Ludlow parkrun

nr Ludlow, England

Ludlow parkrun route map - start at the top, take a right turn (left from this perspective) and run a short loop to near the finish, then two loops of everything else. Plenty of ups and downs!

On a sunny day I joined a couple of friends near Ludlow. The name had us thinking of a town park event, but a left turn up a prominent hill with a view over the valley made it clear we would be somewhere much more idyllic.

After everyone had left - it’s much busier and more welcoming pre-event

It was also significantly hillier than that mythical park, though not as bad as it might seem as you gaze out from the viewpoint on the road on the way there, at which point it’s hard to imagine there’s much flat land at all.

Slightly uphill start, as I set off sensibly walking

I injured my achilles a few weeks ago and had walked the last few, but was keen to try a bit of running. This event was a good one to try walk-running at, as the uphill sections were a great excuse to walk, while the generous downhill sections meant I could make up plenty of time. I thought I did a fair amount of walking but was over 20 minutes quicker than the more leisurely walk the week before (admittedly, there are a couple of extended downhills and I couldn’t resist taking advantage to cover the totality of them more quickly).

I’ll walk the ups and run the downs, I thought. But this is neither, nor am I walking

As I hope the photos show, it’s a lovely place. My view is of course skewed by relatively little effort on the ups, but it felt like the ups were fair, and the downs really quite extended. You start slightly uphill before a left turn takes you down and down, and at that point it seems you will have an awful lot of climbing just to get back to where you were, but some of it is gentle.

A wider path

Good surface pretty much throughout

There is free parking but no other facilities - no loos, no bins - which perhaps keeps the numbers down despite it being such a great setting. The hills may play a part, too. But I recommend it without reservation.

Climbing gently through the trees

This lady was quicker than me, but the dog found many things to sniff so I caught up

See? Many things to check out

Results from Ludlow parkrun #394, 10/5/25; 127 finishers

Some bonus pictures from Witley Court, a ruined mansion in Worcestershire with beautiful gardens, and an elaborate show from the fountains every hour. I spotted it on the way to parkrun and figured it was a chance to use my membership to see somewhere new. On the walk up I realised I’d been before - almost certainly on the way back from a different parkrun - but it was worth another visit. The church alone is sensational.

Witley Court, English Heritage