Banstead Woods parkrun

This parkrunday I went back to Banstead Woods parkrun for the second time. Banstead Woods was one of my first parkrun tourism venues outside the immediate neighbours to my local. In hindsight, very much a neighbour as well, since my local is Wimbledon Common parkrun, but the distance I consider reasonable to travel for parkrun has changed a lot over the years.

I have been a Surrey Regionnaire for a while, and I am now on a quest to cover all Surrey parkrun venues on this site and on my YouTube channel as well. After visiting Mole Valley parkrun last week, my latest visit brings me very close to the objective: only one missing! I had very clear, distinct memories of Banstead Woods parkrun from my first visit: 1) being scared of its hills before going and remembering its steep downhills afterwards; 2) a tiny car park; 3) having seen a grand total of ZERO Narnia sculptures; 4) the beautiful location. How many of these memories still hold true after the second visit, benefiting from having visited nearly 250 different events?

Elevation is still painful, but it is not as bad as I remember it, even if I am today in a much worse fitness state than I was when I first visited. There is one painful climb, but you have to do it only once. The main climb is long, but not steep. Locations like Mole Valley parkrun, Church Mead parkrun, Lullingstone parkrun or Wendover Woods parkrun are on another level. The downhill is also fairly average: much steeper options available if you like flying down a crazy slope.

As far as the car park is concerned, one of the reason I had not come back yet was that I was scared not to find a spot unless I came crazy early. Last time I ended up parking in a small clearing near the start. No idea why or how. This time I followed recommendations and Waze brought me to a large car park. More relaxed start… and the walk to the start meant I saw all Narnia statues! As far as the beauty of these woods is concerned: they are special. Come when it’s not too wet and the light is bright and you will be in for a treat! Or during summer: it will still be hot, but the shade makes a real difference.

I had no challenge chasing objectives this week. We can take an occasional break from it, back to the rat race next week, when I will be hopefully chasing a new, rare letter for my multiple alphabets.

Finally, I have not written it anywhere, but Banstead Woods parkrun is a place with a lot of history, from the Middle Ages to the World War. Look it up, it is interesting. And top it up with parkrun history, since this is the third oldest event, after Bushy Park and Wimbledon Common parkrun.

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

Trip to Banstead Woods parkrun and parking

It does not take a genius to guess that Banstead Woods parkrun takes place in Banstead Woods. The historical woodland once owned by Anne Boleyn is in Surrey, near Coulsdon and within the M25. This means the event will count for the coveted LonDone + challenge and it will also be within easy reach from most of the South East.

According to the official event site, the closest station is Chipstead. The small station is operated by Southern, with services to Purley and Tattenham Corner. If you wanna come here by train, you will probably have to change somewhere. I would recommend planning in advance and using something like Citymapper that offers integrated public transport recommendations. I live very close, but according to Citymapper if I had decided to come by public transport, it would have take me around 90 minutes: a tram, a bus and a 25 minutes walk.

If you are driving, the location is well within the M25, not in London but not far from Sutton’s boundaries. You can get very close using major roads and then turn into a smaller, tree-covered street. When closer to the venue, you will reach the car park facing Holly Lane. The car park is decently big and it is free. No idea how last time I came I ended up parking in a small clearing just downhill from the start. That was very small!

From the car park, it’s a 10 minutes walk to Banstead Woods parkrun’s meeting point. Get into the fields through a gate, climb up to the edges of the forest, pass one more gate. You will now be in the forest and at the beginning of the Narnia trail: Aslan is there to welcome you. I arrived with some time to spare, so I followed locations of the other sculptures on google maps and took a bit longer to reach the meeting point.

Banstead Woods parkrun: start and briefings

As you walk uphill, you will quickly be immersed in the vibe that will stay with you for the whole event: large, decent paths surrounded by mature, green woodlands. Not far after walking by the finish funnel and the white witch, you will reach a corner where volunteers are congregating. If you turn left and climb about 50/70 metres, you will walk to the start, but don’t do that yet.

This clearing is where most people come and where the briefings are held. Some people, maybe locals and fast, walk uphill to the start line early. The New Joiners Briefing was held by a nice lady in the corner closer to the uphill path, with a small number of tourists. The Main Briefing came shortly afterwards: a loudspeaker was used, but I could still hear very little of what was being said.

By the time of the Main Briefing, the area had suddenly gotten pretty busy: nearly 300 people were here for the day. After the briefings, everybody walks up the steep hill and stops by the invisible start line, where gradient finally became a bit more gentle.

As everyone arrives, it’s time for the countdown.

