A Bike Ride, A Parkrun, Exploring Painshill, and a Roast
Today was a bit of an early one for me. I woke up about 5am to get myself sorted and rode over to Surrey, or more specifically, Brooklands Park for Parkrun.
I didn’t ride two and a half hours just for a Parkrun though, the plan was just to explore the beautiful Painshill grounds with my friend, but as I like to think of myself as a bit of a multitasker, I wanted to get some exercise in as well.
So after my sweaty 5km, we popped over to Painshill for 10am where I had a change of clothes and a quick wash in the toilets (classy I know), then ready to start exploring Painshill.
Painshill Park
Painshill Park is an English landscape park, designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by the Hon. Charles Hamilton, an Irish aristocrat and British politician, on his estate. He created a park that moved away from geometric formality in garden design to a new naturalistic formula. The park was equipped with several follies and there was a recommended walking route round the park, designed to bring the visitor upon the successive views with best effect.
Sights We Came Across
The Vineyard
Within a few moments of entering the grounds, we came across a sloping vineyard just by the lake.
Painshill Park Trust use the grapes grown here to make their own wine that they sell in their shop. 🍷
The Gothic Temple
The Gothic Temple was the second point of interest that we passed by. From here, you have an amazing view overlooking the park and the Five arch bridge.
The Ruined Abbey
Next up was The Ruined Abbey. Pretty cool ruin with great views of the serpentine, best viewed looking through the windows in my opinion.
Apparently the ruin was created to compliment the vineyard as abbeys in the 18thcentury would make wine.
The Chinese Peninsula Bridge
The Chinese Peninsula Bridge is a nice little pitstop to take in the spectacular views of the serpentine, and of course to take in the beautiful wooden Chinese inspired bridge.
The Crystal Grotto
One of the highlights of the trip was definitely The Crystal Grotto! It’s all man-made and even the stalactites are fake (see the pic with the lady holding up the empty shell), but you quickly get over this fact as the grotto is so mesmerising!
The Five Arch Bridge
Apparently this bridge was used in Netflix’s series of Bridgerton, I don’t know watch the show… but regardless it’s a pretty nice bit of architecture.
The Waterwheel
The 36″ waterwheel that was built in the 1830s and restored in 1987, and was built to raise water from the River Mole to fill the lake in Painshill Park.
The Gothic Tower
We had a bit of a pit-stop at The Gothic Tower, where there are toilets and a little cafe, and picnic tables available around the tower.
Temple of Bacchus
The Temple of bacchus is situated at the top of the hill, so another bit of climbing involved. Once you arrive, the temple is a nice addition to the park and quite striking as you walk over to it. The real magic here though is the vista looking over Surrey.
The Turkish Tent
The last POI we came across was the The Turkish Tent. A few people were already inside resting so we just took a few pictures of the exterior and took in the views overlooking the grounds.
Finishing Up The Day With a Roast
After the ride, run, and walk I worked up a bit of a hunger so we headed over to good ol’ Toby for some roast action. Now that’s what I call a day out!
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