Y is for Yeovil, my 27th different parkrun location and my 150th parkrun overall. Another glorious National Trust grounds parkrun, this time in Somerset in the countryside fairly close to Yeovil. Being a National Trust property the facilities are excellent with toilets, cafe, gift shop, free parking and gorgeous scenery with an impressive manor house and well tended gardens, Montacute House is a beautiful Elizabethan mansion built around 1598. Fun fact, Tottington Hall in the Wallace and Gromit film 'Curse of the Ware Rabbit' was based on Montacute House. For more info on the property see here.
It was a glorious warm summers morning on the day I visited in July and they had pacers on, which is always good for those of you who are going for a time. I even took my sister along to spectate and for a bit of company in the car, she finds my running habit a bit crazy, but was happy to have a quiet walk of the grounds while I was off doing the run. Like Killerton, If you are a National Trust member you are also asked to put your name down on a clipboard at the end of the run as your visit counts towards funding the property receives from the trust for visitor numbers. Also like Killerton, it is a very pretty and scenic run parkrun around the grounds of Montacute with some great views of the local landscape and the local sheep, it's not flat, but the inclines are long and gentle rather than short and sharp, the first incline is fairly obvious at the start, it's not as hilly as Killerton, but still a fairly good challenge and a good excuse to get your trails out (especially in wetter months). I also set a fairly quick time here to continue my run of sub 25 parkuns. [I visited here on 27th July 2019]
Difficulty
This course is very much a cross country course and almost entirely on grass, combined with some inclines I would rate this one as a solid 3 out of 5. Trails are recommended in winter, in summer you will get away with road shoes.
The Course
A single roughly figure of eight lap (with a small repeated section), it is a mostly anti-clockwise course. Nice to do another single lap course. You start facing away from the house, looking up a wide open grass bank, lined with trees on either side, lots of sheep were grazing here on the morning of my visit. The briefing is held at the start and the visitor briefing is worth attending to give you some tips of what to expect out on course, they mentioned a hill towards the end of the course, when you get back in the vicinity of the house, in reality I didn't find it too bad but it was good to be forewarned.
From the start you run up along the tree lined grass bank, until you get halfway along the path (400m from the start) when you are directed right, following another tree line for another 400m, until you are directed left, you've now completed the first incline and are heading down for a bit. After about another 400m you'll be directed left because you've reached the top of the tree lined bank you were running along earlier, but this time you'll be running down the bank towards the house. After 600m or so you'll pass the start finish area and then be directed left on a longish loop taking you on a large anti-clockwise lap of the grounds of Montacute house, climbing for about the next km, where you will pass a section you ran earlier, before cresting the hill at the top of the tree lined grass path. This time you'll pass the tree lined path on your left, and continue north before, taking some twists and turns generally heading west and downhill back towards the House. When you get back to the vicinity of the house, there is a short sharp climb before leveling out about 400m from the finish back where you started. As I stated earlier this is a cross country course, so be prepared for some mud, if it's been raining recently. Don't forget to look around you, there is gorgeous scenery and wooded sections making it a very pleasant run all in all.
Elevation
Two gentle slopes to climb, and one short sharp climb near the finish. Total Elevation is 58m, so it represents a bit of a challenge. It is ranked 378th flattest out of 519 parkruns ranked by https://jegmar.com/stats-hq/fastest-races/parkrun/
Parking, Facilities and Coffee
Parking here is in the National Trust carpark and is free. Toilet facilities at Montacute House, and post parkrun coffee is at the Montacute House Cafe. There is also a gift shop.
Summary
A stunning scenic and very enjoyable parkrun of a very pretty house and grounds. Highly recommended on a nice day! Now one of my all time favourite parkrun courses.
Links
Link to the official parkrun site for this event: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/yeovilmontacute/
Link to the National Trust website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/montacute-house
Link to the relive view of my run: https://www.relive.cc/view/vE6J2w8xng6
Link to a video I found on youtube for a runners eye view of this parkrun :