The only parkrun in the North York Moors, Dalby Forest parkrun is a bit of a hidden gem.

We were staying half an hour away near Fadmoor and as I’m nearly up to 90 parkruns in total, I’m keen not to miss a Saturday.

Picking up my brother on the way, it will be unsurprising to anyone that we were running late, literally to the start line at 9 o’ clock.

The course was busy at the beginning before thinning out as we ran along the dirt trail. Dalby Forest is famous for its mountain biking so the track was well worn and dry after the summer.

It was also one of the only parkruns I’ve done which didn’t feature multiple laps so it was cool to keep seeing new bits of the woods.

On the way out, the route weaves in and out of the trees, with a few hills thrown in for good measure before dropping onto the valley floor.

It reminded me of an Alpine meadow as we turned back. The sun was out and it was quite warm with no wind and a windy path (weird how different those words are in English).

Having got to the start line in a bit of a blur, we’d somehow missed the ridiculous hill that served as a finishing strait. I can’t even repeat my girlfriend’s words on a family-friendly blog like this.

Still as with all things in life, the quicker you run them, the quicker they’re over and we were soon surrounded by cheering high viz volunteers.

On our walk back to the car, we were able to really take in just what a cool place the forest was. A pretty cafe, a visitors centre, Go Ape and much more that I’m sure we’ll visit again when we’re in the area.

Thanks as always to all those who helped to put it on. Not another letter for my alphabet challenge but another brilliant 5k ticked off the parkrun tourism trail.