Moreton Hall Circular Run Suffolk

5.30pm 7.6 miles in 1hr 2 mins.

Year to date mileage 950

Month to date 141 miles

Average miles per month 106

Average weekly rate 24.4

Weather: Heavy rain showers

Course: Set of through the Town Centre along Cullum Rd and the Water Meadows. Along by the River Lark and No Mans Meadow then over the A14 bridge. I did a circuit around Moreton Hall before returning home via the Town Centre.

When looking at the low level of the River Lark in Bury St Edmunds you would hardly believe it was once navigable, however the barnack stone used to build the Abbey was transported up this river. The Barnack Hills are near Peterborough and the original medieval quarry is now a nature reserve.

September has been my second most successful month of the year for mileage

Jan 127 No of Runs 19
Feb 45 No of Runs 7
Mar 94 No of Runs 14
Apr 97 No of Runs 15
May 84 No of Runs 12
Jun 89 No of Runs 13
Jul 145 No of Runs 21
Aug 130 No of Runs 18
Sep 141 No of Runs 20

Total Runs for the year 139 out of 273 days which of course is a run every 2 days approximately.

My average distance that I run is 6.83 miles.

West Suffolk Athletics Track Bury St Edmunds

6.30pm 5.7 miles in 46.20 mins.

Year to date mileage 943

Month to date 133 miles

Weather: Dark overcast heavy rain threatening but luckily we only had showers

Tonights interval work consisted of 10k pace runs for 5 minutes, 1 min rest followed by 4 minutes and 1 min rest and then 3mins with 1 minutes rest and then 2 minutes with a 3 minute rest before repeating the whole set again.

We then finished of with a 2k run or 5 laps of the track which I ran in 9minutes and 2 seconds .

Horringer Farm Circular Run Suffolk

5.30pm 5.5 miles in 44 .30 mins

Year to date mileage 937

Month to date 128 miles



Average miles per month 106

Average weekly rate 24.3

Weather: Sunshine and showers and a rainbow

Course: One of my regular favourite short distance routes over Horringer Farm. It won't be long before this run isn't possible during the evenings as it is now getting dark by about 7pm.

This was a bit of a recovery run after the race on Sunday and I ran fairly slowly although I felt ok and I have no injuries at present. I am now thinking of the next race to enter which might well be the Scenic 7 at Stowmarket on the 13th of November.

Tarpley 10 at Beyton Suffolk

10.30am 10 miles in 1 hour 18 .25 mins

Year to date mileage 932

Month to date 122 miles

Average miles per month 106

Average weekly rate 24.3

Weather: Sunny and dry slight breeze.

Course: From Beyton we headed out through Hessett , Gedding and Drinkstone before returning to Beyton. The course was described as undulating and had some small inclines at 3 miles and between 8 and 10 miles.

The 1st running of a new race organised by the St Edmunds Pacers in memory of the club's late president Bert Tarpley , who died in October last year. For an inaugural race the turn out was quite good I believe around 142 runners took part from a number of clubs including St Edmunds Pacers, Brandon Fernhoppers, Ipswich Jaffa, Herne Hill Harriers, West Norfolk AC,Colchester & Tendering, Stowmarket Striders, Newmarket Joggers, waveney Valley AC, West Suffolk AC,Bilderston Bounders and one representative from Liverpool Harriers who probably came from furthest afield.

This was a very well organised race with car parking close to the start at Beyton School, excellent marshaling, a free shirt and a bag of freebies along with some lots of drinks and food afterwards.

I was pleased with my time I had hoped for under 1.25. I set of a little quick and was surprised to reach the 1st mile marker in 7.22. I stuck in at this point behind runners from Ipswich Jaffa and pretty much run with this group throughout the race. At 5 miles my time was 38.40 and I knew I just had to maintain 8 min mile pacing to get under 1.20. I only felt bad after drinking water at 4 and 7 miles this didn't seem to do me much good.

There were also several junior fun runs which were attended by St Edmunds Pacers.

