Going ahead this Saturday
No cancellation listed for Saturday 31 October.
Parkrun
Alton Water parkrun
A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it's up to you! Nearby Sunday 2k junior parkrun events for 4 to 14 year olds and their families can be found here.
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United Kingdom
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England
- 5 kilometres
- Alton Water Reservoir
Meeting point: 51.97481, 1.13402. The interactive map loads with JavaScript. Open the same point in OpenStreetMap.
Coordinates 51.97481, 1.13402.
The course
Course description
Two lap trail route which starts and finishes next to the cow enclosure. The route takes you along scenic footpaths and parts of the stunning reservoir. The course is a trail course with a mixture of grass, gravel, dirt and mud and puddles on occasions. Don’t forget to say ‘hi’ to the Highland cows, geese and ducks around the course.
The winter course has three laps, and takes you through Rabbets Wood.
On the course
The course is 5k long. The course is at Alton Water Reservoir, Ipswich. The course is run entirely on trail paths. Some sections of the course may accumulate mud, leaves and puddles after rain. Dependent on availability, marshals will be at key sections of the course, or signs will be in place.
Please remember that the parkrun uses shared paths. For the continued success of the event, please give way to other park users. This won't hurt your time, it won't stop you from getting a PB and it will make sure everyone continues to enjoy the event.
Please, wherever possible walk, jog, cycle or use public transport when attending the event. If you do have to drive, please consider car-sharing to reduce our impact on both the environment and other park users. Please also watch out for other park users when arriving and leaving. Parking may be limited so try to arrive early.
Facilities
There are public toilets available next to the café or the sailing club.
More details
Public transport
Bus: There is a bus stop 150m from the main entrance.
Train: The nearest railway station is at Manningtree, 5 miles and Ipswich 7.5 miles.
On foot
Alton Water can be accessed from all directions on foot or bike.
By road
If using SATNAV, the nearest postcode is IP9 2RY.
From Ipswich, take the B1080 and go past the Royal Hospital School. Main entrance is 650m past the school on the right hand side.
From Stutton go through Stutton and the entrance is 530m on the left past Stutton School.
Please collect a ticket on entry and, BEFORE you leave, take that ticket to the cafe and pay £1 for a ticket to exit Alton Water. Do not pay money into the car park machines. This cannot be refunded. Please note, ALL VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE FREE PARKING.
Coffee
Every week we grab a post-parkrun coffee: the Alton Water Cafe. Please come and join us!
We're friendly
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee at the Alton Water Cafe - please come and join us!
Course safety
Alton Water parkrun is a fun, free event organised by volunteers for the benefit of everyone. We wish to make the event as safe as possible, so participants, spectators and helpers are asked to take care about the following:
- Please be considerate to the park and other park users at all times.
- Children under the age of eleven must be accompanied (within arm's reach) throughout the event by a parent, guardian or appropriate adult of the parent's choice.
- Please arrive by foot, by pedal-power or by public transport if you can - your efforts help to reduce our impact on the park and the planet.
- We invite everyone to consider volunteering at parkrun. Your support helps your parkrun events remain sustainable and free for all in your community, and it’s also a wonderful way to improve your own health and happiness. Please visit the volunteer page for more information.
- Take care near roads and car parks – some vehicles drive very quickly. Please congregate away from the cars and be careful in particular if you have children. If you’re driving to the event, please drive carefully.
- Take care on uneven surfaces – whether on grass or on tarmac. Watch out for cyclists, other participants, pedestrians, children, dogs, wildlife, park animals, vehicles, park maintenance work, falling branches, bollards, posts and other obstacles around the course.
- Please ensure that you are fit enough to walk, jog, run 5k (3.1 miles) with us.
- If you see someone with a serious problem, please stop to help them out and get help as soon as possible.
- If you’re watching, keep clear of participants on the course, and look after any children and dogs you may have with you.
- It is not permitted to run with a pushchair and a dog at the same time.
- Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks. Consider protecting yourself by wearing repellent when at parkrun events in grassy or wooded areas. See lymediseaseuk.com for further details.
- You are welcome to take part with one dog by your side, within reach at all times, on a short, handheld, non-extendable lead. The use of waist harnesses is prohibited. Please also see this Support Site entry for further details about parkrunning with dogs.
- parkrunners pushing buggies are welcome, but please take care of others around you and do your best to start at an appropriate place in the field for your pace.
We hope these tips help to ensure that Alton Water parkrun is fun and safe for everyone.
Age grading
All parkrun events use Age Grading to help parkrunners compare results.
parkrun events use Age Grading to help parkrunners see progress and compare results.
For more information, please see our Support page.
Volunteering
All parkrun events are organised by volunteers - email altonwater@parkrun.com to help.
Safeguarding
parkrun is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For our full safeguarding processes and policies please see our Safeguarding Hub.
To report a safeguarding concern please email safeguarding@parkrun.com.
Event stats
- 263
- Events
- 8,388
- Finishers
- 23,897
- Finishes
- 556
- Volunteers
- 3,584
- Personal bests
- 622
- Groups
- 00:31:10
- Average finish time
Nearby parkruns
- Ravenswood Primary School junior parkrun Ravenswood Community Primary School · 7.4 km
- Christchurch Park parkrun Christchurch Park · 9.8 km
- Ipswich junior parkrun Christchurch Park · 10 km
- Harwich parkrun Cliff Park · 11 km
- Cliff Park junior parkrun Cliff Park, · 11 km
- Kesgrave junior parkrun Kesgrave · 13 km
- Kesgrave parkrun Kesgrave · 13 km
- Felixstowe Prom junior parkrun Felixstowe Prom · 15 km
Challenges this parkrun helps with
- Alphabeteer Challenge Starts with A
- UK Postcode Areas Postcode area IP
- Periodic Table Matches symbols: Al, Ar, Au, At
Park5K is not affiliated with parkrun. - last updated 26 October 2026
Bushy parkrun