Normanby Hall parkrun

Normanby Hall parkrun

A totally flat course around the grounds of Normanby Hall, near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire. The postcode provided (DN15 9HU) took us directly into the car park. There is also a large overflow car park but it is on grass, so on rainy days your car will get muddy if you have to park there. Car parking is free until 11am (as of Oct-17), if you display a parkrun barcode in your car windscreen, so remember to take a spare one if you’re driving. The toilets are highly visible, right next to the car park and were open, clean and free to use. The cafe was open earlier than usual so that runners could get post-run refreshments.

The course is mostly on tarmac paths, with some stretches of firm, gravelly path and a couple of short off-road sections through the trees. Some of the course goes through a forested area where some of the paths there are quite narrow – it was sometimes hard to overtake as you could not always step off the path. It’s not a straightforward course and does loop around quite a lot, but there were marshalls in the key spots so it was hard to take a wrong turn. One short stretch of path is used by three different sections of the course, in different directions, so it did get pretty busy, but the path was wider and there were signs and marshals advising which part of the path to use. We ran on a very rainy day and it was rather muddy. Most people’s feet and legs were covered by the time they’d finished, so it would be advisable to take a change of clothes if you’re running on a wet day.

There was a great atmosphere at Normanby Hall parkrun, in spite of the rotten weather – runners and volunteers were all cheering one another. There is something a bit special about running around the grounds – the start and finish are in front of the Hall and you pass it a few times during the run, and it does make for a lovely backdrop. The estate is 300 acres and the Hall is open in the summer for visitors, so you could make a day of it.

Author: parkrunner, “HP”

Key Info:

Official Event page: Normanby Hall parkrun

Nearby postcode: DN15 9HU

Hills: New Course, not known

Subjective PB Potential: 9/10

See below for difficulty ranking

parkrun : Hardest & Easiest Courses in UK | course difficulty