My 60th parkrun course was run on the morning of my sister's wedding, so it was a quick zip into Bridport, complete the parkrun and then make a quick exit back to the Wedding venue (although I did stop long enough for a takeout coffee). I'll be honest this parkrun wasn't even on my radar until I looked for the closest parkrun venue to the wedding venue and I forgot to take a customary selfie with the sign, I must have been a bit pre-occupied with something else on my mind. It's a very pretty little park, with good parking at the local football ground, and the course is three laps and mixed terrain with a very short incline on each lap. It was a sunny morning, so it made for a very pleasant parkrun.
[I first visited this parkrun on 26th August 2023]
Bit of History
Bridport is a small market town near the coast of Dorset, it has Saxon origins, and during the reign of King Alfred it was one of four significant towns in the county of Dorset, it would originally have had fortifications and it's own mint. It also has a long history in the industry of rope and net making. More recently Bridport has featured as the filming location for a number of TV programmes including Broadchurch. Most of the buildings in the main street date back to the 18th Century, which gives the town a very historic feel. The parkrun gets it's name from St Mary's park which itself gets it's name from St Mary's Church, the Church of England parish church for the town which dates back to the 13th century and is quite unusual in having a central tower which dates from the 15th century. The town is well worth a visit after your morning parkrun fix, I couldn't spend much time here unfortunately due to prior commitments.
Briefings
The volunteer giving the visitor and first timer briefing had a map of the course printed on a big piece of card which is always welcome to the tourist, particularly if it is a complicated course, which fortunately this one isn't. I'll cover the course in it's own section below. Main briefing covered the usual call outs for first time parkrunners and for Tourists (North Yorkshire, Manchester, London and Wales this morning), a mention of the local cafe, as well as thanks to the volunteers, safety notices and reminder not to take the finish tokens home. They also had pacers on, which is always useful if you're aiming for a PB.
The Course
Starting on the grass of the recreation ground looking south back towards the car park at the football ground, you are instead directed right and then right again to head North to complete half a lap of the recreation ground, after leaving the recreation ground you take a left turn up a sharp short incline, turning right to pass some residential houses, on a raised footpath, depending where you are in the field you will probably see faster runners on the return leg passing by you on the right on a lower level footpath. After the residential houses, you take a 180 loop taking you down to a lower footpath passing the raised footpath you have just left (including all the runners behind you) on the right. You will then rejoin the footpath taking you back to the recreation ground, please keep left to allow slower runners coming the other way to pass you safely. Reaching the recreation ground again you will be directed left to come back down the recreation ground on the opposite side from the out section. You will pass the start finish area and this time keep heading south all the way to the fooball carpark and a marshall with a cone. Another 180 round the cone, back up the footpath (again keep left to pass slower runners on the right), and back to the recreation ground, taking a left turn to finish lap 1 and start lap 2. Same again for lap 2. On lap 3 after you reach the marshall with the cone for the third time, you just need to head North all the way to the finish in the recreation ground. It looks complicated but it's actually quite simple in practice.
Difficulty
2 out of 5 due to the section running on grass and the number of twists and sharp turns. There is no major elevation to deal with here and the majority of the course is on footpath so it is still a fairly easy course.
Elevation
You can see the elevated section on the graph below, but it's really nothing major and the rest of the course is as flat as a pancake!
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
The car park is at Bridport FC with plenty of free parking. I didn't actually find the official coffee location for this parkrun which is in the local bouldering centre Rockburn, the postcode for which is DT6 3RW. I instead ended up at a very nice café called Soulshine on South Street. Toilets can be found either at South Street carpark or at Bridport Bus Station.
Other Points of Interest
The Bridge from the park leading into town has been recently renovated by the town council and a local brewery in commemoration of the Royal Coronation. There is a plaque to that effect. At the end of the bridge if you take a left the footpath leads to the bouldering centre, if you go straight on through a community orchard you will come to the church and South Street.
Summary
This is a pretty and welcoming parkrun in the historic town of Bridport, if you come here I would definitely recommend checking out the town a bit before you leave. It's a great little course and it's also close to the coastal resort of West Bay which is also worth a visit.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/stmarys
My YouTube Video Review of this parkrun: