My first tourist parkrun in a few months found me driving down the M1 to the relatively near by St Albans parkrun, which can be found at the Verulamium park. Verulamium was a town in Roman times in the South West corner of modern day St Albans. Parts of the Roman wall and a remains of a Roman Theatre can be found in the park, and you'll be able to see some of the ruins during the parkrun. It was a pleasant day when we arrived, a cool but dry and sunny autumn's day in October.
The car park for this parkrun is at the Verulamium Museum car park, and from here it is a short walk along a footpath to a children's play area, and the assembly point is a basketball court. On your walk you should also be able to catch a glimpse of St Albans Cathedral in the distance. This parkrun is a pretty two lap course lapping a lake, with lots of great views of the park and ruins. [I visited here on 19th October 2019]
Difficulty
This course is fast and fairly flat with PB potential, there is a slight incline but it's very gentle and you'll barely notice it. The bit around the lake is very flat. There is a grass section halfway round up on a bank parallel to the start/finish path, but other than that it is a very straightforward course. This is definitely a road shoes course, because the vast majority of the course is on hard surfaced footpaths. You might want road shoes with a little bit of grip for the grass section though. Going to rate this as a very fast 1 out of 5 course.
Briefings
The briefings are held on the Basketball court next to a children's playground. The visitor and first timer briefing has a helpful laminated route map of the course which is held up while they describe the course.
Course
From the start at the Basketball court, you will head South East along a narrow footpath (don't be afraid to run on the grass if you need a bit of space, it will soon open up and you can rejoin the path), after about 300m you'll be directed left and you'll soon pass a lake on your left, and after another left turn onto short section of causeway (with water on both sides).
From here you'll be completing an anti-clockwise lap of the lake. The lap of the lake is about 1.2km, and on your way round you'll be treated to stunning views of the park and lake, and will be able to pick out sections of the Roman wall if you keep your eyes open. There's a pretty little bridge across the lake on the far side, but rather than cross it, you stay on the shore of the lake all the way around. Once you have completed the lap of the lake, you'll be directed right, then right again back onto the footpath you came down earlier. You'll head back past the start and keep going, you'll next reach the finish area (but keep going), until you eventually reach the end of the path, where you'll be directed left, and then leaving the footpath, taking another left and up onto a grass bank. You'll now be heading along a grass bank for the next 500m or so, running parallel to the start finish footpath, it was a bit slippery on the morning I did it as the grass was a bit damp. At the end of the bank there is a left turn (down a slope), and then picking up the footpath again before completing another anti-clockwise lap of the lake, after the second lap of the lake, you'll head back along the footpath again, past the start area and on to the finish area close to the museum car park.
Elevation
The only elevation to speak of is from the end of the lake lap back up to the finish, but it's quite gentle and barely noticeable, although you will do it twice. Total Elevation is 19m so nothing major.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
The car park is £1.60 and is very convenient for the start. The toilets in the car park are open before the start which is useful if you've had a long drive, post parkrun is at the Inn on the park, close to the start finish footpath. The Roman museum opens at 10:00 if you're not in a hurry. This parkrun definitely has the makings of a good morning out!
Other points of interest
There are plenty of Roman ruins around the park, and the Museum is also worth a visit if you're hanging around for a bit. I took the following photo through the window...
Summary
This is a very pretty course, especially on a nice sunny morning. It is fast and fairly flat with definite PB potential. There are lots of points of interest to keep you occupied out on course. Good facilities and things to do after the run. This is a great parkrun and I'm definitely planning a revisit at some point.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course - https://www.parkrun.org.uk/stalbans/
Link to my Relive summary of the course - https://www.relive.cc/view/v8qkNjJddK6
Link to a 5 minute video of the course I found on YouTube -