Bressay parkrun, 12th July 2025

Gill Milne and Tom Tinsley are up in the Shetland Islands and became the 6th and 7th Claremont Road Runners to run at Bressay parkrun – making us the top-ranking English club for participants there! Here is Tom’s report:

“When planning our first-ever trip to the Shetland Islands, we decided to take the overnight ferry from Aberdeen on the Thursday evening to arrive on Friday morning so that we would have two Saturday mornings free and thus to opportunities to sample the delights of Britain’s most northerly parkrun on the isle of Bressay.

We woke to the sound of ships’ foghorns and a thick mist covered the harbour, so extra layers were packed, but we needn’t have worried as, by the time we joined other parkrunners in the queue for the ferry, Shetland had joined the rest of the country in sunshine and blue skies.

The short ferry trip adds to the uniqueness of this parkrun and allowed time for a chat with other runners, tourists and local alike. On leaving the ferry, everybody gathered in the car park by the heritage centre and toilets and the run director went around introducing herself and asking where we all came from. The group, though small, was certainly international with visitors from Switerland and Australia as well as a spread from around the UK. The briefing took place here, much of it delivered in the style of Wonderwall by Oasis (“Today is gonna be the day, that you are going to do Bressay parkrun …” or similar, I wish I could remember!), then we were all walked up to the start line.
The start and finish are more than a kilometre apart as the course is designed to start near the ferry terminal and finish at the cafe. It also has a few other features that make it, at least in my experience, unique. The course is entirely on roads, made possible by the lack of traffic, while the painted start and finish lines and fixed kilometre markers give it a definite sense of permanence.

We began by running downhill, so it was a fast start but it gradually settled down and I found myself overtaking those that had perhaps set off too fast. We made our way along the coast before turning slightly inland and heading slightly uphill with great views across the Bressay Sound. By now, I was in second place and started to think that the leader was slowing, but I was a bit scared to go past him as I am not used to being in front! I did take him around the 2K mark and it definitely felt strange to be coming 1st in a parkrun, but it didn’t last long. I was overtaken about 200m later and could watch the new leader pull further and further ahead as we turned right for a short downhill to the turning point. We then retraced our steps until the final stretch to finish in the old schoolyard next to the café. A young lad came effortlessly by me, chatting happily to me before he sprinted off to the finish line – a definite contrast to the tired, hot, sweaty old man that I felt myself to be (though a happy one, pleased with my run and a “podium” finish). Gill was also pleased with her run, finishing under her 30 minute target.

#There was a really nice atmosphere at the end as visitors and locals mingled over breakfast sandwiches. We were on a table with one older local who told us that a few of the regulars were on Unst to take part in a half-marathon there. Apparently this is quite a big event and can have about 50 runners! He said that there weren’t many races on Shetland but he had done a few “down south”, by which he meant Aberdeen and Inverness!

We stayed on to explore a bit of Bressay with a nice walk to the spectacularly situated lighthouse before returning to the café and back on the ferry. All in all, a nice day and a friendly, welcoming, scenic and enjoyable parkrun.”