Portsmouth is welcoming the return of the south’s leading running event, Great South Run, on Saturday 15 October and Sunday 16 October.
Portsmouth City Council’s advice to visitors, residents and businesses is to plan journeys in advance and consider alternative ways to travel as the event attracts 25,000 runners to our streets from Portsmouth and beyond. The 10-mile route will feature seven music zones and spectators are welcome. Starting at Clarence Esplanade, the route journeys through to Old Portsmouth and Historic Dockyard, returning to Southsea via Canoe Lake.
Those travelling to the event are encouraged to use the Park & Ride PR3 bus, which will be running a shuttle service to and from Southsea and stopping at City Centre South during key hours on Sunday. One ticket is needed per parked vehicle, allowing up to five passengers shuttle bus access all day for £4. Services will be every 20 minutes on Saturday and 10 minutes on Sunday. The full schedule including which services have alternative stops due to road closures is available here.
Marshalls will be assisting in diverting traffic at the road closure points. If you are using the bus services over the weekend, please note there will be significant diversions which may affect your journey. Please visit First Bus or Stagecoach respectively for service updates.
All plug-in electric vehicle charge points affected by road closures will be switched off on Sunday 16 October between 5am – 4pm. Please do not leave your car charging overnight if you are included in the road closures on Sunday.
The following roads will be closed between 9.45am – 4pm Sunday 16 October:
Pier Road – from Clarence Esplanade to Duisburg Way roundabout
Gordon Road
Victoria Avenue
Victoria Avenue Spur
Pembroke Road
High Street, Old Portsmouth – Between Pembroke Road and St George’s Road
Museum Road
Cambridge Road
Burnaby Road – Between Cambridge Road and Park Road
Park Road
St George’s Road, Portsea
Ordnance Row
The Hard
Queen Street – From its junction with The Hard to its junction with Wickham Street
Wickham Street
Clock Street – From its junction with Wickham Street to its junction with The Hard
Bonfire Corner
Cross Street
Queen Street – From its junction with Wickham Street to its junction with Alfred Road
Alfred Road
Bishop Crispian Way – From the bus gate to its junction with Alfred Road
Anglesea Road
Market Way – Between Unicorn Gate and Hope Street roundabout
King Richard I Road
Winston Churchill Avenue
Isambard Brunel Road – Between Alec Rose Lane and Winston Churchill Avenue
Lord Montgomery Way
Hampshire Terrace
Landport Terrace
Kings Terrace
Jubilee Terrace
Bellevue Terrace
Southsea Terrace
Kings Road – Between Great Southsea Street and Landport Terrace
Western Parade
Duisburg Way
Clarence Parade
Serpentine Way (Southsea Common)
South Parade
Lennox Road South – Between Auckland Road East and Clarence Parade
Burgoyne Road – Between Clarence Road and South Parade
St Helen’s Parade
Eastern Parade
St George’s Road, Eastney
Cromwell Road
Henderson Road – Between Highland Road and Bransbury Road
Henderson Road – Westbound carriageway between Bransbury Road and Ferry Road (Eastbound under two-way light control)
Henderson Road – Between Ferry Road and Eastney Esplanade
Eastney Esplanade
Southsea Esplanade
Southsea Esplanade Link Road and The Ocean At The End Of The Lane
Additional Closures
From 6am Monday 10 October – 4pm Sunday 16 October
Clarence Esplanade – From Avenue de Caen to junction with Jack Cockerill Way
Jack Cockerill Way – From Clarence Esplanade to its junction with Clarence Parade and South Parade
Jack Cockerill Way Spur – From Clarence Esplanade to its junction with Jack Cockerill Way
From 8am Friday 14 October – 4pm Sunday 16 October
Clarence Esplanade – From South Parade and Jack Cockerill Way
Victoria Avenue Spur
Saturday 15 October
Clarence Esplanade – Between Avenue de Caen and Pier Road (from 6am)
The Dell (from 6am)
Pier Road (6am – 12.10pm)
Avenue De Caen (from 6am)
Western Parade – Between Clarence Parade and Southsea Terrace (9am – 1pm)
Sunday 16 October
Clarence Esplanade – Between Avenue de Caen and Pier Road (until 4pm)
The Dell (until 4pm)
Pier Road (until 12.30pm)
Avenue De Caen (until 4pm)
Vehicles normally parked in this area should be moved outside the area before the restrictions come into place. For a full list of the roads this includes visit Great South Run (TTRO 180/2022) – Portsmouth City Council.
Canoe Lake, Pyramids, D-Day, Seafront, the Esplanade, as well as Broad Street and The Harbour car parks in Old Portsmouth will not be accessible during the event and will re-open once participants have moved from the area and it is safe to re-open them. You can find information about car parks at www.portsmouth.gov.uk. If you are arriving later and need to leave early, please use city centre car parks or the Park and Ride shuttle service.
Southsea Common will be available on both the Saturday and Sunday of the weekend as a car park, if you are participating in the run this will be the closest location to the start line as well as other facilities for the event. Car parking charges will be £10 for one car all day. Please note that you would need to arrive before 9.30am on Sunday 16 October if you wish to park at Southsea Common, as the roads will be closed from 9.45am. Once safe to do so the car park will re-open. Opening times are Saturday 15 October from 7am and Sunday 16 October from 6am.
Travel advice this weekend
- Plan your journey in advance
- Walk or cycle where possible
- Rent a Beryl bike* – Portsmouth | Beryl
- Rent a Voi e-scooter* – Voi Scooters – Reimagine your city
- Catch a train – com/plan-my-journey– you can then get from Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea or Fratton stations by:
- cycling 10 minutes (personal or Beryl stations close to all stations)
- walking 35 minutes
- Consider catching the Gosport Ferry to Portsmouth Harbour – Home | Gosport Ferry
- Consider catching the Hayling Ferry – Hayling Ferry and then bus number 25 to the seafront
- Travel from the Isle of Wight –Wightlink | Isle of Wight ferries – Wightlink Ferries
*The Beryl bikeshare scheme can only be used by people who are at least 16 years old. Docking stations affected by road closures will be closed during the event accordingly – please check the app for details.
**Rental e-scooters can only be used by people who are at least 18 years old and hold a driving licence or provisional driving licence. Riders must only ride on roads, cycle paths and shared-use paths and never with another person on the e-scooter. There will be a temporary large rack in Palmerston Road/Clarendon Road to accommodate the run as many Southsea stations will be deactivated for the event – please refer to the Voi app for details. Pavement riding is not permitted. Privately-owned e-scooters remain illegal, except for use on private land and with the land-owner’s permission.
Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said
The Great South Run is a wonderful event, and we are looking forward to welcoming runners and spectators to Portsmouth. We encourage the public to choose sustainable transport where viable and to be considerate of our city.
“I wish all participants the best of luck and am looking forward to seeing the joy that these events bring to Portsmouth.
For general information about visiting Portsmouth visit visitportsmouth.co.uk. For more information about the Great South Run visit greatrun.org/events/great-south-run.
For live Portsmouth travel updates follow Twitter @portsmouthroads