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Walking In London
Read our guide for Walking In London and Find and Book experiences, courses, activities and tours! Browse through the list of experiences, either instantly book onto your dates or enquire to book. All you have to do is turn up and enjoy! If you’ve got any questions about any specific experience, send a message and the providers will aim to get back to you as soon as possible. Have a specific experience in mind that we don’t have listed? No problem, drop us a message and we’ll send your quote around to hundreds of the best experience providers nationwide and come back with you the best quote, making it easy for you to make the most of your spare time!
London
Being one of the most vibrant cities in the world, London has no shortage of things to do. In fact your biggest problem is probably going to be what not to do! From historical palaces and famous landmarks to musicals and nightlife London has it all. Take an iconic open-topped bus tour, delve into the details on a walking tour, explore the stunning Royal Parks, or get active with a paddle down the Thames. Whatever floats your boat, London has the answer! Practise your climbing skills in one of the many indoor climbing walls, or jump on a train and with just a short journey be climbing in beautiful woodlands at Harrison’s Rocks. Explore one of the many rivers, like canoeing or kayaking the Thames or the River Medway for a peaceful escape. There’s also a wealth of rolling hills in Surrey, perfect for the weekend hike, bike or camp!Walking in London
There’s something about walking that helps you to experience the culture of a city unlike any other form of transport. Enabling you to take it slow, experience things at your own pace and watch those around you to get a feel for the place. With its rich history, varied and impressive architecture, iconic landmarks, green spaces and of course the River Thames, London has no shortage of fascinating and memorable walks. Explore the stunning Royal Parks, discover Victorian London, delve into the dark secrets on a Jack the Ripper walk, or simply take in the most iconic landmarks. Whatever your preference, choose a great guide to help you maximise your experience and bring the walk to life.
Is London a walkable city?
The City of London, also known as the ‘square mile’, is just 1.12sq meters and covers some of the main tourist attractions. A mile is walkable within around 20 minutes so there’s a lot of key sites to see within the City of London. However, the full length area of Greater London is 607 sq miles, which wouldn’t be practical to walk around to see more sites. With the City of London being North of the Thames, it misses key sites such as the Shard, London Bridge and the London Eye. And being around just a mile, it doesn’t include key sites west of the city (Canary Wharf and some of the best places to explore local culture like Hackney, The Flower Market, Shoreditch and Dalston). It also misses the key sites of Westminster, Big Ben, Covent Garden and Buckingham Palace. But within the London Square mile is one of London’s four World Heritage Sites, Tower Bridge, as well as St Paul’s Cathedral and some of the cities most defining skyscrapers including the two known colloquially as ‘the Gherkin’ and ‘ the Cheese Grater’.Walking along the Thames Path in London
Walking along the Thames in London is one of the most popular activities and a great way to see most of the tourist attractions and full beauty of the city, as well as often seeing many street performers and being fully immersed in the city's culture. The full length of the Thames Path is 184 miles and starts from Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton, which can take roughly 14 days to complete. For those just looking for a great way to see the city, walking the couple of miles of the Thames running through London City is a great way to do this.London Walking Tours
Being the biggest city in the UK and one of the best known cities in the World and major tourist destinations, there are no shortage of London Walking Tours. To get a full experience of the city, it’s worth doing two London Walking Tours. The first tour should be along the aforementioned route, taking in the key tourist attractions. Once you’ve seen the main sites and ticked off the bucket list must-see items, it’s then time to experience the ‘real-London’. Try a walking tour in Shoreditch or Hackney to get a sense of what culture in the capital is like. Taste local foods, visit many of the hidden gems, see the art, music, theatres and markets to see what living in the city could be like. Join one of the tens of walking tours that happen all across the city each day, with a selection of languages to choose from, themes, and areas covered. East London has a completely distinct look and feel to West London and the City of London itself, so make sure you explore the different parts of the city!
