To think the National Trust should not let Park Run volunteers marshal the cars at a NT property

Please see attached map:

For those who don't know, Limetree Avenue (drunk red dots) is where most people park and then get told off. It's nearly 2 miles long to give a sense of scale. They have now erected lots of wooden bollards (they don't need to be spaced so close together- wasteful!) to stop people parking on there. The purple cross is where the car park is so if you want to be the far side of Limetree Avenue it's a long walk.
The blue circle is where I parked (the side road next to the gatehouse has a little layby where you can still park) - if you want to explore that end it is way too far to walk from the carpark. Beware the gates are sometimes locked so you may need to go the longer way round.

The side roads are a whole other matter - they were closed to put people off going in early lockdown (with signs to that effect) but somehow never reopened....

I know where to park to hide! 😁

Truman's Lodge is the one off the road to Carburton isn't it? (Clumber Lane).

That was open last time I went, and is the way I intend to go tomorrow.
The new Lodges are alongside, so I can't imagine they would close it.

Agreed @Binglebong - hope you had a nice walk; I can't say I'm familiar with where you went (so I obviously don't know every square acre, as I thought....) - since the DHL site was created, I haven't gone much along that side.

Yes, there is a sense that they are wanting to discourage people (and volunteers as well? I hadn't heard about that), certainly from Clumber, which is as much as I know.

I have been far far over the other side - and ended up alongside the gallops for the racing yard at Carburton., that was a long pedal. But the size of accessible areas is definitely reducing, and even as inaccessibility (e.g. parking) is increasing.

If you are on the website press the three dots at the top of your post - you have about 10 minutes after posting in which you can edit. I don't know if it's available on the app.

Well you lot inspired me to go to Clumber today. I went in the back way because the walk I wanted is on the far side of Limetree Avenue over near the golf course. There is no way that if I'd been in an official carpark (I was too late anyway) that I'd have been able to reach there - they seem to be trying to keep large parts of the park available only to the special, very fit, few. I appreciate that they need to look after the trees but they way they are doing so make visitors feel very unwanted.

I know this isn't the point of the thread but it is a symptom of the same thing - National Trust properties only being available to the ones deemed pure. They are having massive internal rows at the moment and isolating a lot of good volunteers.

I meant what if
when will mums net give an edit function!

@MasterBeth

true while people keeping fit is good.
these runs are too big and park run while successful for those who do it is becoming a huge pain everywhere.

its not the idea it’s the entitled runners thinking that because it is organised it’s ok.

what we other did organised brick stacking. To block there path and then took it down.

thats exercise too.

the honest truth is it need to be groups of mix 30 people then it’s never an issue.

Yes, that's an option.

But in the interests of research, I'll go along Clumber Lane and through the crossroads and see what's what. Weather permitting, I'll go round the Lake on my bike and visit the coffee stand near Hardwick if it's there.

I do think though that the NT is somewhat shooting itself in the foot effectively closing the car park closest to the money-makers though. I cannot remember how people get to the shop and café from the Event field/now Main Car Park, so that's of interest as well.

I've parked at Hardwick Village on a mid week morning in the autumn and walked to central bark and back and barely seen a sole.

Nowadays we tend to walk in from a layby on the A614 as it saves a bit of driving.

Maybe even they aren't fully aware of what I was told today.... And that the Accessible car park is now ONLY the Accessible (and staff?) car park. I did ask if a Blue Badge was needed as proof, and she wasn't 100% on that - I suppose plenty will say that they need it, without "proof" - so it won't be long before that's a requirement officially as well.

I intend to try it out tomorrow.

My history is so long that, when I first went there, my mother was living above the Stables (which is where the bookshop is I think??); she moved after a while to one of the cottages overlooking the Cricket Ground. And more "recently" would have a lovely ride on the wide verges and under the lovely trees on Limetree.
I wish it was still so quiet. I am probably in for a fright tomorrow, even a mid-week morning....

Yes, that's what my Parkrunning friend said, and why he doesn't go to the Clumber one any more. Even remotely close to the front, you will meet the back of the pack on their first lap. and the number of people is not fun at all!

"Running for pleasure" seems a bit of an oxymoron to me! 😰

Clipboard Clives

Love it.

I expect they are both grateful to the OP for pointing this out to them.

Did you read the long patronising ticking off the RD gave the OP on page 4 for getting it all wrong? According to him she'd got the wrong car park, the wrong map, the wrong distances, the wrong times. Not a smidge of 'okay, it seems there might be a problem, I'll look into it'. He was about as far from grateful to her for pointing out the issue as he could possibly be.

I think the problem is with all events like this is that a lot of the volunteers end up being of the more officious variety and try and impose random rules on everyone, whether they’re part of the group or not! Happened with a swimming group I used to attend - the Clipboard Clives took all the enjoyment out of it (and before anyone asks, I did try to volunteer but the Clives put so many rules in place, no one could comply)

Not the point of the thread but I'm also quite surprised at the popularity of the event.
Having enjoyed running for exercise, there's nothing worse in my opinion than being paced by other people, avoiding trampling someone's heels, not being able to see past the bodies all the obstacles or reasons for sudden halts, not being in "the zone" but exchanging scuse mees and platitudes instead, hearing gargling and laboured breathing instead of nature or music...

It's like arriving to a swimming pool to find it incredibly busy. Surely everyone would prefer it fully to themselves instead?

Just as I start to think I'm normal, hundreds of thousands of people disagree.... 😁

Not surprising. Stick too many people together in a crowd and the effect is akin' to a lemming on crack.
Someone will get trampled to death or assaulted in the bushes and that will be the point of "lessons have been learned". Such is the eventual end story of all hardly-regulated mass events.

Sounds like the Park Run has outgrown it's capacity to "run" smoothly.

I am a parkrunner, yes. I only know first-hand about what happens at my parkrun and a few others I've also gone to. From some of the anecdotal posts on this thread it sounds as if there are sometimes problems at other parkruns, which is a shame, but not very surprising, given how big parkrun has become, and that it's run by volunteers. Given the latest information about this Clumber, it sounds like the NT has made a change which has caused problems for both parkrunners and other visitors, and neither the NT nor parkrun has yet sorted this out, as they clearly need to do to avoid further confrontation and inconvenience. I expect they are both grateful to the OP for pointing this out to them.

Aaannd... a Parkrunner immediately jumps upon this information to point the blamey finger at someone else. I should draw up a bingo card. Being in the 'right' at all costs doesn't win support for one's cause, as the 85% YANBU voting figure above illustrates.