8k Run Wakefield: Scenic Loops around Anglers and Haw Parks

Route Overview & Local Insights

This 7.8km double-loop offers a brilliantly flat and fast running experience through the heart of West Yorkshire’s natural beauty. Navigating on predominantly paved surfaces with a negligible 22m of ascent, this route is a favorite for local runners seeking a PB or a scenic recovery effort. Starting at the southeastern corner of the Country Park car park, you’ll tackle an initial anticlockwise circuit around the mirror-like waters of Anglers Reservoir before transitioning into the sheltered, atmospheric trails of Haw Park Wood. The transition from open lakeside vistas to the dappled sunlight of the woodland provides a refreshing variety of scenery that makes the kilometers fly by.

Anglers Country Park sits on land that was once the deepest opencast coal mine in the world, having been spectacularly reclaimed and transformed into a thriving wildlife haven. Today, it holds a prestigious Green Flag Award and serves as a vital sanctuary for migratory birds, so keep your eyes peeled for rare sightings as you round the reservoir. Haw Park Wood adds a layer of heritage to your run, as it was historically part of the estate of Charles Waterton, the pioneering Victorian conservationist who created the world’s first wildfowl and nature reserve right here in Wakefield. Running these paths feels like moving through a piece of living history, where industrial heritage meets dedicated environmental preservation.