Tokai manor house

Location: Tokai

Activity: Run

Category: Road loop

Distance: 11,5 km

Description: Undulating with long drag up to the manor house and a kick near the end.

Altitude: 10 - 72 metres; total climbing 78 metres

Gradient: 4, 5 % very briefly; drag up to Manor house is about 3 %.

Rating: Slow poison

Up at the top end of Tokai Road, the old Manor house marks the end of a mile-long gradual uphill (if you start it at the roundabout where Tokai Road intersects Spaanschemat River Road, that is). It's at this point that the mountain bikers break left to the start of the Tokai Forest ride, and runners turn right towards what used to be the old Porter reformatory and is now the Chrysalis Academy, a youth training centre.

From our usual starting point at the Meadowridge shopping centre, the first part of the run is a mild uphill followed by a fairly flat section along fringe of the houses bordering the M3. A hidden little alleyway in a dead end takes you to the Cycle Track, a short winding tarred path across some wetlands (often flooded in the middle section in winter).

Depending on the route options you take, the actual uphill to the Manor house can be as long as 2,5 km, though it's gentle until the roundabout. Much of the rest of the run is shaded, with an avenue of trees more or less all the way to the top. From the Manor house, pass by the guard post and boom at the entrance to Chrysalis. You'll probably be hot and thirsty; about 100 metres from the boom, alongside the big hall on the left, you'll find 2 taps with drinking water. From here, follow the road all the way as it twists right and then left before exiting the grounds and heading through forest (currently being de-forested) towards Spaanschemat River Road. If you do this on a Saturday morning in summer, you'll see the country goods market setting up as you pass through the Chrysalis grounds. It's worth a return visit by car once you've finished the run, for a hearty breakfast, wicked treats and some interesting people-watching.

Finally, pass between the stone church on the right and the Range on your left as prepare to turn left into Spaanschemat River Road, with only a couple of hundred metres to your right turn into Firgrove Way, 3 km from home.