In the town of Orpington in the Borough of Bromley you can find Hoblingwell Wood, where Hoblingwell parkrun takes place. The origin of this name is previously it was thought to be the home to an elf or goblin which was known as a ‘hob’. The area became known as ‘Hob’s Well’ and then evolved to Hobblingwell. I previously attended Hoblingwell parkrun in March 2018. It was the weekend when England was terrorised by the Beast from the East storm. This led to parkruns being closed all across the country but not Hoblingwell. Perhaps due to it’s history of hosting elves it is also comfortable with beasts.
Hoblingwell Wood was landscaped into its current shape and size around 1949 and is now called Hoblingwell Woods Recreation Ground, home to many sports.
Volunteers assembled, marking the course and putting out bunting and St George flags. This was an example of the fever gripping the country which was getting ready for the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms taking place at Westminster Abbey later in the day. I was reminded of the solemnity of the parkrun I attended after Queen Elizabeth had died in September 2023. Today you could certainly feel a sense of hopefulness in the air.
As 0900 approached a new runners briefing was done for the assembled with a few people doing their first parkrun. We then went to the clubhouse from where the course starts. It is an anti-clockwise lap of one sports field before snaking across to the forestry section where I hoped we might catch a glimpse of an elf. Sadly the elves were either too scared to show themselves or too busy getting ready for the coronation.
The course is predominantly on grass with 56m of elevation. About 10% of the course is on trails, through the forest section and then about 30% on permanent paths. Unlike on my last visit, this time there was no snow.
I had quite a spring in my step and was feeling good about finishing in the top 10. With 200m to go the chap in front of me pulled up, appearing to be out of puff. I checked he was ok before surging off to gain a podium finish, 3rd on the day! I hit my age grading target, too. Making this a very satisfying coronation occasion.
As we took the train back the carriages were full of face-painted children with the Union Jack, flags and good cheer. Come what may be that the death of Monarch or the coronation of Kings, all things being well next week I’ll be doing another London parkrun.
Happy running
Interesting facts!