Although not an officially registered milestone with my 400th park-run appearing on the horizon I wanted to do something special. After some thought I quickly settled upon returning with friends to Mole Valley park-run.
Nestled in the valleys of the Surrey Hills is Denbies wine estate. Originally a farm house and estate owned by John Denbies it has changed hands multiple times with the land being owned by Jonathan Tyers, owner of Vauxhall pleasure gardens in London and the fantastically named Lord King Ocham. The land was bought in 1986 by Bywater, a water treatment company. The chairman, Adrian Whyte, had the fantastic idea to use 268 acres of the south facing land to plant a vineyard.
Taking the Bradley Lane junction of the A24 you snake towards the Denbies main building with its restaurants, hotel and winery. It’s a beautifully presented estate and behind the main building the hills are adorned in vines. This is home to Mole Valley however you could be mistaken for thinking you were in Tuscany.
The one lap course starts at the right of the main building, doing a lap of a field before climbing up a steep hill that keeps on going before taking a left which offers views of the Denbies estate, across the vineyard and Box Hill. The weather was incredible, the sky a Royal blue. Running through hedgerows and vines, this was drama, it was exceptional and took my breath away.
After finishing my run I went back to cheer friends and others along. And once we’re all finished we went to the observatory restaurant for brunch followed by the wine tasting winery tour! This took place in the winery and we learned how the land has a layer of chalk which is excellent for the growth of vines as it allows water to flow through them and that the estate has a natural tree screen which protects the vines from wind. We were shown the vinification process of transforming grape juice into wine whilst sampling various award winning wines along the way.
Finishing at the shop we left with bottles a plenty, stories and a special feeling inside, this was a Saturday adventure which was utterly divine.
Happy running
Lovely write up. One of my favourite venues in quite close proximity of London
Daniela B
Great venue for a parkrun
Amazing! Looks like a stunning location! Good to know you can combine a couple of life’s loves together!