Friday, March 29

‘Exquisite Views and Total Exhilaration’: Readers’ Favorite Running Routes | vacation running


Winning tip: at the level of Ghent, Belgium

I love running in Ghent. It’s completely flat, so it’s encouraging for beginners and people looking for their personal best. There is a rowing lake with a 5km track around the outside called the Watersportsbaan. This connects to a nature reserve called Blaarmeersen in an 8 km loop (with an artificial sandy beach to play volleyball or swim afterwards). To extend your route, there are beautiful footpaths that follow the River Leie into the countryside or through the historic city centre. If that is not enough, there is another nature reserve, full of waders and canals, called Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen, surrounded by a 10 km circuit. I’m running my first marathon in Ghent in March 2022. Beer, waffles and chocolate later, anyone?
Jennifer Coleman

Good place to run, France

France, Alpes-Maritimes, Nice,
Photograph: Hemis/Alamy

In Nice, Provence, I really enjoyed joining the local runners running down one of the most beautiful streets in the world: the Promenade des Anglais. You have the fresh and salty sea breeze filling your lungs, the sun bouncing off the white waves of the Mediterranean and the beautiful belle epoque buildings that line the running route. The road runs from the airport to the castle, so some sections are quieter than others, but the best part is from Hotel Negresco to the old port. Feel free to have some fresh mussels and a glass of wine on Plage beach. Beau Rivage as a reward.
yasmine

Running the Ridgeway, Berkshire

East of Ilsley.
East of Ilsley. Photograph: Gillian Pullinger/Alamy

My Berkshire village of East Ilsley on the A34 offers direct access to Britain’s oldest ‘highway’, Ridgeway, with a variety of tracks. My favourite, a 5km loop route, rewards the effort with 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside. It’s best tackled clockwise, with a steep start and a gentler return to the village duck pond. Part of the route runs parallel to the Gallops, where I am sometimes lucky enough to run alongside training racehorses. More constant companions are the red kites that fly overhead. Every season brings delights: autumn mist inversions, winter frosts, spring wheat ripening in fields of summer gold.
fchaillier

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Touring Wendover, Chilterns

I walk through fabulous woods of bluebells
Photograph: Glyn Fletcher/Alamy

Wendover offers more than 30 miles of public trails and bridle paths, with some of the best found in Wendover Woods. My favorite route up into the woods is via Hogtrough Lane followed by an undulating route through the woods to the highest point. Wendover Woods is an awesome place to run in all weathers, and the muddy season is particularly fun. That said, you shouldn’t miss it when it snows or when the bluebells are in bloom. There are parkruns on Saturday mornings, 10k, half marathons, marathons, ultras and my favorite: a night run with a headlamp lighting the way.
Lisa

Low enclosed hills, Offa’s Dyke

Offa's Dyke Trail
Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy

Having embarked on a “lockdown move” in 2020 from Cheshire to the low hills of North East Wales, it has been wonderful to finally start exploring the many trails that are now accessible to us. Stretching from Prestatyn to Chepstow, Offa’s Dyke trail offers stunning scenery, sometimes brutal climbs and is perfect for concentrating on the run. My favorite sections of trail are the Moel Famau climbs and the section from Llangollen to Bodfari, where there is an excellent pub (The Dinorben arms) for convenient refueling and rehydration. Perfect.
richard brown

Beach run, Cyprus

Beach at Fig Tree Bay.
Beach at Fig Tree Bay. Photograph: iWebbtravel/Alamy

My favorite route is in Protaras, Cyprus. There is a path that runs from Fig Tree Bay to Polyxenia Beach and you have wonderful views of the bays and beaches as you run. The beautiful clear sea and sandy beaches make it very pleasant. The best time to go is early in the morning when the sun isn’t blazing hot and the roads aren’t too busy with tourists.
Anne Craig

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On the horizon, south of Edinburgh

Walkers passing by Glencorse Reservoir
Photograph: Phil Seale/Alamy

The Pentland Hills near Edinburgh are a wonderful running resource. Just 20 minutes south of the city, they offer varied terrain, from flat courses alongside the reservoir to more challenging mountain routes. Throughout the year, they impress, offering snowy trails in winter and wonderful sunsets in summer. start from floating stone and head up Turnhouse and Carnethy, or opt for a quieter route to Glencorse Reservoir. If you’re feeling really adventurous, sign up for the Pentland Skyline Race, which takes place every October.
Grainne Neary

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In the woods near Cardiff

Woodlands at Cardiff in May
Photograph: FreespiritLandscapes/Alamy

wenalt woods (Coed and Wenallt), Cardiff, is a truly amazing place to run. Hills and mud, streams to cross, fallen trees to jump over, rocks to navigate – it’s never boring. The wide variety of paths means that there are many options when it comes to the length of the route. Here you will also feel connected to nature: this is an ancient forest with good biodiversity and a variety of plants. The light and colors are magical, and the views over the Bristol Channel when the sun rises are exquisite. And, if you’re lucky, you won’t see anyone else. Total excitement! Arbennig iawn!
richard munn

A haven for runners, Lincolnshire

Fen trail style, view of a trail style along the Sea Bank
The sea shore separating the Fenland from the Wash, Lincolnshire. Photograph: Michael Brooks/Alamy

The upside, or downside, of living in Boston is the lack of hills, but within minutes of putting on my walking shoes and walking out the door I’m on the banks of the River Haven. It’s a superb run with the river on one side and the marshes on the other, to the soundtrack of the thousands of Brent geese that winter here. If the tide is high, you can enjoy the boats that sail up the river to the port. The midpoint is reached where Haven empties into the Wash, a remote and ever-changing landscape of mudflats and mudflats. Head down and back along the river. The best 10 miles to clear your head, whatever the weather.
paul wilson

City Oasis, Sheffield

Limb Brook, Ecclesall, Sheffield
Limb Brook, Ecclesall, Sheffield Photograph: Phil Wolstenholme/Alamy

Sheffield delights with a review ecclesall woods. Between the busy streets of Ecclesall and Abbeydale Road, the forest is an oasis in the city, providing a chance to breathe as you run through the wonderful greenery. Here you will find 350 acres (142 hectares) of semi-natural and mature deciduous forest and over 15 km of trails through beautiful scenery. There is something for everyone. Some of the longer routes can take you west into the Peak District, past streams and swaying trees.
anna gunn


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