The geese near the village green are obviously in charge at Beyton, they brought traffic to halt at one point. Love the pumpkins near the car park plenty for Halloween.

I hope this race is run again next year I can thoroughly recommend it.

Sports MP3 Player for Running

If you were fortunate and had a little dosh to spend what mp3 player would you buy for running? I had a mobi blue dah can't remember the model name. This went well for just over a year until just out of warranty when the start button got stuck and it died.

I would like an MP3 player which can play either mp3's or wma files. Obviously it needs to be skip proof and robust enough to survive the stresses that a runner will put it to.

Any thoughts?

5.30pm 4 miles in 32 .11 mins

Year to date mileage 922

Month to date 112 miles

Average miles per month 105

Average weekly rate 24.3

Weather wet under foot but bright

Course: Westley Road and Risbygate Steet circular run. A slow easy run to conclude a week in which I have run just 24 miles in an effort to prepare for a 10 mile race I am doing on sunday at Beyton.

As this is my first race since February 2004 it is hard to say how this will go. It would have better to have found a 10k but I guess training is fairly similar for both events.

Completing the race will be first target after which I hope to get round in under 1.25. The course is described as undulating so I suppose my time depends on how many hills there are and whether I go off a little to quick. The tarpley 10 is a brand new race organised by St Edmunds Pacers so I hope they get good numbers attending and the race is repeated annually.

Talking of races the Gt North Run last Sunday attracted a lot of publicity because unfortunately 4 men died during the race. Previously there had been 8 deaths in the previous 24 years of this race. The weather was very warm on the day. I noticed this was immediately seized upon by a number of folks in the media and by politicians and there was a bit of an anti running back lash. I got a bit of this all done in jest when I ran last Monday. As soon as they saw more a group of young lads started pretending to choke and drop down dead! Not in very good taste.

Horringer Farm Suffolk

6pm 5.5 miles in 45 mins

Year to date mileage 918

Month to date 106 miles

Average miles per month 106

Average weekly rate 24.3

Weather dry and bright


Course: Set of towards Horringer Farm but didn't follow any particular course as I am trying to rest up a bit before my race on Sunday. Unfortunately I seem to have bruised a toe or two and I have some slight knee pain in my right leg. I am hoping to avoid the colds and sore throats which are prevalent at the moment otherwise I may not make it to the start line.

I am being told by several people to expect a very hard winter. This is based on the large amount of fruit and berries in the hedgerows which apparently is more than usual. I don't think we have had a really hard winter with heavy snow which has remained for more than a week or so for many years so the amateur weather forecasters may be right this time.

Favourite Beer!

River Lark and Water Meadows Run

6pm 7.2 miles in 56.42 Year to date mileage 912

Month to date 106 miles Average miles per month 106

Average weekly rate 24.4

Weather bright and sunny.

Course:Head out through the water meadows and then turn left at Bury Rugby Club . Follow the path through No Mans Meadow which is at the back of the Abbey Gardens returning to Southgate Bridge and then returning over the meadows for a 2nd lap.

Return home up Southgate Street past the Police Station and through the Abbey Gardens graveyard then through town centre and home.Ran this course in a new pb time.


I was generally running this course in 1 hour back in June so I may have improved a little though it was warmer of course.

One of the great things about living in Bury is the smells of the Town. I suppose it brings back memories from childhood. Today they were definitely brewing at Greene King and the lovely malty smell of what I imagined to be Abbot Ale floated on the breeze giving all passers by an intoxicating whiff of one of the great beers of this country.

Send me an e-mail and let me know your favourite beer I would have to say my favourites are

• Abbot Ale Greene King
• Speckled Hen Greene King
• Adnams Broadside Adnams Brewery
• Guiness
• Sneck Lifter Jennings Brewery from Cockermouth Lake District

County Upper Mere Road Circular Run Bury St Edmunds

10am 7 miles in 52.20.

Year to date mileage 905.

