Back in early 2017, a few of us at Bushy parkrun (the original one!) noticed that a new Bushy parkrun had started, this time over in Dublin. A few mistweets here, the occasional mis directed email there over the following months and we decided it was time to head over to Dublin to see how our little cousin was doing.
And so the idea for an Irish trip – just for the parkrun craic – was born. Bushy London twins itself with Bushy Dublin! 18 of us signed up, booked flights and planned our weekend. We probably should have planned it slightly better so it didn’t fall on marathon weekend but you can’t have everything now can you?
Named after a grand 17th century house (still standing) the 51 acres of parkland that comprise Bushy Park, Dublin are operated by the City Council. Bushy Park Surrey, the home of parkrun, comes in a tad larger at 1,099 acres and is managed by the Royal Parks Charity. Both are stunning public spaces. Woodland, streams, lakes and wildlife:
running in both is a feast for the eyes and a joy to all other senses. Only one has a really noisy Royal deer herd, even with ducks, geese and swans the Dublin wildlife experience was definitely quieter.
Up early and ready to explore (a euphemism for “the taxi dropped us in the wrong place!”) some of our group discovered Bushy Park House. Originally called Bushe’s House
Wikipedia has since informed us that this grand dwelling may have had its name changed because of Bushy, London. What a coincidence if so! Others of us ran there in the rather chilly weather but the four mile warm up run was definitely worth it when we got there because the welcome we received was fantastic.
The twisty turns in Dublin reveal views that you can’t fully take in first time – just as well it’s a two lap course! Autumn tree colours in unexpected October sunshine shimmered in the water, reflecting runners too as we made our way round the lake. Suzanne couldn’t resist a stop for a photo – who cares what the finish time is when the view is this special.
In total, 16 of us Team Bushy runners took part on Saturday and everyone one of us loved it, it was so good of you to lay on the sunshine as well as the Mayor to welcome us on the day as well. It really is a beautiful run and all the volunteers were so friendly and welcoming. It was amazing to hear that so many of you were also running or volunteering at the marathon the next day… The breakfast over at Partner’s was the icing on the cake as well, such a lovely beginning to a weekend that may possibly have included one or two pints of Guinness while we here.
If anyone ever fancies making the return trip, we’ll promise to give you a warm welcome over in Bushy Park in London…
RP – A5698
