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Havertown, PA – My Merry Place!

Thanks to Visit Delco, I have discovered lots of fun trails to explore in the area! The official guide for Delaware County, PA contains an ‘Explore The Outdoors’ section which lists so many fantastic areas to connect with nature in Delco – so I always consult with this to find my next run in and around Havertown.

Darby Creek – Merry Place is a perfect out and back 3.5mile run, which I can jump on right at the back of Barnabys (by the school bus parking lot) and gives me a beautiful scenic off-road run, with sights and sounds of nature through this glorious stretch of woodland. It is a haven for wildlife and a critical habitat for a diverse array of plant and animal species including migratory birds, and waterfowl. Points of interest and local history information boards also makes for a more interesting run!

I didn’t realise, but this is the same run that me and Joe did a couple of years ago, we just got on at Westgate Hills last time.

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Circuittrails.org and Friends of Haverford Trails are brilliant for helping to find useful information on running trails around Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania and would definitely recommend checking out their website.

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Peace Valley Parkrun – Doylestown, PA. 🇺🇸

8th February 2025

Up bright and early for breakfast in preparation for a 30 mile drive from Broomall to Doylestown, PA. It was quite nice going past the covered bridges and seeing some of the fantastic cycling infrastructure they have there (being an Active Travel Officer, by trade)

It was a bitter cold day, so needed to be layered up and…the lake was frozen over! we had some fun skimming stones before starting my warm up 🙂

Having arrived early we got to meet some of the Marshalls setting up, and told them we were from the UK, so we took this photo opportunity…. (nice little touch, which I think all Parkrun events should do for PR Tourists!)

Everyone was in super hyped and in good spirits as it was Super Bowl Saturday!…. #EaglesFever

Photo taken from the official parkrun blog.

It was a fun start with lots of cheering and good vibes, and all going well until I went the wrong way 🤦🏼‍♀️ Dave’s words “how did you get lost, it was an out and back?!” – well it is me, and he should know this is always possible.

We were invited to Tabora Farm afterwards for coffee and cake (which we all know is quite the obligatory ritual after any parkrun) – a chance to socialise, and celebrate the morning’s efforts.

It was so nice to do a more ‘intimate’ park run, with only 32 finishers, and despite going to wrong way I still finished 7th overall 🙂

Everyone was so friendly and this is what I love about Parkrun, the social side that brings not just runners together – but people. It brings people together, no matter what time you run, jog, walk, everyone does the same distance – 5k of enjoying the outdoors, exploring nature, and being involved in such an amazing worldwide community. I can’t imagine a world without Parkrun now, and it’s always one of the first things I look up when travelling places – where the nearest one is on a Saturday morning! It’s a fun and healthy routine not to be missed.

Ankle Rehab

So, I am adhering strictly to physiotherapy advice and resting my left ankle as much as possible and avoid weight bearing activity for now. So only physio ROM exercises, as well as contrast therapy for the next 2 weeks.

Being back on crutches totally sucks 😞 but I need to ensure my left ankle is immobilised as much as possible to allow it to heal.

Contrast therapy: 8 x 15sec ice water plunge (followed by 1min in between each)

Done Am ☑️ Pm ☑️

Physio exercises

Done Am ☑️ Pm ☑️

Learning to slow down and relax is a whole new concept for me, but I’m trying to find distractions so I keep on track with my rehab. Hairdressers and cinema today forced me to sit still for over 5 hours 😊. Sometimes you just gotta stop, take stock of a situation, and reset.

Mom quoted some of Dad’s profound words “There’s even stops in music”

I cling to the words of wisdom from my parents – a constant source of strength for me. 💜🧍🏼‍♀️🧍🏽🙏

Ankle Injury

UPDATE 😣

So I’ve been to see a physio yesterday because the pain in my ankle has been next level again.

Turns out, what probably started out as Achilles tendonitis, is now Posterior Ankle Impingement Syndrome. I may well be dealing with both, as the physio said it’s seems to be a complex injury.

Been told I need to rest for a minimum of 2 weeks before I can even think about even walking let alone running or even swimming/cycling!! 😬 until I have the scan next week to determine a clearer diagnosis of what’s going on with the tendons in my ankle (possibly something going on with the one that attaches the calf to the arch of foot) forgot what it’s called
there’s no knowing of what the timeframe will be for recovery (possibly 6-12 weeks) but will depend on what the MRI says and if there’s bone causing the impingement or bursa.

