Exploring

What a weekend! I’ve felt like I’ve been on holiday for the last two days (even with mowing the lawn and going to Sainsbury’s) - the sun is most welcome.

This afternoon I decided to give Mike’s advice a go and have a bit of an explore of what running route I could do from my new home. Armed in the heat with a cap and water bottle, I ventured out.

Within about two minutes I was lost, somehow having missed a turning and running round identical-looking residential streets, ending up where I started. Felt like a bit of a plonker. Then I realised I had cleverly timed the start of my run with the end of the one day cricket international between England and the West Indies, taking place round the corner from my house. People were pouring out of the ground, and I was going against the flow, which was pretty hard work, and putting up with people shouting drunken encouragement/abuse at me.

At last, having run a little down Ashley Hill, I reached the top of the allotments and dropped down through them – having a nose at what vegetables everyone was growing as I went. Then I had my first ever view of St Werburgh’s City Farm, a delightful smell of manure in the air! Managed to resist stopping off for a Sunday roast at the café… but only just. At this point I didn’t really have a clue where I was or where to go – Mike had suggested heading for Purdown so I was trying to find the mast on the horizon.

Purdown mast

But I ended up going the wrong way, an interesting detour, but still the wrong way. Found The Climbing Academy but then hit a roundabout with a halaal butchers on – the very one I drive past on my way home from work every day. Which meant I was basically at the bottom of Ashley Hill and not getting very far. So I turned around, tried the other direction and found a footpath (think it might have been the new cycle path from Hopetoun Road to Muller Road but not sure) through another load of allotments. And finally, I could see the mast. By this point I had been running for about 30 minutes, and from this point on I mixed running and walking as I worked out where to go next and gave my knees a rest every now and then. By the time I got home I had been out nearly two hours what with all the exploring and wrong turns, so some walking was necessary.

I wove my way through Lockleaze until I found the vast green expanse that the mast sits in and I was stunned. How had I never known that this place existed? On this beautiful summer’s evening, with barbecue smoke filling the air, I was blown away by the views over Bristol and the fields full of dandelions and daisies.

Definitely one to investigate more in my next long run, preferably without all the detours along the way!

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Comments

[Mike]

I doubt that was The Climbing Academy - probably Undercover Rock, in the church in St Werburgh's?