Harry Potter Walking Tour in London
Popular tourist activities include the Harry Potter Walking Tour where you couple seeing London’s icon sites with a themed walk. In all of the 8 series Harry Potter not only travels through London, a large majority of the filming was also done within London itself. On the Harry Potter Walking Tours you see some of the sites filmed within the Harry Potter series, play games such as seeing what house you’d be part of and hear facts of the books and films.The Best Free Walks in London
Being well sign-posted and having good signal, London is an excellent place for self-guided walks. However, depending on your goals, there may be merits to having a guided walk. Guided walking tours in London can give you rich information about the city, point out some of the best places and hidden gems. At a relative low cost too, they’re great value for money and are often badged as the highlight of peoples visits to London. Here’s a few key self-guided walks in London:The Thames Path City Self-guided Walk in London
An easy self-guided walk in London is simply following the Thames as your compass. Starting off at Tower Bridge on the south side of the Thames and walking to Big Ben is a just over an hour if you follow the path by the Thames. It offers a great way to take in most of the sites. Ideally you’d cross-over at multiple points to see different sites. Walk from Tower Hill to London Bridge in a westerly direction on the south side of the Thames, where you’ll come across London Bridge and Monument and the city mile up to St Pauls and the Millennium Bridge. Cross over at Millennium Bridge to see the city skyline and stay on the south side of the river heading west, you’ll come across the magnificent Tate Art Gallery, Oxo Tower, London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster. This is an hour long walk and gives you most of the tourist sites.
The Capital Ring Self-guided Walk in London
The Capital Ring Walk is another self-guided walk in London, at 78 miles long and split into 15 sections, it can be done in manageable pieces or you can just explore segments of it. As it runs around Greater London, you’ll see much more of what the city is like. You’ll walk through boroughs that give you a sense of the more suburban lifestyles, which show you some of the most stunning sights too, like The Olympic Park all the way to Richmond. You can even down a certificate from the Transport For London website for achieving the walk!London’s Bridges Self-guided Walk in London
One of the great self-guided walks in London, is the London Bridges walk. There are differing routes and lengths but a common place to start is Putney Bridge in West London and cover 16 Historic bridges to the stunning Tower Bridge over 25km. Cross over bridges as you go and get to see a vast changing of areas, from Putney which is more green and a key rowing and watersports location, through to Battersea and the new Battersea Power Station redevelopment. The Half-way point is at Vauxhall, with a distinct culture within its own boundaries, before heading back off towards Westminster, the city mile, London Bridge and finally - Tower Bridge. It’s a challenging walk for many but allows you to see a huge amount of the city in just a day.
Self-guided Walks around London’s Parks
Three of the most popular parks in London are amazing places to explore. Richmond Park in West London offers a 10km loop with a very high chance of seeing deer and other wildlife, it can feel like you’re nowhere near London (except when you get the occasional glimpse of the city in the skyline). Hampstead Heath has a circular walk which gives you a complete panoramic view of the city sky-line once climbing Parliament Hill. And of course, the city's main park - Hyde Park offers a walk where you can come across the Serpentine Lake with boats for hire, open-water swimmers and if it’s a hot day, many people sun-bathing. Both these parks can be very busy in Summer, so for the full sense of tranquility and to maximise the nature and wildlife that can be seen, head there early in the morning and experience the best of the parks.Self-guided Walk from East to West London
For each of the Queen's 60 years of reign, the Jubilee Greenway has a kilometer. It was completed in 2012 as part of the Olympic Games to link together the major games sites. Starting off at Buckingham Palace and running the entire way to The Olympic Park in East London, before looping back on itself, South of the Thames. It’s a great walk because it covers off many of the key sites to see in London including: Kensington Palace, Little Venice, Chapel Market, Victoria Park, Olympic Park, O2 Arena, Greenwich Park, HMS Belfast, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Regents Park, Camden Market and Woolwich Foot Tunnel running under the Thames. It’s been split into 10 different sections by TFL for easier and more manageable chunks and as normal with the TFL walks, you can download a certificate to award yourself for completing it. Find out more at TFL
Countryside Walks near London
London is so well positioned to some of the most stunning countryside in the UK, circled by Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.Walking in London, Surrey Hills and Leith Hill
Box Hill is probably the best-known Surrey Hills destination being featured on TV in major sporting events, located just under an hour away from central London and popular with cyclists, after featuring in the 2012 Olympics road race. Easily accessible from Victoria (you can get a direct train from Victoria), this is a great entry point for those looking to get outdoors more, without committing entire weekends to travel further afield. There are some easier circuits that will still get you out for a good few hours, covering ~10km and some longer and slightly more strenuous routes that extend to over 16km and 500 metres of elevation. You can also venture slightly further over to Leith Hill, the highest point in South-East England, and take in the spectacular views back over towards Dorking and Box Hill. The National Trust offers route guidance at the main Box Hill car park where you can often pick up leaflets. The walks are well sign-posted, depending on the route you’re taking, just follow the colour arrow.
