger Park. After a short while, you cross the first gate and keep going roughly straight with trees on both sides. Eventually, you exit onto a beautiful undulating open field where you climb slightly before taking a light left turn with a mild downhill gradient.

At the bottom of this field, you cross yet another gate and turn left. Here, for a very short segment, you are running by the side of a lake. But you will soon turn left and start heading away from the lake, on a narrower path going through thin trees. Get past a little cement bridge and you are back out in the open. Pass next to a charming little house with an imposing tree next to it and it’s time to turn right and then cross a small grassy field getting you close to a fence running along the foot of a steeper hill. Run along the fence until you reach the next gate. Cross the gate and turn 90-degrees left: now you see the hill, and the straight path up its slope. It is not terrible, but steep enough to feel it.

On top, cross a wide gate and turn right. You are now again on a flat, relative straight path, now overlooking the lake from higher ground. Stop for the views, it’s worth it. Then keep going, alternating light uphills and downhills until it’s time to turn left and start heading back towards the meeting point (I think). It’s now a long straight with low trees on your left and open fields on your right, before a wide left turn leading to another stretch of thin forest trails.

Eventually you will reach a more open area with green fields. Follow the path and take a wide left turn, before crossing straight through a beautiful, green meadow. At the opposite end, cross yet another wide gate and take a hard right turn, getting onto a paved tarmac road. Enjoy the tarmac while you can, because it won’t be long before a 90-degrees turn left, yet again through another small wooden gate.

You are now running again on a flat, wide carriageway, with a lot of mud and mature trees on both sides. After a short while, turn right for a longer stretch of forest trails with a pleasant downward slope. Another right turn, more forest trails with big puddles and mud, before taking a small shortcut through a narrow passage among trees leading left. This is extremely muddy, off road, but not long. As you get out, turn right and the finish funnel will be in front of you!

Congratulations on completing Panshanger parkrun!

Facilities at Panshanger parkrun

Panshanger Park is, mostly, a massive green area dedicated to outdoor activities and natural conservation. Additional facilities seem to be kept to minimum. But that minimum is more than enough for a great parkrunday morning.

The new car park is new and more than big enough to accomodate the average field at this event. It also offers a toilet block available for free and open before the event.

There isn’t any cafe on site or anywhere nearby, but a charming vegan coffee and pastries van was there on the day of my visit and I think it is a fairly stable presence. The van offered an impressive variety of sweet pastries and (presumably veggie) sausage rolls if you crave savoury options. It was also reasonably cheap and several picnic tables are set out next to it, for good weather days.

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 Panshanger parkrun, I ordered a San Pellegrino orange soda, a white chocolate slice and a single espresso. This cost me around £6.

Panshanger 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.

• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube

---

Achievements and performance

Conclusions

I am sure Panshanger parkrun will offer a very different experience with good weather. My winter visit was a fun muddy adventure with beautiful views and a gorgeous one lapper event. In summer, I am sure the course is less painful and the views will be more enjoyable, but I had a great parkrunday nonetheless.

I would love to visit again with good weather to experience it in a different way. Maybe I will, who knows.

Finally, obviously, thank you, Panshanger parkrun team for your hospitality!