Been working my way towards this for sometime. After over 5 years and 221 parkruns (including an extended break due to Covid), I was finally heading to Westmill Farm Caravan and Camping site near Ware, Hertfordshire for my 50th parkrun event, and what a stunner Westmill parkrun actually is. This pretty parkrun course is two anti-clockwise laps starting from the Three Lakes restaurant, heading first downhill towards the lakes then following the lakes before heading back up the hill to the campsite.
[I first visited this parkrun on 24th September 2022]
Bit of History
Westmill parkrun takes it's name from Westmill Farm which is no longer in operation, the old farm house is a grade II listed building which now appears to be abandoned. Today the farm is now home to a Restaurant, a Camping and Caravan Site, Outdoor Activities, Zorb Strike, an Arts Centre and Gallery, Fishing Lakes and a Fishing Tackle Store, a Pine Shop, an Indoor Play Barn, Model Cars, a Nine Hole Golf Course and an Aqua Park. For more info see the Westmill Farm Website.
Briefings
Both briefs took place at the finish, which is actually a couple of minutes walk from the actual start. The first timer briefing included a good description of the course a good proportion of which is visible from the finish area at the top of the hill. The main briefing focused on the usual parkrun announcements (including my 50th different event), calls for volunteers and the parkrun rules and guidelines. Both briefings were clear and easy to hear. I have included a recording both briefings in my YouTube Video link further down the page.
The Course
So after the briefings at the finish area, there is a joint walk over to the start which is a couple of minutes walk from the finish/briefing area. You start on a footpath, and from the start you head North along the footpath, after about 200m you take a left off the footpath and onto a field heading downhill following the hedge line on your left, it's quite steep so go careful here, at the bottom of the field, turn sharp right before hitting the hedge at the bottom of the field, after the sharp right, you take another sharp (180 degrees) left and onto a trail path which gradually takes you past 3 separate lakes on your right, you'll run onto and off again some footpaths but the path is mainly trail. When you get to the end of the third lake you'll take a sweeping left starting the climb back up to the farm and the finish area, taking the same route as you took earlier back towards the start. Lap 2 is the same as Lap 1. The hill back to the finish is a bit of a challenge but it is worth it for the amazing views from the top of the hill.
Difficulty
I suspect that the difficulty is somewhat dependant on the time of year and how much rain there has been. In a wet winter you would definitely want hybrids or trail shoes, but when we went the ground was solid and very runnable so we were fine in road shoes. With 75m of ascent this is at least a 3 out of 5 for difficulty, probably rising to a 4 out of 5 if the ground is particularly muddy.
Elevation
With 75m of total elevation this is definitely one of the more challenging ones, a steep downhill fairly close to the start, before some undulations passing the lakes, before a steady climb back to the start for the second lap, and then repeat.
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
Westmill Farm has it's own car park which can be found at SG12 0ES and has car park attendants and space for 100 cars. Toilets are available in a set of buildings on the way to the finish/briefing area. Post parkrun coffee is at the Three Trees Restaurant, where we stayed for some very tasty breakfast rolls. You get great views of the course from the outdoor seating area.
Other Points of Interest
As mentioned above, there are so many varied and different facilities at Westmill Farm, this is a clearly a Campsite for very active people, and as well as the Restaurant, Art Shop, Outdoor Activities, Water Sports, Fishing facilities and Golf Course, there are also loads of facilities for Children, including a Splash park, Trampolines, Go Karts and a Sky Ride.
Summary
I couldn't have picked a better parkrun for my 50th different location. A stunning mixed terrain parkrun with friendly volunteers, amazing scenery and loads of facilities. In terms of the campsite setting it reminded me a little of Henlow Bridge Lakes, but the course is more like a mixture of Dunstable Downs and maybe Kettering, which is probably the only other parkrun with so much else to do after parkrun at the event. Anyway this parkrun is highly recommended and it was a very enjoyable parkrun to reach my 50th event at.
Links
Link to official parkrun site for this course: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/westmill
My YouTube Video Review of this parkrun: