Going ahead this Saturday
No cancellation listed for Saturday 31 October.
Parkrun
Colchester Castle 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
- Castle Park
Meeting point: 51.89167, 0.90272. The interactive map loads with JavaScript. Open the same point in OpenStreetMap.
Coordinates 51.89167, 0.90272.
The course
Course description
Starting and finishing by the bandstand, participants will complete three laps, all of which take place on fully paved paths. The first lap starts near the bandstand and heads towards the beacon, before turning right to go downhill. The route then follows the path around the perimeter of the children’s playground and continues around the castle for the smaller initial loop.
For the second lap, heading downhill once again, exit the upper park and turn left onto the Roman wall pathway, leading toward the boating pond. After the pond, there is a short out-and-back section across the weir that briefly takes participants outside the park. After returning, the route follows the path along the river to the opposite side of the park. Before reaching the exit gate, turn right and go uphill back to the upper park, repeating the loop around the children’s playground and castle to complete the second lap.
The third lap follows the same route as the second. After circling the castle for the third time, head downhill and turn right onto the finish straight, finishing back near the bandstand.
No dogs are allowed in the upper park, so we regret that parkrunners cannot take part with their dogs or bring them to Colchester Castle parkrun.
On the course
The course is 5k long. The course is in Castle Park, Colchester. The course is run entirely on tarmac 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
Parking: You can park in the Leisure World Car park at a reduced rate of £1 for 4 hours provided you do the following - After parking your car, go to Leisure World Reception , show your parkrun barcode and pay £1. You then need to type in your car registration number into one of their desk keypads to complete the process.
More details
Public transport
Bus: Many buses stop in the High Street.
Train: The nearest train station is Colchester North Railway Station.
On foot
From Colchester North Railway Station: it is about a ten minute walk to the park, with access from Cowdray Avenue via Leisure World or Catchpool Road to the Lower Park.
From Bus stops on the High Street: Approx ¾ way down the High Street turn into Museum Street (between Claydons, Newsagents and Saxons, Estate Agents) which takes you straight into the Upper Park. Follow the path close down the left hand side of the Castle, continuing on until you see the Bandstand on your right.
From the Leisure World car park: Make sure you follow the road round the Leisure Centre to the far end of the car park which brings you nearest to the Lower Park entrance. Cross the footbridge over the river, turn right through the gate into the Lower Park and immediately turn left. Follow this path into the Upper Park. Take the second left and continue up to the Café (signposted). It is under 5 minutes walk from the Car Park.
There are cycle racks just outside both gates into the Lower Park. Access for bicycles in the Park is restricted to certain paths in the Lower Park.
By road
The nearest car park is at Leisure World (CO1 1YH)
Coffee
Every week we grab a post-parkrun coffee: the Putt in the Park’s café, No 10 Museum Street or one of the many cafés in town. Please come and join us!
We're friendly
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee in the Putt in the Park’s café, No 10 Museum Street or one of the many cafés in town - please come and join us!
Course safety
Colchester Castle 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.
- 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.
- Unfortunately dogs are not allowed at this event.
The only exception to this rule is when accompanied by an assistance dog. - 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 Colchester Castle 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 colchestercastle@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
- 626
- Events
- 22,608
- Finishers
- 188,253
- Finishes
- 2,381
- Volunteers
- 27,244
- Personal bests
- 1,170
- Groups
- 00:29:35
- Average finish time
Nearby parkruns
- Colchester junior parkrun Old Heath Recreation Ground · 1.8 km
- Highwoods parkrun Highwoods Country Park · 1.8 km
- Mersea Island parkrun Cudmore Grove · 13 km
- Great Cornard junior parkrun Great Cornard Sports Centre · 18 km
- Great Cornard parkrun Great Cornard Sports Centre · 18 km
- Alton Water parkrun Alton Water Reservoir · 18 km
- Clacton junior parkrun Clacton Seafront · 21 km
- Clacton Seafront parkrun Clacton Seafront · 21 km
Challenges this parkrun helps with
- Alphabeteer Challenge Starts with C
- Pirates! Starts with C (needed for Pirates!)
- UK Postcode Areas Postcode area CO
- Periodic Table Matches symbols: C, Cl, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, …
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Check out our awardsPark5K is not affiliated with parkrun. - last updated 26 October 2026