A KEIGHLEY parkrun has celebrated a milestone.

The Cliffe Castle event, which marked its fifth anniversary last year, has now been held over 200 times.

September, 2018, saw the first take place around the grounds of the award-winning park.

It was launched with the support of the town's then MP, John Grogan.

Since then, over 6,000 runners and walkers have taken part, and more than 400 volunteers have given their services.

Like other parkruns, the Cliffe Castle event was suspended for 15 months during the pandemic due to restrictions designed to help stop the spread of the virus.

But it restarted in July, 2021, and proved as popular as ever.

Parkruns take place over five-kilometre courses every Saturday at more than 2,000 locations across the world.

There are several million registered members and the event is represented in 20 countries.

In England, the runs start at 9am.

The events are free to enter and are organised entirely by volunteers.

Before taking part for the first time, entrants should register online – at parkrun.org.uk/register – to receive a barcode which they then take along to every event. The barcode is scanned at the finish and each participant later receives their time.

Carol Senior, co-director of Cliffe Castle parkrun, says: "It has been an amazing five years.

"What started as an idea in 2018 has grown into a weekly event, which over the years has been supported by thousands of local people and visitors to the town. We are very proud of our parkrun family.

"In addition to the running and walking, our parkrun has developed into a social group of friends and supporters.

"Working closely with Bradford Council parks department and the Cliffe Castle Support Group, we have worked hard to make our home venue attractive to all, with a weekly litter pick and general tidy up.

"We've had so many visitors saying they hadn’t been to Cliffe Castle in years and commenting on how beautiful it is.

"Whether you want to keep fit or just meet new friends for a chat, there’s an open invitation for anyone to join in. If you don’t want to run you can walk the course, or if you don’t want to walk you could volunteer.

"And why not join us afterwards in the pavilion cafe for coffee, excellent cake and a catch up?"

For further information about the Cliffe Castle parkrun, go to parkrun.org.uk/cliffecastle