Month to date 95 miles

Average miles per month 106

Average weekly rate 24.4

Weather: Dry sunny but cool

Course: From County Upper School I run through the Howard Estate and on to the Golf Course before reaching the B1106 Westley Road. Turn left here and right heading towards Risby past the Crematorium. At Hyde Cottages turn right and then run around Hyde Wood. The Hyde Road takes you back to Fornham All Saints and from here head back into town to the County Upper School.

On the Risby Road you pass a pig paradise loads of pigs wallowing in the mud. Near Hyde Wood there was a lovely smell of onions rows and rows of onions had been harvested and some of those that had escaped and fallen of the back of lorries had been squashed and trampled in to the ground.

Horringer Farm Circular Run Bury St Edmunds

6pm 5.5 miles in 43.22.

Year to date mileage 898.

Month to date 88 miles

Average miles per month 105

Average weekly rate 24.3

Weather: Dry,sunny but cool with a breeze.

One of my regular favourite short distance routes over Horringer Farm. Many parts of the pathway have now been ploughed over so I found I was running over the fields. The ground was also quite sticky after the recent rains.

The field above has yet to be ploughed and you can see the green grassy tinge to the corn stubble. A very Autumn feel to the weather - quite cool in the breeze.

I have put in 3 good weeks of training in preparation for the Tarpley 10 on Sunday week running a total of 40, 33 and 38 miles. I will need to cut back a bit next week before the race.

Somebody has signed my Guestbook!

I wasn't sure about having a guestbook, but I am delighted to say somebody has now signed it! Not just anybody either, I am pleased to say it has been signed by a well known local runner who runs for St Edmunds Pacers and she is currently training for the Dublin Marathon on the 31st of October.

Best of luck Sam

Ipswich Town v Southampton

This season is definitely going to be transitional one following the mass departure of our best players to the Premier League.

Tuesday nights game saw us draw 2-2 with Southampton. For me the highlight was seeing Owen Garvan score his first goal for the club. Many people say he looks the spitting image of Stephen Gerrard and at just 17 he is the next bright prospect to come out of the Ipswich Town Academy.

To be fair Southampton should have won comfortably but for bad finishing , good goalkeeping from the young Lewis Price and bad luck.

The game will be remembered by many for the floodlight failure which occurred after about 5 minutes and left the Portman Road stadium in the dark for about 40 minutes.

Fabian Wilnis was the latest Town player to pick up an injury and he joins a mounting injury list. The injury occurred at the only point in the game when we had begun to get on top and put some pressure on the away defense.

Jay McEveley who is on loan from Blackburn made his debut and we also saw the return of the old warhorse Dennis Wise who unfortunately scored a good equaliser for the Saints.

The programme front cover shows Sam Parkin our signing from Swindon. I think he will score 15-20 goals a season but it is hard for him as fans naturally compare him to the departed Darren Bent whose start in the Premier League has made him top scorer.

Rushbrooke Rougham and Hessett Suffolk

2pm 8.4 miles

in 1hour 10min 46 seconds.

Year to date mileage 892

Month to date 83 miles

Average miles per month 106

Average weekly rate 24.3

Weather: Sunny bright blue sky.

Course: From Rushbrooke Home Farm I ran down to Eastlowhill Road which is an old Roman Road and the site of a Tumulus and a roman building. I ran through the woods around Rushbrooke Lake and then on to footpaths over fields which took me to Rougham Green out on to fields over Kingshall Street and along to Nether Street and Hessett. I returned on the same path.

This was a very enjoyable run I think I only saw 3 farmers and a lady on a bike during the whole run. The farmers were using the good dry weather to plough over the corn stubble.

The pictures using my very cheap digital camera less than a megapixel don't do the scenery justice though I hope show the big Suffolk skies. As Suffolk is flat it has always been famed for its big skies and many landscape artists have lived and painted here for this reason.

The photo of the church is that of St Nicholas at Rushbrooke. It is said to be one of the most unusual church interiors in Suffolk. When I first went inside I was surprised to see the seats face inwards a bit like the seats at the houses of parliament.

