Shepton Mallet parkrun takes place at 9 am on Saturdays at Collett Park on the outskirts of Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

Getting There

Collett Park is in the south eastern corner of Shepton Mallet, just off the A37 if you are travelling south from Bristol/Bath or north from Dorset. Or just off the A361 if you are travelling from the east or west. It is not inundated with public transport; from my house 50 miles away, it would apparently require 3 buses and a train and take a total of 9 hours! Bus No 174, which runs between Wells and Bath, stops at the Cenotaph near the park entrance.

Parking

There is car parking near the entrance to the park at the Mendip District Council offices, which is free until 11 am.

Toilets

There are toilets next to Collett Park Cafe near the park entrance.

Course

The course consists of 3 laps round the park plus approximately 400 metres out and back along a cycle path. It is flattish with a few inclines and a downhill finish, where you can ring a bell if you achieved a PB.

Terrain

The course is mostly on paved paths with a little bit of gravel.

Shoes

Trainers.

Difficulty

Run Britain rankings for UK parkruns places Shepton Mallet as 233rd fastest out of 706. It has a total elevation of 54 metres.

Fun Factor

All parkruns are friendly and welcoming, but I found this one particularly friendly. In addition, Collett Park is a nice little park for a scenic Saturday morning run, especially the segment around the lake.

Nearby Attractions

We did Shepton Mallet parkrun en route to visit family in Bristol, so didn’t stay long. The last time I visited Shepton Mallet was to run the South West Schools Cross Country Championships at the Bath & West Showground in 1985, so I’m hardly an expert on nearby attractions.