Events at Woodchester Park
Across the whole year, the National Trust run many events for families at Tinkley Gate and Woodchester Park. Click the button to find out more about what's on and to book tickets.
Woodchester Park Trust10 FAQs
If you're joining us at one of our Trust10 10K Trail Run events in 2025, here are some things you'll need to know.
The Woodchester Park Trust 10 is a regular 10k running event held on the 4th Sunday of every month. It is free to take part.
What is the route like?
The trail at Woodchester Park starts and ends at the Tinkley Gate entrance, just in front of the café. It starts out following the “red route” (a pre-existing waymarked trail) before descending into the park down the “blue route” carriageway. After turning left down through a field, the route crosses over the lakes onto the northside of the park past the Boathouse, then left along the bank of Old Pond. Up some steps to start a loop around the Mansion, following some of the “orange route” play trail past the Terraced Garden. It rejoins itself at the end of this loop for a short section but continues along the carriageway, following the “purple route” all the way along the serpentine folds of the valley towards Inchbrook (eastern end). A sharp left turn takes you up onto a woodland footpath through a beautiful beech wood. Cross back over the lakes at the bottom Parkmill Pond. The route then snakes its way back towards the western end of the park through the cool shade of the conifer plantation. It rejoins the down-route back up to Tinkley Gate where you crossed into the field to the Boathouse, diverging slightly to follow the zig-zag path all the way back to the finish in front of the cafe.
We have graded the route RED on the trail running guide due to its uneven terrain and distance from the event hub. We estimate it will take 1hr and 10minutes at 6min/km pace, 2hrs and 55minutes at 4min/km pace. The race will have a mass-start at 9:30am and then a rolling start until 10am for people who want to avoid the crowd.
Will there be waymarkers?
The entire route is waymarked with pink Trust10 arrow discs. These waymarkers will stay up so you can come and run or walk the Woodchester Park Trust 10 route any day of the year.
Is there parking?
The nearest carpark is at Tinkley Gate, Tinkley Lane, Nympsfield, GL10 3UH. W3W///confident.request.certified
(The postcode alone will not bring you to the correct place. Follow Tinkley Lane from Nympsfield and look for 2 long, low colourful banners on your left either side of the entrance. The lane is long and potholey – do not be discouraged.)
Parking is free for National Trust members, £3 for non-members payable by card, cash or on the JustPark app. Our carpark isn’t the largest, so we encourage you to lift share whenever possible. The carpark is a 120 metre walk from the Trust10 start. We also have cycle racks.
Will there be marshalls and backmarkers?
There will always be a backmarker tailing the runners with a radio/mobile phone and emergency lanyard in order to contact the event hub. There may also be marshalls to cheer you on and help direct you at various points depending on volunteer availability.
Marshalls and backmarkers will be wearing high-vis and Trust10 lanyards.
Where and what are the facilities like?
Tinkley Gate Café (opens at 10am) right next to the start/finish of the Trust10. There are 4 toilets available, 2 next to and 2 inside of the café (the cafe will open early for T10 toilet use only). There is a water refill point on an outside corner of the café. There are no more reliable refill points in the park so we recommend runners carry enough water with them to sustain themselves for the entirety of their run.
During Mansion open-season (April-October) the Mansion toilets will be open to Trust10 runners (located behind the Mansion, on the first half of the run).
What do I have to do when I arrive?
Runners must report to the registration table (near the start of the route) to give their name, contact details, emergency contact. This is so we can ensure the safe return of all runners and note the number of participants for our own records. After the run total has been recorded, all runners’ contact details are destroyed within a week of each Trust10.
There will also be a run information table with a route map for runners to take a photo of and labelled pictures of important points on the trail for runners to familiarise themselves with. The Trust10 team will be here wearing high-vis and lanyards ready to answer any other questions.
Runners must then congregate near the start of the run for the pre-event briefing 15 minutes before start-time.
What time can I arrive?
Registration starts from 8:30, please try to arrive no earlier than 8:15am to allow us time to set up for you.
Is the run timed?
The trail run will not be timed by the Trust10 team so please bring your own timing equipment if you want to record your run time.
It is not a race so there is no pressure to finish under a certain time, you can take it at your own pace.
How many people can attend?
There is a maximum limit of 200 Trust 10 runners. Please be aware that if this limit is reached then you may be turned away on the day. We would love for everyone to be able to run but have settled on this number due to our current carpark size, conservation of the park and Trust10 staff capacity.
Bear in mind the waymarkers will stay in place so you can come and run the trail yourself any other time.
What happens if there’s bad weather?
In the event of bad weather such as high-winds, excessive ice/snow/rain the Trust10 may be cancelled to the discretion of the Trust10 duty manager. We will try to give as much advance notice as possible. If cancellation seems likely we will post a notice asking runners to check the Woodchester Park home page the morning of the Trust10.
There will be a yellow banner notice at the top of the Woodchester Park home page in the event of cancellation.
What is the minimum age?
We love to see children and families together, enjoying running non-competitively. We recommend that anyone running our Trust10 event is 14 years old and over.
As the parent or guardian you can use your discretion as to your child being suitable and able to take part in our Trust10 recreational run.
There are no road-crossings on the Woodchester Park Trust10 though a small part of the route does share a track used by the Mansion minibus that will operate during Mansion open season (April-October). The trail ventures far into the valley where there is often poor mobile coverage and far from the event hub. We have graded it RED on the running trail guide. Please use this to inform your decision about running with your child.
Please keep an eye on them, accompanying and remaining responsible for them at all times throughout the event. We will remind you about the importance of this on property webpages and during the pre-run briefing.
Can I bring my dog?
Dogs are welcome on short leads. Please make sure that the lead and harness you choose ensures the safety of both your dog, other runners and other park users. Runners with dogs must position themselves at the back of the crowd for the mass-start.
Can I run with a buggy?
We do not recommend Woodchester Trust10 for off-road buggies due to its steepness and terrain that, at times, follows woodland footpaths through the park.
Can I volunteer?
You can join our volunteer team by helping us deliver this monthly Sunday morning run. Roles include everything from marshalling the course, completing monthly route inspections, to registering runners on arrival. Please speak to us on arrival if you wish to volunteer for future events.