Just inside the M25 to the east, lies Dartford Heath, bought by Dartford Urban District Council from Courtenay Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, in 1925 following the passing of the Law of Property Act of that year. This law restricted the right of the owners to deface common lands. Courtenay had been excavating granite, chalk and clay with parallel mounds from the 19th century known as the Glory Bumps. These are visible and make up part of the course.
The Dartford bypass was built in the 1930s and then the A2 dual carriageway in 1973. These provide the 314 acre Heath with its current shape. Traditional horticulture and vegetation has been maintained meaning this Heath is composed of wonderfully weathered acid grassland, broadleaved semi-natural woodland, heather and dwarf gorse. The Heath benefits from being in the Countryside Commission Scheme part of DEFRA’s 25 year environment plan.
The course starts near the ‘Donkey Pond’ and is a clockwise two-lap, flat course. There’s a loop through a small woodland/forest section too. This section is like trial running giving the course a varied feel. The loop offers the chance to see other runners enabling high fives and encouraging calls. When I previously attended in December 2022 the ground was good to firm which is to my liking. I’d run strongly and finished 2nd. On this occasion, I ran 36secs faster but ended up coming 4th proving your finish position really does depend on who shows up on the day 😀
There were 70 participants and 14 Hi-Viz heroes, including the new event directors who were friendly and welcoming Dartfordians who ensured everything went smoothly on the day.
This event and course were completely different to the previous week’s run and only my second on a heath. It goes to show the vast diversity within the parkrun stable of events inside the M25. Running on/in a Heath has a very different feel to running in a park, Heaths are wilder spaces. There are two parkruns in Dartford and if you only do one I would recommend this one for its sense of space, wildness and glory bumps, I really enjoyed it.
Next week we'll be taking on Lloyd parkrun in Croydon.
Happy running
Nice bit of history and live the heather photo