Odiham, Hampshire Running Route

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Length 6 km (3.7 miles), terrain: flat

Hey, okay, Odiham isn't exactly the center of the known universe, and hardly anyone will need this route, but what the heck. I like the place. Odiham is a little village outside the big city of Hook, in Hampshire, southwest of London.

Doorway in Odiham

It's one of those typical, beautiful English villages full of gracious old homes, with a 500-year-old pub, a 900-year-old church, a square with stocks (for punishing criminals), and lots of nice countryside all around.

There's an RAF base nearby, home to the British fleet of Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. And King John's Castle, a weathered medieval ruins, fills a bend in the River Whitewater.

All in all, it's a cool place, and I think you'll like it as much as I did.

This route will start in the village square, then head eastwards down the main street, will then circle westwards along the Basingstoke Canal to King John's Castle, and finally head back again via some fields and neighborhoods.

The George pub and inn on the High Street

So, let's get running! Get yourself to the High Street, in front of the 500-year-old George pub, a fine drinking establishment well worth a visit some evening.

So now, turn right and head eastwards. Stay on the left side of the street, so that when it forks, you can take the left-hand street, London Road.

Some of the houses get more modern here, as you leave the village. You'll pass the Waterwitch pub, with its dock for narrow-boats that travel along the Basingstoke Canal.

Get onto the canal tow-path here!

Cross over the canal, then turn left to head north along the canal, at the 1-kilometer mark. Just follow the dirt tow-path along the canal for the next 2.5 kilometers, between the fields.

The canal will curve southwards, then westwards again, going under a road bridge.

Along the canal

At the 3-km mark, you'll come to a little, white bascule bridge (lifts up like a draw bridge) at Tunnel Lane. Boaters driving narrow boats can lift the bridge so that their boats can go through.

The bascule bridge

Keep running another half-kilometer westwards, and you'll see the ruins of King John's Castle on the right side. King John was crowned after his brother, Richard the Lionhearted, was killed in a crusade. John rode out from here to put his stamp on the Magna Carta, providing the basis of a formal division of powers, the basis of British democracy.

There isn't too much of the 800-year-old walls left and it has the look of a weathered termite mound, but is worth circling and viewing close-up.

King John's Castle

Now head back to the bascule bridge and turn right onto Tunnel Lane, a quiet road between the fields.

When  Tunnel Lane runs into Warnborough Street, turn right and run the block to the Anchor Inn pub, where you turn left to follow the little public footpath between the modern houses, heading southeast.

The footpath near the school

You'll run past Robert May's School. This is the least scenic part of the run, with fences to either side. The footpath then ends at West Street, where you turn left to run the two blocks to Recreation Road.

Just run past a few houses and you'll come to the big sports grounds on the left. Turn left just before the grounds and follow that footpath all the way back to the churchyard in Odiham.

The village stocks

You're now in the Bury, the town square, with the Bell Inn pub, and the stocks. The stocks have holes in them for criminals' legs, where they were locked and kept on display for the ridicule of the other villagers. The stocks are now roofed-over, sitting obscurely at the churchyard, but they look solid enough to still be able to handl more local ne'er-do-wells at any time.

All Saints Church in the background goes back at least 900 years, surrounded by big yew trees in the graveyard.

All Saints, with big yew tree

Keep running eastwards and leave the square past the half-timbered houses for one block to King Street, then turn left and run a block to the main street, High Street.

The pub is just to your left, past a few interesting antique shops.

Now you've earned your dinner in the George or the place next door (actually called Next Door). Enjoy!

Gothenburg: Haga and Slottsskogen Park Running Route

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Length 7.1 km (4.4 miles), terrain: a few hills, gain 91 meters

I didn't have a camera with me in Gothenburg, so thanks to Google StreetView for the pictures!

Gothenburg running routes:
Town Center Loop
River run
Haga and Slottsskogen park
For more running routes, see Route List.

Here's a running route on the south side of Gothenburg (Göteborg) that you're guaranteed to fall in love with. It takes you through the cool Haga neighborhood and then through Gothenburg's biggest and best park, Slottsskogen.

Running in Slottsskogen park

Slottsskogen park opened in 1874, covers almost 140 hectares of public parkland, with lakes, hills, cliffs, cafés, a zoo, the natural-history museum, an observatory and the city's biggest playground. And it's open day and night.

The zoo (djurpark), right in the middle of the park, has only native Scandinavian animals, functioning as a preserve for threatened Swedish wildlife. The zoo has free admission, so you can run an extra loop through it if you feel like it.

The start at Rosenlundsbron, heading south

So if you're anywhere in central Gothenburg, get yourself to Rosenlundsbron, the bridge over the moat that once protected the town from attacks. Turn south and run southwards past the tree-lined parkway along the south side of the canal, and now keep left to run through the little park surrounding the yellow brick church, the Hagakyrkan.

Hagakyrkan

Before the church square ends, turn right to cross over the zebra stripes into the Haga neighborhood along Haga Nygata (Haga New Street). This is the cobblestone-paved pedestrian shopping street for Haga.