3, 2, 1.

Time to go!

Banstead Woods parkrun course review – star ratings

Banstead Woods parkrun course review – route highlights

There were 275 parkrunners on the day of my second visit to Banstead Woods parkrun. Looking at historical attendance levels, it is noticeable how the event has consistently grown in popularity over the last few years and it is now well set in a 2-300 range, with most events falling in the upper half of it. I don’t know how landowners would see a big increase in numbers, but the course could definitely sustain larger fields. It’s not an easy one, so the field tends to thin out faster than most.

There are no bottlenecks around the course. The path tends to be fairly wide all through. There is a slight narrowing shortly after the start and some of the corners are a bit tighter than the normal path, but in no point you will have issues running 3 or even 4 abreast.

Surface-wise, it’s 100% on hard paths, rather than real forest trails. There are a few roots and rocks here and there, but this is not technical terrain. I did wear trail shoes for the occasion, but having visited after a few dry weeks, I think wearing road shoes would have been fine too. Clearly, this course can and will get muddy in winter, and if that happens, trail shoes will be highly recommended.

Elevation-wise, at 54m elevation gain over two laps, Banstead Woods parkrun is definitely a hilly course. However, it is less dramatically painful than what I remembered from my first visit. The first visit came fairly early in my tourism journey, when the only other hilly course I had experienced was Richmond parkrun: I guess after having experienced much worse ones, Banstead Woods parkrun feels more manageable. The course is roughly half up, half down, repeated twice. However, it starts probably 1/3 up the main uphill and the steepest bit is at the bottom of it. This means that the steepest part has to be tackled only once, even if the course is too laps. The long, mild uphill comes with several false flats providing some respite. On the way down, it is the same: it starts fairly gentle before a slightly steeper descent just before you turn left again towards the finish funnel.

When it comes to scenic value, this is a very beautiful course. Gorgeous even, especially if visited in seasons other than deep winter. You want woodland colours: bluebells in spring, deep greens in summer, red and browns in winter. You are going to spend the whole time deep inside a majestic, mature woodland. The atmosphere is powerful, peaceful, encompassing. Recommended.

Course design is quite simple. You start uphill, run up a hill, turn on top for a brief false flat, then go back a downhill straight. Another turn will get you to the finish funnel straight and, at the end, monster hill. Do it all again, but reach the finish funnel before having to endure monster hill again.

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

After the briefings, everybody walks up 50/100 metres. It is steep and kind of painful even to walk, but you don’t pay too much attention to it because you are fresh and excited. As you reach the top of this little climb, everybody stops and packs up in a small clearing where gradient tends to flatten slightly. As you get going, you start going on a slight uphill. There is a little curve soon after the start and the path narrows slightly, but then it mostly straight, on wide paths with beautiful tree cover.

This straight is all on a net uphill, but there are a few areas where it feels flat and even short bouts of downhill. After about 1K, it is time to turn left on a fairly tight corner and then you are on one of the short segments. This is roughly flat and it gives you some time to recover after the climb. At the end, one more left turn and you are on the long downhill segment. I think this is the most scenic one, with bigger trees and a couple of larger tree-covered clearings you run through. It starts barely downhill, until it becomes a bit steeper towards the end.

At the bottom, another left turn gets you on a straight that, according to the signs, is 250m away from the finish funnel. The first time, pass the funnel and reach the meeting point, then turn left and ‘run’ the steep hill you had walked on to reach the start line before. Painful, really painful. Once you have reached the top, you are back at the start line. Run it all once again!

But the second time, you won’t have to get on the monster hill again. Fly into the finish funnel, you deserved it!

Congratulations on completing Banstead Wood parkrun!

Facilities at Banstead Woods parkrun

There are no facilities in the immediate area around Banstead Woods parkrun. The absence of toilets can, maybe, be less than dramatic, especially if you are a man. But the course is not easy, so you will miss a cafe to rest and recover afterwards.

However, especially if you are coming in good weather, the woods offer plenty of nice little corners to sit and relax. Just be read and bring some drinks and a small snack. You can live you things on a little chart at the meeting point and your parkpicnic will be there waiting for you after the event.

Banstead Woods 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 enjoyed my second visiti to Banstead Woods parkrun, a more relaxed one compared to my first one. The forest is stunning, even if I was unfortunately a few weeks late to see the bluebells. The hills are painful, but not dramatic, except the bit you only have to run once.

This event comes highly recommended. I visited twice and I am sure I will be back again, eventually. It is a great experience, don’t let the hills scare you.

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