Day trips for Hiking Near London - The South Downs
The South Downs is a great day trip from London, offering epic hiking near London, that makes you feel like you’ve fully escaped the city and gone on holiday! It’s relatively easy to get to, either 2 hours in the car, around 3 hours by public transport (London Bridge to Brighton then a bus, or get a guided day tour who’ll pick you up at London and provide drop-off, taking care of all the logistics so you don’t have to). The highlights of walking in The South Downs are the stunning Seven Sisters Chalk Cliffs In West Sussex off the English Channel. The Seven Sisters Cliffs have, you could have guessed it, seven distinct hill tops. For the classic view, Start off at Cuckmere Inn and take the trail to Seaford Head Viewpoint. Be aware, it can get very busy in Summer, so going early can provide the added benefit of having a more relaxing and tranquil walk. The distance of Seaford to Eastbourne is just over 13 miles, with around 350 meters of elevation. This can typically take around 6 hours, so make sure you have enough time to get your public transport home if that's the case! There’s nice pubs to stop off at to fuel up, making it a perfect day trip from London.Hiking Near London in the Local Forests
Two of the most popular forests are Wendover Woods and Epping Forest, within close proximity to London, you’re able to hop on trains to get there and get a feeling of escaping the city behind. There’s a wealth of self-guided trails, sign-posted and you can either hire bikes nearby to explore the best routes. What’s more, they provide the important opportunity required of any great walks - the ability to stock up in a local pub with much-needed fuel.
What to Wear for Hiking?
Getting the right hill walking equipment can be the difference between a fantastic day out and 50 shades of grim, or in a worst scenario an embarrassing call to mountain rescue. So what is essential walking kit? This differs based on where you’re going hill walking and what the weather is.The climate can change very quickly in the UK, so essential walking clothing will protect you for all weathers. As one of the main hill-walking legends himself put it “There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”, Alfred Wainwright. Make sure you’ve got full body waterproofs, both a jacket and trousers. Take a carrier bag to waterproof out your bag. And add a carrier bag to protect essential items like your phone. Make sure you're wearing appropriate footwear for the terrain. And don’t underestimate how much of a beating they can take climbing hills, especially with rocks or scrambling. Bring spare warm layers such as a hat, gloves, neck scarf and spare fleece and warm clothes (enough to make you feel warm when not on the move).
What to Pack for Hiking or Long Walks?
Depending on the conditions of your walk you’ll need to pack differently. If you’re going on a route that’s not well marked make sure you have the means to navigate.- Navigation tools: a map with a compass (even if it’s a backup to your digital tools), for the worst case scenario of the digital navigation tools running out of battery.
- Mobile phone: fully charged. Don’t rinse through the battery using instagram in case you need to call for emergencies.
- Take a good backpack, preferably with a built in hydration system so you can constantly take on water as you move, making it easier to stay hydrated throughout the day.
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