The thatched houses are seemingly farmworkers houses on the Home Farm. This seems to be a thatched 'model ' farm and also organic. It is a beautiful site and well worth a visit for the peace and quietness.

The photo on the bottom right shows St Nicholas Church in the distance over the fields. If anything this picture captures the very essence of Suffolk for me.

Abbey Gardens and Moreton Hall Bury St Edmunds

6pm 6.2 miles in 51min 48 seconds.

Year to date mileage 884

Month to date 74 miles

Average miles per month 105

Average weekly rate 24.3

Weather: Sunny bright blue sky.

Course : Ran from the town centre through the Abbey Gardens graveyard and along by the River Lark heading up to Moreton Hall . Returned on the same path.

Ran with a smile on my face after listening to Englands victory in the cricket over Australia to win back the ashes after 18 years. Many are saying that this has been one of the greatest series of test matches in living memory. Football can learn a lot after the shameful scenes in the England v Northern Ireland match involving the petulance and bad sportsmanship of Wayne Rooney. Look at how Shane Warne ran 30 yards to shake hands with Kevin Pietersen after he had scored 150 to ensure England would win the ashes. Rooney's reaction to a bad foul was to abuse his captain, abuse the referee and commit a further bad challenge for which many would have expected a sending off.

Cricket has done a lot to enhance its reputation this summer with a successful ashes series and very popular 20 over games. Whilst I would still choose Football as my number one sport many fans are becoming disillusioned with the current format of the Premier League which really means only 3-4 teams have a serious chance of winning the league. This is shown by a drop in numbers and empty seats at many games this year. Perhaps this will pick up now the cricket has finished ?

Ran comfortably though have a bit of a bruised big toe at the moment.

Fornham Circular Run Suffolk

9am 7.5 miles in 1hr 14 seconds.

Year to date mileage 878

Month to date 68 miles

Average miles per month 105

Average weekly rate 24.2

Weather: Dry overcast and feeling close.

A fairly slow run today as it is feeling very sticky and close and mainly because I was tired and couldn't run any faster. The above pictures are of Fornham St Martin. Many of the buildings and walls in this area make great use of flints. It could be said to be the chief building material in Suffolk.

Brandon in Suffolk is said to be the first workshop in England. Here in this area many excavations have now confirmed the ancient art of flint knapping has been carried out for 400,000 years. There are many pits and quarries perhaps the most famous at Grimes Graves.

Flint is a form of silica, and comes from the remains of sea creatures, especially sponges and sea
urchins, which collected on the sea-bed, about seventy million years ago. Broken flint has razor-sharp edges, which made it an ideal material for use by prehistoric peo ple before the invention of metal tools. Finds that are still made in the area include scrapers and hand axes .

At the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars nine Brandon gunflint makers were commissioned to supply 360,000 flints a month, worth £4500 in a year. In 1813 fourteen flint masters were
contracted to supply 1,060,000 musket flints a month,worth about £18,000 annually, giving employment to160 knappers and miners.

Many of the flintknappers died of ‘knapper’s rot’, a form of the lung disease silicosis which was the result ofinhaling razor-sharp flint dust for many years.

Sicklesmere Suffolk

8.30am 10 miles in 1hr 22 11 seconds.

Year to date mileage 870

Month to date 61 miles

Average miles per month 105

Average weekly rate 24.1

Weather: Rain but feeling close.

Course: From town centre through the water meadows and out onto the A134 road to Sudbury. There is a good pathway for about 3 miles although it is besides an A road so this does mean plenty of traffic. When the pathway finishes return by the same route. I have measured in the car so I am pretty sure this is a 5 mile out and back course.

I reached the halfway point in 41.20 and returned in 40.51. I felt comfortable all the way round and I am happy that this gives me an idea of what I can aim to run in the Tarpley 10 which is on Sunday 25 September at Beyton Middle School, Beyton near Bury St Edmunds.

