Oaklands College parkrun

Chris Jeanes
Aug 10
7 min read

Updated: Aug 12

For my 73rd parkrun course, I took a trip to Oaklands College in St Albans (who were on event number 16 on the morning of my visit), which was both relatively new and since it's opening had been my current NENDY (Nearest Event Not Done Yet). It is a great setting for a parkrun, with some interesting and historic buildings, ample parking and large grounds in which to place the parkrun route. The route has been a bit of a struggle here and I think they were on variation number four after trying a few routes which haven't worked as well. However when I returned a few weeks later they were still on the same route, so it looks like forth time was the charm on this occasion. Oaklands college parkrun is run almost entirely on dirt and gravel trails, and is a triple out and back route, I will cover this in a bit more detail later in this report. The first few weeks of it's opening were wet, so it ended up being very muddy, it was dry and very runnable on the two occasions that I have so far visited this course. This is definitely one of those parkruns where your experience of the event will be greatly determined by the recent weather patterns. [I first visited this parkrun on 3rd May 2025, and revisited on a Redway Runners road-trip on 7th June 2025]

Redway Runners roadtrip to Oaklands College on 7th June 2025

Bit of History

While the modern Oaklands College was established in 1991, the historic mansion house still present on the campus dates back to the 1800s and was purchased by Hertfordshire County Council along with its grounds back in 1920 and it became the Hertfordshire County Council Agricultural Institute. During the 1920s the college provided full and part-time courses for home and overseas students and it later became known as Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture. It became Oaklands College in 1991 with the merger with De Havilland College in Welwyn Garden City and St Albans City College. Today Oaklands College offers a wide degree of BTEC courses across various industries and sectors, as well as A-Levels and Apprenticeships. The College also offers Foundation Degrees, HNDs and HNCs through its partnership with the University of Hertfordshire. The St Alban's campus is also home to a large sport centre equipped with a gym, multi-purpose sports hall and AstroTurf pitches. There is also a Restaurant on site called 'The Stables' which is student-run and is open to the public (although unfortunately not on Saturdays for parkrun).

Briefings

On event 16 there was only one combined briefing, on event 19 I was running late so I think I missed the visitor & first time briefing if there was one. On event 16 we were informed they were now running version 4 of the course, which they are hoping to stick with at least for the summer months, and they were certainly on the same course when I went back on event 19. The briefing gave a good description course which has 3 separate out and back sections, in reality it is much simpler to run than it is to describe. We were also advised to take care as the course is a mixture of grass, dirt trails, mud, stones in places and can be considered to be a cross country trail course where you need to watch your footing as it is very uneven in places. Next was guidance on parkrun rules and the finish funnel guidance for newbies. Unusually no milestone or birthday shout-outs on the briefing on 3rd May. Usual rules for under 11s and dogs (allowed here, one per runner on short lead). Then there was guidance on this course to keep right at all times, this is due to the shape and nature of this course being multiple out and back. So staying right at all times means you won't get in the way of runners coming the other way and also means you won't be crossing the path of runners on different parts of the course. We were advised that if we have any issues out on course to find a marshal, and were reminded first aid and defib are available at the finish area. There was then a request for more participants at the local junior parkrun as the number of runners has been low the last few weeks, and a request for more volunteers at Oaklands College parkrun which is popular with tourists but needs more local runners to volunteer when they can. There were also some very enthusiastic geese who wanted to join in the briefing at various points.

Course Description

Although this course looks a bit odd on paper it is actually very easy to follow. Starting close to the Mansion building you run across the field towards a path on the far side. Turning right onto the path you soon reach a T junction where you take a left, the path becomes a bit rocky here, at the next T junction you take a right and are now running alongside a tree line on your right, at the end of the path you take a right turn onto a dirt trail (stay in the right hand trail here), and you are now starting the first out and back section. This section is about 500m long (so 1km by the time you get back), it is fairly straight and flat and ends with a marshal, turn around and head back along the other side of the dirt trail remaining on the right hand side and passing slower runners on your left. When you get back to the start of the first out and back section carry straight on which takes you straight into the second out and back section. The terrain is identical to the first section (both these sections can be rutted, overgrown or muddy depending on the time of year), this second out and back section is roughly twice the length of the first one, at 1km long and with a left turn about halfway along, by the time you have completed it you are another 2km into the parkrun (a total of about 3.6km into the run at this point). When you get back to the footpath you take a right and you start the final out and back section, which is all on hard surface rocky path and is only 300m or so long. When youb have completed the final out and back section, you take a right back towards the start following the same route you took earlier, staying on the path takes you to the finish close to the mansion.

Three out and backs, start towards bottom left, then middle towards top right, then middle to top and then back to the finish... simples!

Difficulty

I think this is really going to depend on the time of year. Both times I ran it, I would rate it as a 2 out of 5. It is mostly cross country, but when dry it is runnable and it is a fairly flat course. However it is tight and narrow and can be difficult to overtake and it can also get overgrown. However in winter after a lot of rain the difficulty could easily be taken up to a 3 out of 5 as this would make the course muddy and much more difficult to run. I finished around mid 25 minutes both times I ran this parkrun, my quickest times this year at other parkrun courses have been sub 24. I think the difference is at least in part, that overtaking is hard here, so you end up having to settle into the pace of the people around you at this parkrun.

No views out on the course, but the above photo doesn't really give a good feel for this course. — No views out on the course, but the above photo from near the start doesn't really give a good feel for this course.

Elevation

This one is best described as fairly flat, there are some inclines, but nothing major and nothing to worry about, only 22m of climb over the whole 5k.

Fairly flat, couple of gentle inclines only!

Parking, Facilities and Coffee

The toilets are a bit hidden away, but are open before and after the run and can be found in the Sports Centre, also called the Discovery Centre which is building 31 on the site plan. There is no café on site at this parkrun. Redway Runners went to Notcutts Garden Centre after the parkrun, which serves breakfast rolls and cakes as well as teas and coffees.

Toilets can be found in the Discovery Centre

Other Points of Interest

There doesn't appear to be much at the Oaklands College site open to the public, if you are looking for something to do after the parkrun, I would recommend going into the historic centre of St Albans, or relocating to the Verulamium park on the west side of the city (which coincidentally has it's own parkrun) and which also has a museum dedicated to the Roman history of the area. At the college site itself my friend Jacqui and I found a wooden cut-out of a cow, no idea why it is there. There was also a runner who had an excellent modified 250 top with the slogan 'not a cult' not sure about that last statement actually!

Summary

This is a great setting for a parkrun with enthusiastic volunteers, set in college grounds and with the backdrop of a mansion house. This is a fairly flat cross country/trail run and feels very much like a run in the countryside. While I know it can get wet and muddy, it was dry and sunny and very runnable on both mornings I attended. Perhaps one to do in the summer if you don't like the mud, and if you love getting muddy one to do in the winter as well. Just keep an eye out for cancellation notices if there has been a lot of rain because this run can be cancelled if sections of the route get properly flooded. I enjoyed both of my visits to this parkrun and would happily come again if I was in the area.