His debut came in a 2006 League Cup second round tie against Accrington Stanley, in which he scored a penalty in the shootout, won 6–5 by Watford.
In March 2007, Parkes was called up to the England under-18 squad by manager Brian Eastick, making his debut in the 4–1 win against Holland.
[3] In November of that year he captained Watford U20s away to Inter Milan, against a side that included Hernan Crespo, Adriano, Walter Samuel and Olivier Dacourt.
[8] In August 2012 he joined Chelmsford City and signed a contract at Melbourne Park, however in October 2012 he left by mutual consent and joined his hometown club Hemel Hempstead Town moving into midfield where he made 40 appearances in the 2012–13 season, scoring 12 goals (6 in the league) and captaining the side to the play-off finals.
In 2014-15 Parkes captained Hemel Hempstead to their highest league position of 69th in the Conference South, winning 2 Cup competitions and scoring 30 goals in 56 appearances.