On the run you pass the Rushbrooke Arms (see photo above) a popular pub but inappropriately named bearing in mind it is not actually in the village of Rushbrooke. The pub used to be named as the Sicklesmere Wagon and I can understand that but not sure why anyone would call it the Rushbrooke Arms?

The strange off centre picture is of the old Bury Gaol. Just outside this gaol on a nearby meadow William Corder was hanged for the murder of Maria Marten, in 1828 - the notorious Red Barn murder. A crowd of some 10,000 people watched.

The gaol was built on the radiating principle, and is surrounded by a wall twenty feet high, enclosing an octagonal area. The keeper's house, which is an octagon stood in the centre and was elevated above the rest so that that from the windows the keeper could watch the whole building. In the centre of his house was a chapel, divided off into numerous partitions, so that the different classes into which the prisoners were divided and subdivided were kept separate so that prisoners could not see each other.

The Bury and Norfolk Post the local newspaper of the 19th century is full of stories of people committed to Bury Gaol such as :

In 1835 Thomas Scarfe and Robert Kittle charged with ravishing Sarah Philips a single woman
of Milding , Samuel Seeley charged with stealing a great coat from William Humm at Glemsford, Thomas Humphrey charged with stealing a skep of bees belonging to William Theobald of Boxted. 6 months in prison - Elizabeth Parmenter and Sarah Heard for having uttered several base half crowns at Long Melford.

Many of the prisoners who were eventually tried were subsequently sent on transportation ships to Australia.

Westley Road & Risbygate Street Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

6pm 5.5 miles in 45 mins.

Year to date mileage 860

Month to date 51 miles

Average miles per month 104

Average weekly rate 23.9

Weather: Threatening an almighty down pour but rained not a drop.

Course: A bit of a run where I felt like easy 5. I ran along Risbygate Street and Newmarket Road over a set distance which I know is a mile. Without trying to push it I wanted to see average mile times I am running . The first mile I ran 8.05 and the second mile in 8.10.

I am hoping to run close to 8 min miles for my first race since February 2004 which is a 10 miler on the 25th of this month.

On my run along Risbygate Street I pass the houses shown in the photo above. They were originally provided to offer some rent free accommodation for wounded soldiers from the Suffolk Regiment around 1906. This was just after the Boer war in South Africa. Behind the houses on both sides there is countryside . Today there are houses and the row of trees is gone.

My memory of these houses was always a good one as they represented the last deliveries on my paper round as a boy.

The black and white pictures are from a superb collection of photographs known as the Spanton Jarman Collection. The Bury St Edmunds Past and Present society are working on the restoration and storage of these negatives.

My Favourite CD's - 6th in a Series

The Undertones

Another of my favourite bands. The Undertones first album was relaesed in 1979. They were a a bunch of kids from Derry who started of wanting to be Irelands answer to the Ramones. I saw them play in Cambridge I think in 1981 and they did include 1 or 2 Ramones songs in their set.

This is a great pop/punk album with some well known singles which achieved some success. Teenage Kicks was their break through as I well remember John Peel playing this song over and over on his Radio 1 show when he played punk from 10pm to 12pm every week day night.

Here comes the Summer says its all really it is the 'Beach Boys go Punk' a fantastic summer song.

Then there is of course two other singles that were released from this album Get Over You and Jimmy Jimmy.

Track Listing Family Entertainment , Girls Don't Like It, male Model, Gotta Getta, Teenage Kicks, Wrong way, Jump Boys, Here Comes the Summer, Get Over You, Billy's Third, Jimmy Jimmy, True Confessions, Shes a Runaround, I Know A Girl ,Listening In ,Casbah Rock

West Suffolk Athletics Track Bury St Edmunds

6.30pm 6.5 miles in 53 mins.

Year to date mileage 855

Month to date 45 miles

Average miles per month 104

Average weekly rate 23.9

Weather: Warm warm

Tonights interval work consisted of 3 minutes at 10k pace 1 min rest followed by 300 metres at 800 metre pace.
4 minutes at 10k pace and 1 min rest and then 300 metres at 800 metre pace anf then 5mins at 10k pace
We the repeated the whole set again.

