Roehampton Vale
Start and finish
Beside the Thames clubhouse
On the west side of Beverley Brook, just across the brick bridge by the Thames Hare & Hounds clubhouse. Every race starts and finishes here.
Out across the brook, up to the Windmill, home through the Butts
All three races start and finish beside Thames Hare & Hounds’ headquarters. They share the opening miles and the run home; the Gentlemen add a long northern loop that takes them almost to Tibbets Corner and back.
Follow the lettered route
Gentlemen’s Race · 7½ miles
- Start
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- V
- W
- X
- Y
- Z
- Z1
- Z2
- Finish
Ladies’ and Old Blues’ Races · 4 miles
- Start
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- V
- W
- X
- Y
- Z
- Z1
- Z2
- Finish
Exact locations of every lettered point are in Thames Hare & Hounds’ course points list ↗.
Photography: Graham Smith Photography, 2025
Where to watch
Four landmarks, each marked on the course plan above.
Beverley Brook
The water splash
Between A and B
Reached shortly after the start, as runners cross Beverley Brook from the Commons Extension playing fields. The image of Varsity day. A new water splash was used in 2025.
Wimbledon Common
The Windmill
At L and M
A good viewing point: the Ladies’ race passes once and the Gentlemen’s race three times. The café there serves refreshments.
Queen’s Mere
The Butts
Between Y and Z
The Butts are always the muddiest part of the course. Only a mile or so from the finish, the boggy ground saps the strength of the toughest runners.
Please: keep clear of the racing line, allow time to move between points and follow marshals’ instructions. Paths are wet and slippery in winter. The Common is shared with a golf course whose fairways are not always obvious, so watch where you walk. If you follow on a bicycle, keep to the cycle routes, and keep off the pitches on the Memorial Playing Fields.
On the Common since 1896
1896The first race on Wimbledon Common. Thames Hare & Hounds stage it from the King’s Head in Roehampton, down to Beverley Brook and across the water splash.
1945After Horton Kirby and the wartime races, the race returns to Roehampton on a new course that stays entirely on the Common.
1975The Races move to Thames Hare & Hounds’ new headquarters on the Memorial Playing Fields at Roehampton Vale.
1992The first of several extensions to the Ladies’ course.
2000Today’s courses are introduced, and the Ladies’ course reaches its current 4 miles.
Coming to watch?
The course loops back on itself, so one walk across the Common gives you several views of each race. Travel, timings and facilities are on the Races page.