After the success of our Eden Project weekend, we were quick to book another trip. The destination seemed fairly obvious – of the 7 Cornish parkruns (for now) we’d done all but 1. So a trip to Bude and Tamar Lakes parkrun was in order.
Tamar Lakes parkrun takes place at Upper Tamar Lakes, near Bude in North Cornwall. It’s about 1 hour 40 minutes’ drive from Taunton, but with two small children (one of whom gets car sick) there was no way we were driving down on the day. So we stayed at the Premier Inn in Bude overnight (possibly one of the nicest Premier Inns I’ve ever stayed in) and so had a drive of less than 20 minutes instead.
The postcode from the website took us to the right area, with signs guiding us the rest of the way. There was a car park marshal guiding people to free spaces – although we arrived before they’d taken up position. The kids were quick to spot the play park, and we had the obligatory chat about not visiting it until after the run. The first thing I noticed, on the other hand, was the absolutely stunning backdrop of the lake.
Toilets were easily located at the back of the car park, and with the buggy assembled we headed down to the lakeside. The Start sign was clearly visible on the dam, and the kids had fun running across. I mentioned to Lani that perhaps it would be better to save her energy for the actual run, but she insisted that she was just warming up (which she backed up with the entire junior parkrun warm up). We eventually managed to get KK back in the buggy, just in time for the run briefing. There wasn’t a first timers’ briefing that I noticed, but the main briefing included a course description (round the lake) and other details. Crucially, for those of us starting at the back, it was run on the right pass on the left.
As we lined up to start, the other two buggy runners were discussing avoiding the gully down the middle of the dam. Always good to have a warning. Ben asked me if I’d seen the finish, and wished me luck. A glance over showed that the finish was on a grass incline. Not the best thing to be thinking about, but good to know at least. As is traditional, somewhere in the midst of lining up I missed the start. But I quickly tucked in behind the other buggys (being honest about your pace makes for a much easier parkrun life) and set off across the dam.
The paving slabs were a little uneven, and with the congestion it was tough to avoid the aforementioned gully without almost grinding to a halt. But we were soon across the dam and onto the main compacted gravel path around the lake. The surface was pretty familiar, being virtually identical to that at Longrun Meadow. What was less familiar was the beautiful backdrop of the lake. Oh, and the undulations. Because there was a surprising amount of up and down for going round the lake.
Unsurprisingly, I had passing conversations with quite a few people. Including the Event Director, who was running her 100th parkun (congratulations!). She confirmed that while it’s a gorgeous place to run in good weather, it’s pretty unforgiving in the wind and rain. I settled into a sort-of rhythm, holding my ground on the ups and doing my overtaking on the downs to work my way into the right place.
The greenery to the left (lake side) became thicker and thicker, until we’d veered away from the lake and could see only trees at each side. Around this point (about halfway through) I realised two things. Firstly, the course at this stage was very reminiscent of Southwick Country parkrun. And secondly, I was very tired and didn’t feel like I was going to manage to keep running. This thought mostly lead to spiralling thoughts of how little I’ve run recently, and how it was highly unlikely I’d actually make it to the end without walking.
As the path rejoined the lake, I found myself more and more having to keep to the right as people overtook me. Which was a slight issue, as there was a relatively smooth track on the left and significantly more rocks on the right. Just before the 3 mile mark a path veered off to the side, and so there was a marshal pointing the way. I realised this was the first marshal we’d seen, and was slightly worried how Lani would be given this was her first single lap course and she normally relies on cheers from marshals to get her round.
We quickly reached another marshal, who guided us past the front of the fishing permit hut towards the end. That just left the simple matter of the uphill grass finish, marked out by cones. Literally the only thing that kept my legs turning over was that I wanted to prove to myself I could run the whole thing. I parked up the buggy and released KK, giving him the important role of handing my finish token to the scanner.
We had a little walk round while we waited, including talking to the second marshal (who it turns out was originally from Bridgwater). Lani was clearly tired when she came into view, but as ever managed a decent finish and got a good reaction from people watching. It turned out her warm up had worked a little too well, giving her a fast first mile that tired her out.
While Ben went out for a more structured training run, the kids and I headed to the play park. It was fantastic, and easily kept us occupied until Ben was back. We then moved to the café to enjoy the range of breakfast choices on offer. Well most of us enjoyed it – KK tried to escape back to the play park. Which we did of course pay another visit, before heading back to Bude to hit the beach.
So would I recommend a visit? Let me think about that. Buggy friendly, beautiful backdrop, lovely people, great café, fantastic play park. I actually texted two of my friends saying they should go some time before we’d even left. And I’m pretty certain Lani will be keen to visit the area again soon as well.
But by the time we make our next trip to Cornwall, there may well be a new parkrun event to explore…