Good session well attended.

Horringer Farm Circular Run

6pm 5.5 miles in 43.12 .

Year to date mileage 848.

Month to date 39 miles

Average miles per month 104

Average weekly rate 23.8

Weather: Dry and sunny


The route takes me along fields near by Horringer Court/School near to great Horringer Hall and then over to Lord Herveys Wood up and down Westley lane and return home through Horringer Court.

The weather was perfect for running and I ran a PB for this course by over a minute. I think I ran the up hill sections better than normal but I was surprised at my time especially as I stopped for a short while. This was because a boxer dog came from no where and I never did see an owner to call it . I wasn't sure whether the dog would be happy if I carried on running and saw me as a threat so I walked for a bit and then ran a bit faster when the dog turned its back.

The fields have had their corn all cut and they now have a green tinge as they are beginning to grass over. There are still plenty of poppies on the field margins and the rowan trees are full of red berries. There would seem to be a bumper crop of blackberries in the hedgerows this year and running has enabled me to find a number of good sites to visit and fill up some big containers of this free fruit.

Running Diaries

Today I decided to have a rest day after 4 continuous days of running. I am not sure when I last ran for more than 4 days in a row if ever. Of course it doesn't really matter if I ever have run for 5 days in a row but then again it is another statistic that now I have asked myself the question statistically I need to know the answer.

I forget where I read on someone's running website recently where they wondered if sometimes when they were in two minds whether to go for a run that they would run to satisfy their craving for statistics. I can understand this sentiment as I wonder sometimes if we have a metaphorical 'Statistic Boss' in our heads. This is the boss that requires you to go out for a run in the pouring rain because if you don't then this month you won't have run as far as you did last year or you will have run less miles than last week and that's not what your training plan said.

Whilst I am sure we run for a lot more reasons than just the statistics I have always liked a few fact and figures something that I can record that I can make a comparison with.

In listening to my 'Statistic Boss' I have decided to computerise all my old running manual diary records. I have dug out the old records as far as I have kept them. They date back to 1st of August 1982 when me and a friend decided after a bit of a drunken bet ( 8 pints , a bit of bravado and a pair of green flash trainers ) to get up at 6am and run to Gt Barton and back a distance of 6 miles. We did it although my uncertain memory of this is one of struggling with a stitch. Obviously some kind of enjoyment was obtained from the experience as my diary shows I carried on running and I ran again the following week.

In late 1982 I entered a 10 mile road race off the back of sporadic once a week training and the more regular drinking. My memory of this race is finishing last, holding up the race ambulance as it trundled behind me picking up the stragglers but getting great applause from those who had remained to the bitter end.

After this race the green flash shoes had to go and I know I bought some New balance Shoes but what I don't know is what model they were. I remember them being a dark blue colour but on this point wouldn't it be great if there were somewhere on a website photos of old running shoes. So it is pity that my diaries don't record the make and model of shoes that I used to wear, I would also like a photo of them and how many miles I ran in them before they were confined to the bin or for use in the garden.

When I didn't have a watch my diaries show a number of gaps where I don't have any times for the runs. At the time it didn't matter but know I have a gap in the diary and as I begin to computerise my records a gap in the spreadsheet. The 'Statistic Boss' isn't best pleased with these gaps and sometimes I have only recorded the date and time in my diaries but not where I ran to.

I need to computerise all my old running records as I have no idea how many miles I have recorded to date. Actually I don't need to do this at all but it would satisfy my curiosity and I have a gap on my spreadsheet which shows how far I have run in comparison to the distance around the world and compared to the distance around the moon. Another meaningless statistic but now the 'Statistic Boss' has asked the question I need to know the answer!

No doubt when I have computerised my running diaries I will have another stat to add to my regular postings.

Horsecroft & Pinford End

8.45am 8.5 miles in 1hour 11mins 27 seconds.

Year to date mileage 843.