In the meantime, immobilisation – meaning strapping, support, and crutches! 😭

Thanks to everyone who’s been so supportive, and urged me to get this looked at. Can’t be in denial any longer and have no choice but to surrender to this horrible injury.

Snowy Delco ❄️

12th February 2025

Woke to it being white over! But that didn’t stop my plans to tick off as many trails on the Trails list. The Visit Delco app is incredible! You earn points for each walk/run you go on and get rewards for each trail you do. Visiting Rose Tree park was just a joy! Such a fun day, pretending I was Rocky training in Russia in the 1980’s! 🥊 ❄️ 💪

‘Burning Heart’ 🥊 🎧

It was so nice to meet all the lovely staff at the Delco office, and so grateful for the warm welcome and generous gifts!

Wilson & Dolly rocking the Delco neckerchiefs at Clent, UK 🇬🇧

A Monaghan, in Monaghan’s. ☘️

10th February 2025

Well what can I say about Monaghans pub? (are there enough fun words in the English dictionary to describe this awesome place??) A great local bar in Essington, PA 🇺🇸 Introduced to us by non other than our good Philadelphian friend Joseph Patrick Monaghan.

Monaghans Pub – Simply the best food and beer in town!

A great Irish pub situated on the border of Essington and Lester, PA. This community pub is the center for fun times! As soon as we walked in, we felt such a warm friendly vibe and the staff (Alayna was our waitress, such a lovely girl, and she made our experience just amazing!)

I started off with a Tröegs perpetual IPA – which totally hit the spot! This has to be one of my favourite local beers experienced by a non-local. 😂 🇬🇧

https://troegs.com/about/

As well as Tröegs, they had a good selection of other draught ales on tap, as well as a totally yummy menu! As a dedicated ‘foodie’ I can definitely recommend their Shepherds pie 🤤 like a proper home-cooked mothers meal 😋

JP was happy because he managed to bag himself a nice couple of T-shirts. These would have been lovely photos but unfortunately, he was photobombed by Dave! 🤣

The amazing ‘goodie bag’ generously given to us by Monaghan’s pub.

This fantastic pub also has some great entertainment on including live music, DJ’s and karaoke! Check out the Calendar of Events on their website at www.monaghanspub.com/

Afterwards, we went to Governor Pritz park. What a beautiful, peaceful gem located right next to Philadelphia International Airport. Perfect to sit and watch the planes take off or meet some friendly dogs (and owners)

It made my day meeting this dog, Bella, as I was missing my doggies so much. She was so playful and it was a joy to see her running about the place living her best life. We got talking to her owner who worked at the airport, and he told us the Eagles team had just arrived at the airport from New Orleans (some serious stalking urges suppressed here!).

I definitely found two places I’d like to visit again, to run around GP park and head to Monaghan’s afterwards for some light refreshments 😉

All in all, another fantastic day in the Philly ‘burbs. 🇺🇸

Jacquettes Bakery of Broomall & Artwork By JP.

9th February 2025

Super Bowl Sunday got off to a good start with coffee and cake! Thanks to Wawa Broomall for the FREE caramel cream (personally delivered by the doting JP) and Jacquettes bakery for the AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS cupcakes and donuts!!

Wawa celebrates Eagles with free coffee for customers on Super Bowl Sunday

Jacquettes also displays some of JP Monaghan‘s fantastic artwork (which you will see if you spy closely enough behind the Super Bowl LIX poster above) but I have exhibited two of his pieces here below.

My personal favourite of JP’s collection

If you want to see more of JP’s artwork, please visit artworkbyjp.com or visit his Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/artworkbyjp/?hl=en. We need to get this guys artwork in every bakery, pub, and restaurant in Delaware County!

Needless to say Super Bowl celebrations went tremendously well! …who knew cupcake/beer dunkin’ was a thing???

Running in Delco

7th February 2025

“In the day we sweat it out on the streets
Of a runaway American dream” – Bruce Springsteen.

After an early morning Pep Rally, and a boring ‘dreadmill’ run the previous day, I was eager to get outdoors to do a run on second day of the holiday. I was also keen to explore some of the routes closest to the hotel (one’s that I didn’t have to drive to). So, with the help of the ‘Havertown Runners’ Facebook group I was able to get some advice and suss out some decent 5k loops close by.

