Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun is not running on Christmas Day but is on for New Year's Day. Warwick Racecourse and Leamington, 8 and 11 miles away, run both days.

Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun will not run on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, but it will run on New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January 2027. That is the event’s declaration on parkrun’s own Christmas Day and New Year’s Day table, read on 3 November, which shows a cross against Stratford for Christmas and a tick for New Year.

If you want a run on Christmas morning, the nearest events that are on are Warwick Racecourse, 8 miles away, and Leamington, 11 miles away. Both have declared for both days.

The quick answer

  • Christmas Day, Friday 25 December: no Stratford parkrun. Warwick Racecourse, Leamington, Evesham, Banbury and Rugby are on.
  • New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January: Stratford is on, at the Recreation Ground, Swans Nest Lane, CV37 7LS.
  • Start times: not published yet for either day. Every one of these events normally starts at 9am on a Saturday.
  • The Stratford junior parkrun (2k, ages 4 to 14) is off on both days.

New Year’s Day: Stratford is on

The table gives Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun a tick for New Year’s Day. It is the usual free, timed 5k at the Recreation Ground, Swans Nest Lane, CV37 7LS (Stratford-upon-Avon parkrun).

The event’s news page had posted nothing about either day by 3 November, so there is no start time yet. On a normal Saturday it starts at 9am. Register with parkrun once, before your first run, and bring a scannable copy of your barcode, or you will not get a time.

1 January 2027 is a Friday, so the next day is a normal Saturday parkrun as well. parkrun’s rules allow one result per person on each of the extra days, so you cannot do two events on New Year’s morning and have both count.

Christmas Day: the nearest ones that are on

Distances are the ones Stratford’s own event page gives under “other parkruns nearby”. Status is from parkrun’s special events table on 3 November.

Event Distance from Stratford Christmas Day New Year’s Day
Warwick Racecourse, Hampton Street, CV34 6HN 8.0 miles On On
Leamington, Newbold Comyn 10.9 miles On On
Arrow Valley, Redditch 12.3 miles Not declared Not declared
Evesham, Corporation Meadow, WR11 4ST 12.7 miles On Off
Coventry 16.1 miles Not declared Not declared
Banbury, Spiceball Park 17.6 miles On On
Chipping Norton School 18.4 miles Off Off
Stratford-upon-Avon Off On

Rugby parkrun, at Whinfield Recreation Ground, is also on for both days, and Kingsbury Water is on for New Year’s Day only.

Warwick Racecourse’s team posted on 12 October that it “will be running on Xmas and New years day this year”, and asked for volunteers because it is staging events on two consecutive days. Leamington posted the same day that it will hold both events “as long as we can get enough volunteers signed up to put the events on safely”, and that all parkrun events will have made a decision by Monday 14 December. Banbury says its Christmas Day run is “subject to resourcing the necessary volunteers”. So a tick today is a plan, not a guarantee: check the table again on Christmas Eve.

Why the timing is unusual this year

Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday in 2026, so any event that runs on them stages two parkruns on consecutive days, two weeks running. Leamington’s team calls it “a big ask”. That is the most likely reason some events, Stratford included, have taken one day rather than both.

Getting there

Stratford’s Recreation Ground is on Swans Nest Lane, CV37 7LS. Our Stratford parking page has the car parks and tariffs. There are no trains anywhere on Christmas Day, and Chiltern’s New Year’s Day pattern is on our Christmas trains page. Road closures and works are on our roadworks page.

What to watch for

The start times. Events usually post them on their news pages in December. This page will be updated when Stratford posts its New Year’s Day time and Warwick Racecourse and Leamington post their Christmas Day times, and again if any declaration changes before 14 December. For everything else on in town over the holidays, see what’s on in Stratford.