Month to date 33 miles

Average miles per month 104

Average weekly rate 23.9

Weather: Hot and sunny

Course Out and back course along the Horsecroft Road through Little Horsecroft to Pinford End. Just before Pinford End there is a footpath which takes you on a circular path around a wood. The wood isn't named on the ordance survey map but is near Hawstead HalL. From what I can tell the original path has now been changed and instead of emerging at Hawstead Church it takes you in a circle back to Pinford End. I will try to find the path from the church on another run at a future date.

The houses are typical of those passed on this run at Little Horsecroft.

Westley Village

9am 7.2 miles in 1hour 21 seconds.

Year to date mileage 834.

Month to date 25 miles

Average miles per month 103

Average weekly rate 23.7

Weather: Hot and sunny


Course: I didn't really follow one to day. I had plans to do so but running through Westley is too difficult. Fornham Lane in Westley village is a bit of a 'rat run' for traffic coming off the main A14 who want a short cut through to the west of Bury or Horringer. I gave up my original plan for an out and back run and instead returned to Bury via a footpath which took me past Westley School.

At this point I meet the same guy walking his dog who I had said Good Morning to about 20 mins previous on my run. I again got no reaction, not a word in fact he just looked at me with an angry stare.

I always saying hello or good morning when I am out on a run, sometimes I am beaten to it and someone will say hi to me. However it is always a very mixed reaction some people will speak others don't. Of course people don't have to speak but to me this is just a courtesy. It can be a little odd when someone doesn't speak particularly when I am running in the middle of nowhere and I pass the only person walking along a path.

On the same run this morning I said hello to a family who looked at me as if I had just arrived from Planet Mars. I will try and count the number of people who do say hello on one of my runs just for interest. Maybe it is just a reflection of society where we don't talk to strangers.

Once back to Bury I ran a quicker mile to the Falcon Pub in 7.44.

The picture of the church at Westley is St Marys. This was built in the 1830's apparently to replace the original church of St Thomas a Beckets which had been damaged by a tower collapsing in the 18th century. The site of St Marys is on a small hill top and was apparently chosen so that the Marquis of Bristol could have something to look at from his stately home at Ickworth

Hardwick Trig/Nowton Park/Abbey Gardens Circular Run

10am 8 miles in 1hour 4mins 54 seconds.

Year to date mileage 827.

Month to date 18 miles

Average miles per month 103

Average weekly rate 23.6

Weather: Hot and sunny

Course: Ran out through Hardwick Heath and along Hencote Lane out to Hardwick Trig point. Ran over fields along the Bury to Clare footpath to Brecley Ley House. I then ran into the Abbey Gardens along the River Lark through town centre and home.

The two photos above are of the same building on the corner of Risbygate Street and St Andrews St South. Today it operates as an Estate Agents. From childhood I have always remembered it as being a Grocers. However the black and white photo depicts a time when it was a butchers shop. The display shows very elaborate decorated cuts of meat hanging outside the shop. All the staff seem to be posing for this photo with Mr Clarke who was the owner.

The black and white pictures are from a superb collection of photographs known as the Spanton Jarman Collection. The Bury St Edmunds Past and Present society are working on the restoration and storage of the negatives.

The Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds are well worth a visit if you are ever visiting Suffolk

Gt Barton & Coltons Ride Circular Run

8am 9.5 miles in 1hour 20mins.

Year to date mileage 819

Month to date 10 miles

Average miles per month 102

Average weekly rate 23.5

Weather Hot a little overcast


Course: From Moreton Hall I ran out along the pathway which runs besides the A143 to Gt Barton. I went as far the crossways and turned left at the Bunbury Arms along Brand Road. This road heads towards Gt Livermere and is very agricultural with just a few farms to break up the landscape of fields. I turned left at Livermere Rd and headed back through Conyers Green and Gt Barton. I then turned right along the Fornham Rd before turning left along a bridleway known as Colton's Ride before returning to Moreton Hall.

The photo is a typical section of this run from the bridleway at Colton's Ride.