Along Haga Nygata

Lying outside the old city walls, Haga was built as the town's first suburb, with a mix of wooden and brick houses. The old working-class neighborhood has been fixed up and gentrified, and is now one of the coolest parts of town. It's full young people hanging out in cafés and pubs, parents biking their kids around. You'll probably want to stop right here and ask to sign up to be a resident. It reminds me a lot of Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin.

Further down Nygata

The streets are strangely bare of trees or greenery, though, giving the place a bit of an empty feel. Every inch is paved in stones: I would plant some trees!

Run westwards along Nygata for six blocks, then turn left onto Mellangatan ("between street"). Run down this quiet side-street until it ends in a little playground at the foot of a green hill. Just keep running straight along the little path, which will take you to another side-street to the right, Bergsgatan.

At the end of the next block, turn left, then left again onto Lilla Risågatan.

Now run just 100 meters to the 1-kilometer mark, where you'll see the green hill again, rising along the left side. The hill has a 300-year-old defensive tower on the top, Skansen Kronan. The granite blockhouse was fitted with 23 cannon, which never needed to be fired. So, we might as well jump at this opportunity to experience a bit of history, and run up those stone steps to then follow the paved path to the top. The massive crown topping the tower dominates the scene.

Skansen Kronan: let's circle it!

Circle the tower and enjoy the view! Then you have to descend the way you came. Back down at the street, continue southwards along Lilla Risågatan to the next corner.

Now turn right to run west for a block on Djupedalsgatan. You now come to a wide boulevard with tram tracks along the center, Linnégatan. It's quieter than you would expect for such a wide street.

Linnégatan

Turn left here, and now follow Linnégatan southwards towards those green trees in the distance. After four blocks, you'll come to a square, Linnéplatsen, where Slottsskogen Park begins.

Cross over to the right side of the square, where the main park pedestrian trail, Slottsskogenpromenaden, heads into the park.

Now just follow this main trail and enjoy the nature, running past trees and lawns and small hills. You'll run past an area on the left that has some scattered wooden buildings built in styles from around Sweden.

Running past the lake

After the 3-kilometer mark, when you see the big lake with the restaurant, turn right to keep heading west into a woods, heading along the trail called Säldammsbacken, lined with a few little ponds for zoo animals. The trail starts going up and over a hill, with a 40-meter gain. The zoo is higher up on the hill to the right.

You'll then come to a house with a few small pools of its own on the right: the Fågelhuset (bird house), which is the home of a colony of endangered Humboldt penguins.

Fågelhuset: turn right, just past the building

Just past the bird house, turn right to head north, with a big lawn to the left. This is the Azalea valley, and must be beautiful in springtime. You'll soon start running uphill again.

The street will eventually end at the edge of the park, where a neighborhood with some apartment houses borders the park at the west side. Now turn back into the park along the trail called Hålekärrsbaken.

Heading uphill, past the rock formations along Hålekärrsbaken

You're now heading east, past cool rock formations to both sides, with a short uphill section. But after this, it's downhill all the way home.

You'll soon come to a playground called Plikta. The playground is huge and lively, full of monkey-bars, a giant slide and it's dominated by a whale for the kids to climb around on.

The maze

Run around the playground, passing the 5-kilometer mark, but don't exit the park into that neighborhood, but turn right onto Museivägen. Run till you come to the circular maze on the right side. Just across from the maze on the left is a path to the Natural History Museum, a long brick building (I wish I could have gone inside!).

At the north end of the museum, take the steps down to Linnéplatsen again.

Now run north along Linnégatan again, but this time we'll take a different way back through Haga.

Turn off on Majorsgatan at the 6-kilometer mark. In two blocks, it runs into Kastellgatan, where you turn left and run past the back side of the Skansen Kronan hill.

Skolgatan could use a tree or two

Continue northwards along Skolgatan (school street) through the whole, quiet neighborhood. You'll come to the old-town moat again, where you turn right and run the last 100 meters back to the Rosenlundsbron bridge. Wow, Gothenburg is quite a place!

Best Zurich Running Routes

Top Zurich Runs

Zurich is a cool place: a bit button-down, with all its banks, but there are some friendly restaurants, and lots of green areas and lakeside paths to take a great run. It's one of the few European cities you'll ever find with two old-towns, one on each side of the river, with two very different personalities.

Running along the eastern shore of the lake

Plus, the city straddles the northern tip of Lake Zürich, providing miles of lakeside promenades with constantly changing vistas over the water and past the nearby hills.

The Best Zurich Running Routes:
Old Town: As I mentioned, there are really two old towns, each with its own personality. The eastern side is full of high-priced boutiques along quiet lanes, while the west side has a lot of night life: restaurants and clubs and lots more going on. Enjoy them both!

Eastern shore: This shore is lined by parks most of the way and even has a bit of beach. One of the most popular runs in town!

Western shore: There are parks and swimming pools along this shore too. Check it out!

Uetliberg trail run: This run follows a hilltop ridge at the edge of town. Easy to get to with a train, the views are fantastic!