markshall estate parkrun review

Markshall Estate Parkrun Review

Markshall Estate Parkrun is one of my local parkruns in Coggleshall, Essex.

It is a short fifteen to twenty minute drive from my home in Colchester.

Finding Markshall Estate Parkrun

This Parkrun takes place in Markshall Estate, a popular beautiful venue with over 200 acres of stunning arboretum and gardens.

It is pretty easy to find, coming off the A120 on to the B1024 turning signposted Earl’s Colne. The next left is Marks Hall Road. This is a single-track road and your need to drive carefully, until you arrive at the estate.

When you arrive at the estate, follow the Parkrun signs to the car park.

Head to the entrance of the estate and your see people congregating outside the cafe and toilets.  

Course

The start is around ten minutes walk from the car park, just beyond the coach house and barns.

It is a pretty straight forward course to follow on a mixture of tarmac, stoney concrete, trail and grass.

You start on the tarmac path that leads you to a left turn, that will take you through the arboretum along a stoney, concrete trail track, which has some nice elevations.

The course takes you left onto a trail track that leads you past the finish area.

Turn left over the small bridge, up the cheeky little hill, left again at the top of hill and back onto the tarmac path past the house and barns back towards the start for the second lap.

On your second lap, when you approach the finish area, turn right on to the grassy area leading to finishing funnel.

The finish is behind the cafe and car park.

You can see my Strava activity HERE to see elevations and the course in detail.

Toilets

There are toilets in the building next to the cafe.

Coffee

There is hot and cold drinks, cakes and light meals available in the Orchard Kitchen cafe at the entrance.

This is where the post run coffee takes places and you are quite a way from anything else, so most people go here.

Cost

The cost of Parkrun is FREE. You just need to register and take your barcode to register your time.

Results

You can find the latest results for Markshall Estate Parkrun HERE

Would I Do It Again?

Yes definitely, it is a great course. It is fairly fast with some elevations to increase your heart rate.

Things To Bear In Mind

  • It is not a particularly busy Parkrun by UK comparisons with only roughly 200 runners each week
  • Although it is mostly on hard paths, it can be particularly wet, stoney and muddy in places and trail shoes are probably your best choice of shoes, unless you have a spare pair of super shoes you do not mind getting dirty. 
  • In the winter, whilst I don't think it is a requirement most runners take there shoes off on entering the cafe, as your shoes can be quite muddy after completing this course.

Questions

If you have any questions you would like to ask about the Markshall Estate Parkrun in Coggleshall, please ask below in the comments.

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