Aldenham parkrun is a quiet and pretty two lap (mostly trail) clockwise loop of a reservoir at Aldenham Country Park near Elstree. We ended up here by a catalogue of errors by the designated driver (me), this was the day where it all went wrong, firstly by me going the wrong way up the M1, and secondly entering the postcode of the wrong parkrun. We were originally aiming for the nearby Canons Park parkrun, but by accidentally selecting the wrong parkrun from the map ended up entering the postcode of Aldenham parkrun... could have been a lot worse, we ended up at a parkrun, and it was one none of us had ever done, so no harm done. Having done no research on this parkrun we ran it completely blind which is always a good adventure. When we first arrived we were a little concerned because so few people were about, but then we saw the parkrun flag which put our minds at ease. I don't know if it is always this quiet, and a few more people arrived just before the start but if this is the norm, then this is one of the quieter parkrun courses, and is all the better for it. According to a information map we found at the park, Aldenham reservoir was hand-dug by French prisoners of war during the 18th century, and it was once used to top up the Grand Union canal, although today it is just used for recreation and wildlife.
In terms of shoe choice then ideally on a winters day, I would recommend a good pair of hybrids or road to trail shoes, because while it is mostly trail and there was one very muddy section, there are also sections of road surfaces and harder trails, so it is very much a mixed terrain course. In summer I would expect you'd be fine in road shoes.
[I first visited this parkrun on 22nd February 2020]
Difficulty
This is a fast and flat course and on a dry day would easily by a 1 out of 5, on a winter's day or after a lot of rain it's a 2 out of 5 due to some sections of the course becoming muddy and slippery, but it's a fun course and it was a very enjoyable run. There are no inclines that I can remember and there's plenty of interest to the course so you never get bored. In the summer I would have said this has the potential to be a PB course, particularly if it's quiet, the only potential difficulty being that some parts of the trail are quite narrow but this wasn't an issue on the morning we visited.
Briefings
Both briefings were very friendly and informative, the main information being imparted was that towards the end of lap 1, coming back towards the start area, a marshal will direct you right, so you continue to track alongside the shoreline of the reservoir, whereas on the second time round the marshal will direct you left to take a more direct line to the start finish area. It's a fairly straightforward parkrun course to follow and doesn't need that many marshals as you basically follow the shoreline of the reservoir for the majority of the route. There are marshals at the few points where a decision on direction needs to be made, such as the example above. They also have a PA system so you won't struggle to hear the main brief.
The Course
The course starts in the main car park, and you head off North East, heading out of the carpark towards a right turn to take you roughly South East along the top of a dam with great views out to the reservoir on your right, you are still on hard footpath at this point and this is a quick straight section. At the end of the dam you'll reach a right turn to take you off the footpath and onto trails. You will be on trails now for the rest of the lap and they are a mix of harder rocky trails, wooded and barked sections and a few sections of mud (or dirt in summer). After the dam you'll basically be following the circumference of the reservoir in a clockwise direction, a lot of it is under trees as most of the reservoir is surrounded by woods, but you'll occasionally catch glimpses of the reservoir on your right, eventually the trail will take you away from the reservoir, and you'll reach a marshal who will direct you right (away from the start finish area) and back towards the reservoir, so you continue to follow the woodland trail which will soon bring you back to the car park. Lap two is very similar but the second time you reach the marshal he will direct you left taking a more direct (but muddier) way back to the car park and the finish.
Elevation
As parkruns go, with only about 12m of total elevation this is definitely one of the flatter parkrun courses, no real elevation I can remember while out on course.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
The country park is located on Aldenham Road, post code WD6 3BA. Discounted rate for parkrunners is £2.40. The full rate is £4.50, but discount is available to anyone who shows a barcode before 10:30 in the farm shop. This parkrun is well served for facilities, there is a refreshment Kiosk and shop at the south end of the car park and a toilet block at the North side of the car park.
Other Points of Interest
This is a very pretty country park with various walks, an education center, lots of animals and various small holdings and a decent playground. They even have some Ponies!
Summary
This is a lovely friendly parkrun in a very pretty setting and it's a fast flat course with pleasant scenery to enjoy on your way round. We may not originally have intended to come to this parkrun on this particular morning, but it was a great way to spend a morning, and I would whole heartedly recommend a visit when the world gets back to normality again. You might even bump into some tourists like we did, in this case Kevin Haddow, who even says he reads this blog.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course - https://www.parkrun.org.uk/aldenham/course/
Link to a YouTube video I found on the internet covering the number 228 of this parkrun, Nov 2nd 2019 -