We combine several of the shorter runs to make one half marathon route around the beautiful Royal Parks and along both banks of the Thames. All paths are good quality and lit at night (some very short sections in the parks are not lit, but there is pavement running adjacent to them which is lit).
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Route Overview
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Green Park was initially designed upon the request of King Charles II, who wanted to walk from Hyde Park to St. James’s Park without leaving royal soil. He held numerous fireworks displays and festivals for the public here. However, during the 1700s, the park was a hotspot for crime as it was largely unlit and semi-rural. The two temples in the Park, the Temple of Peace and the Temple of Concord, the former serving as fireworks storage, were destroyed as a result of mishaps during festivals. In 1749, the Temple of Peace and its 10 000 fireworks exploded, killing three people. The Temple of Concord burnt down in 1814 during the Prince Regent’s gala. In 1795, Queen Caroline commissioned the Tyburn Pool and the reservoir named the Queen’s Basin. The Green Park as it stands today was opened to the public in 1826 with only minor changes since then, including the planting of new trees and straightening of Constitutional Hill
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If running at night and it is too dark to run on the path by the water, run along the pavement of West Carriage Drive road instead.
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King Henry VIII purchased this land from Eton College in 1532 and was enclosed for deer hunting along with St. James Palace which was to serve as his hunting lodge. Upon the accession of James I in 1603, the park was ordered to be drained and landscaped to keep exotic animals such as camels, crocodiles, elephants, and exotic birds to be kept in aviaries.
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Run along the pavement of Birdcage Walk at night if the park paths are too dark.
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The original Westminster Abbey was established around 960 by Benedictine Monks. The Abbey you see today was requested by Henry III in 1245 and became one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with a medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint treasured within. Not to disappoint you, but Westminster Abbey’s name is not Westminster Abbey. Its official name is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster; more of a mouthful clearly. Around 1560, the abbey received special “Royal Peculiar” status, meaning it is under the jurisdiction of the British monarchy and not the Church of England. Hence, most royal weddings and coronations (since 1066) take place here. During WWII, the Coronation Chair was sent to Gloucester Cathedral for safekeeping, and the Coronation Stone was buried secretly in the Abbey to protect it. Some significant commemorations and burials occurred here, including those of Isaac Newton, Edward the Confessor, and Charles Dickens. The Abbey holds frequent public services, which you can see here.
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Jubilee Gardens was originally the site of the Festival of Britain’s Dome of Discovery and the Skylon. The Festival of Britain was to serve as a “tonic for the nation” after the war. The Festival showcased some of Britain’s best textiles, furniture, and innovations in science and technology. In 1977, the park was laid out for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. The gardens began to deteriorate as a result of the construction of the Jubilee Line extension, and the Golden Jubilee Bridges worsened because the South Bank became a top tourist destination. The gardens once again have the same splendour today thanks to extensive renovations and redesigning by multiple specialists and shareholders.
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At the time of St. Paul’s Cathedral’s completion, it was one of the most significant buildings of medieval times. The site of St. Paul’s has been a place of worship for millennia, including a temple to the goddess Diana for the Romans and a pagan place of worship long before that. St. Paul’s Cathedral was rebuilt five times, this structure being the fifth. The previous structure, number four, fell into disrepair after the Reformation of Tudor England and the Civil War and was eventually entirely demolished by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Structures one to three were destroyed by Vikings and aggressive fires. St. Paul’s needed a solid foundation to be built on as it was to be made of stone in an area with soft clay ground. The architect and designer Christopher Wren had an extensive foundation built, now a crypt that holds kings and other historically critical people. As if the Cathedral hadn’t been through enough, it suffered some damage during the Blitz of London when its dome was pierced by a German bomb. Additionally, in 1913, an explosive device was found next to the Bishop’s Throne by a cleaner who heard a ticking noise. It was placed inside a bucket of water and taken to the nearest police station to be investigated further.
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Resources:
If you enjoyed this route, see our 10km Royal Parks run
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