This early evening run was just perfect, as the sun was going down it made for a really relaxing little shake-out which lifted my mood from a mild hangover from the previous day.

Tranquil sunset run – Marple Township PA.

Turns out, I can get on the trail right at the back of the hotel, taking me along Langford road through the woods up to the outdoor swimming pool.

I ran up to New Ardmore Park where I did a couple of laps, through one of our favourite neighbourhoods in Marple Township, to Veterans park and back down Lawrence Rd back to the hotel, which gives me a nice little 3.5mile loop.

I’ve ran around Veterans Memorial a few times now, with it being the closest park to the hotel. It’s a great spot to work out, with a track going round the outside of it (must ensure one is going the right way – there’s a rule that you must go round anticlockwise). It’s a bit of a local Mecca for fitness, with lots of classes going on in the park and people enjoying a leisurely stroll.

Of course, if it isn’t on Strava – it didn’t happen!

This is definitely a run I’d do again, although it’s always fun exploring new places! but it’s a decent undulating loop, perfect for a quick shake-out through one of the finest neighbourhoods in Delco. And as always, works up a nice thirst and hunger for Barnaby’s Havertown

Eagles Pep Rally

7th February 2025

Woke early to watch the news and was great to see everyone so hyped with all the excitement of the pep rally’s as the city prepared for one of the biggest Super Bowls in history for the Philadelphia Eagles. Little did we know at this point we were going to get on tele like the ‘Equador Eagle Man!’

So up and out early to head to Xfinity at the Linc to soak up all the tremendous atmosphere! It was freezing cold, and there was lots of waiting around between ‘takes’ but we wasn’t going to miss out on an opportunity like this! It was 7.45am and the place was buzzing!

The Mayor of Philadelphia joined the celebrations!

Xfinity bar is a great place to warm up between filming shots…. it’s tough being a wannabe movie star.

Cheerleders and marching bands adding to the fun…. (no photos would ever do this day justice) all I’ll say is GO ******* BIRDS!!!!

It’s strange because every time I’m at the Linc, I’m always just as overwhelmed as the first time. The sheer size of the place is just incredible, and I get this weird anxiety that I’m not going to appreciate it as well as I should. Despite this, every single time I have such fantastic experiences…and most certainly ones I’ll never forget.

Anyway, it was a superb morning, attending my first ever Eagles pep rally and making so many new friends. Such a great vibe, and so enjoyable seeing so many fans super pumped in anticipation for Sunday! (and to get their faces on the Today Show ) 😊

Boozy Suzy’s Brewery Tour of Delco

6th Feb 2025

My first visit was to Sterling Pig Brewery, 609 W State St, Media, PA 19063, United States and this is such a fun spot!

After sampling the Technicolour Haze IPA at Barnaby’s Havertown the night before, I was curious to find out more about this local brewery. So we went there for lunch with JP and I got the beer flight, variety is the spice of life no? I will say though, the Technicolour Haze has is my personal favourite. Hopped with a medley of nugget, Meridian, Simcoe & City hops this full bodied brew is full of florally citrus notes. A great local craft ale, which made it to my top 3 of my Delco tour.

Stickers took pride of place on my record case

The staff there are super friendly, got chatting about Delco, and even gave us free stickers to take home! (now on my record case)

The brewery also has a great selection of good merchandise including t shirts, glasses, and coasters.

The food is also great! and the Mac n cheese is AMAZING! although, one of their main specialities are their wood-fired pizzas.

Our next stop was Iron Hill Brewery 30 E State St, Media, PA 19063, United States, which is just a few blocks away from Sterling Pig (around half a mile) so within easy walking distance for a bar crawl. A great selection of beers, and Matt the bartender is such an awesome guy and he’ll let you sample any. The Orange creamsicle IPA is a real treat! brewed with lactose and finished with blood orange puree, and has a silky-smooth mouthfeel reminiscent of creamy orange sherbet to the delight of many beer fans. One sip and you will be hooked!

We then got our driver to take us to Aston to visit 2SP Brewing 120 Concord Rd #101-103, Aston Township, PA 19014, United States. My favourite beer here is Up & Out hazy, which is a really popular one in Delco!

(More to come…. )