It’s a beautiful, if a little crisp, Bristol morning. We’re off to Kings Western for the junior park run. My friend Alison used to run these in Brisbane when Miranda and Jasper were little, now it’s the children’s turn.
We follow their car through the quiet city. Even the streets themselves still feel a little sleepy and I have a flash to a quiet morning with a cup of coffee, still snuggled under the blankets, but that’s not happening today. There are a few cars huddled outside of church along the way on this Sunday morning, otherwise there’s not much traffic until we pull up in the car park of Kings Weston, an historic house in the English Baroque style.
Alison has registered Jasper online so there’s nothing to do but mill around and chase the children in the bushes and through the dewy grass until the group warm up and stretch is called. Then we line up and we’re off. Jasper and Miranda start off and it looks like they’re head to head until they disappear up the path and around the corner.
Harley and I do some jogging and some walking along the shady path which loops around the grounds and comes back to the house on the other side. We finish and wait for Jasper and Miranda who have another loop to complete.
I miss Jasper’s finish but we’re there to cheer Miranda over the line. In the end Jasper has come in at #21 over 2km, Miranda has done well too and Harley & I managed the 1km of (more or less) running too!
As the crowd clears out we duck around the side of the house which has a little cafe in the basement kitchen. Alison & I get our coffees and the children have earned their hot chocolate this morning.
The house and gardens themselves are picturesque as we pause for a moment. The house was built for Edward Southwell, a local lawyer and politician, and completed in 1719. The house served the Southwell family for a number of generations until being sold to Philip John Miles, also a politician as well as a merchant and shipowner, in 1833. It served as a hospital during WWI and was purchased for local charitable use in 1935. Since then it has had several uses, most recently being refurbished as a conference and wedding venue. We see evidence of a wedding party this morning – there seems to be a bit of a clean up going on, presumably from celebrations last night.
After our coffees we walk up the steps and take a peek in the windows. It’s a beautiful house, tastefully redone and it would be nice to take a look inside. I settle for some photos on the steps and we get going again. Just because it’s not in park run format, doesn’t mean that our running around is finished for the day!
Good To Know
Parkrun is available all over the place as a free community running activity. Check out parkrun.com for some family fun near you.
Would I Return?
Yes. Both for the park run and to check out the house (and perhaps cafe) in a little more detail.
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