London

LONDONSTARTER

Bankside Before the Stalls Fill

≈ 1,400 steps0.7 mi · about 2 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.

Start under the iron roof of Borough Market while the traders are still setting out, walk the river west past the timber theatre, and end halfway across the footbridge. Two flat hours; the market is shut on Mondays.

LONDONSTARTER

First Light at Westminster

≈ 1,900 steps0.9 mi · about 2 hoursStarter · 3 stops · 500 credStart where you live.

Cross Westminster Bridge from the south, stand in the square where the statues face Parliament, then walk up Whitehall to the fountains in Trafalgar Square. Two hours on foot, and much better before nine in the morning.

LONDONSTANDARD

Crowns, Gravel and Green

≈ 5,500 steps2.7 mi · about 3.5 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

The ceremonial spine of London walked end to end on gravel and grass: the palace forecourt, the processional road, the lake bridge, the arch at Hyde Park Corner and the corner where people still stand and argue. Half a day.

LONDONSTANDARD

Lamplight in the West End

≈ 2,500 steps1.2 mi · about 3 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

An evening walk through the tight streets between Covent Garden and Piccadilly, taking in a sundial pillar, a painted courtyard, a market portico, a gate with gold dragons and a fountain everyone calls by the wrong name. Three hours after dark.

LONDONSTANDARD

The Square Mile on Foot

≈ 4,000 steps1.8 mi · about 3.5 hoursStandard · 5 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

The City of London from the cathedral steps to the river, through the medieval yard, the Bank junction and the painted Victorian arcade. Half a day; weekdays have the crowds, weekends have the quiet.

LONDONSTANDARD

West of the Park

≈ 4,000 steps + 1.9 mi by car2.0 mi on foot · about 3.5 hoursStandard · 4 stops · 600 credOne trip earns it.

Kensington Gardens at the water end, then west and north into the painted houses of Portobello Road and the canal basin where the narrowboats moor. Half a day; Saturday is the big market day.

LONDONADVANCED

East End Market Day

≈ 11,500 steps5.4 mi · about 7 hoursAdvanced · 7 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

A full day east, from the flower stalls on a Sunday morning through the brewery yards and curry houses of Brick Lane, out along the canal to the lock beside Victoria Park and into the Olympic Park. Seven legs on foot and towpath; Sunday makes the most of it.

LONDONADVANCED

Greenwich and the Bend in the River

≈ 5,000 steps2.4 mi · about 7 hoursAdvanced · 7 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

A full day on the south-east bend of the Thames: the view from the Isle of Dogs, the tiled tunnel under the river, the market, the naval college courtyards, a working quay and two hills in the park. Seven legs, all on foot once you are across.

LONDONADVANCED

The Ring of High Ground

≈ 6,500 steps + 67 mi by car3.1 mi on foot · 3 days or moreAdvanced III · 11 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

The hardest set London holds: eleven free viewpoints on the hills that ring the basin, from Chingford in the north-east to Perivale in the west. Two long days with a car or an all-zone travelcard, and clear weather decides whether it is worth doing at all.

LONDONADVANCED

Upstream: Putney to Hampton Court

≈ 11,500 steps + 11 mi by car5.4 mi on foot · 1 day or moreAdvanced II · 9 stops · 800 credGetting there is not the hard part.

Two days following the Thames west out of the city, from the boat-race start at Putney through the river villages of Chiswick and Kew to the lock footbridges and meadows above Richmond. Nine legs; you will want trains or a car between some of them.