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From towpaths to off-road routes and riverbanks, Walking London’s Waterways will show you the best of the city’s waterfront areas and introduce you to aquatic areas you never knew were here. Sunny periods with a light breeze. This is one of the most countrified sections on the Loop, brushing the Kent boundary. It does not start like that though, with the first few miles split 50-50 between suburban housing and wood- or park-land. Things change at Farnborough village, which still looks like a village, just about: there are fields and farms hereabouts, and the Wilberforce Oak (a wizened old thing, now), where the reformer hatched Britain’s abolition of slavery in conversation with then prime minister Pitt the Younger. Part of this became Walk 25 in my London book.
Shepherd spent a lifetime exploring the Cairngorms on foot. This impressive mountain range attracts climbers from around the world, yet this is not a book about climbing. Dismissing macho Munro Bagging as “sterile”, Shepherd instead ventures out in all seasons and all weathers (mostly alone and sometimes barefoot) walking not on to the mountains, but “into” them. It is the meditative rhythm of walking that unveils for her the essence of the Cairngorms – mountains that she comes to know as intimately as old friends. Rain till mid-afternoon. You set off through Bushy Park, where you might see deer. It’s one of London’s great Royal Parks, a wonderful open space much of which is left semi-wild, though the latter part of the Loop in the park passes through the more formal Woodland Gardens. With Home Park, it features in Walk 16 of my London book. Rainy morning, dry after lunch. Three golf courses, so it can’t be a perfect day, but much else that is interesting. Oxhey Woods provide one of the longest continuously-wooded sections, soon after which comes a good view south and the literary associations of Pinnerwood House. After golf course 2 you follow the Roman era earthwork of Grim’s Dyke for a while before passing through the grounds of Bentley Priory, HQ of Fighter Command in World War II and (in 2002, not now) still operational. Next on my list of London walking books is The Capital Ring. As the name implies, this book covers the famous 78-mile (125-kilometer) circular route around inner London. You’ll walk by London Bridge, the Clink Prison Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the Rose Theatre, the Queen Square Park and Garden, and Southwark Cathedral.
Routes
Each of the 50 cards comes with instructions for a self-guided walk in London on one side and a detailed map of the route on the other. They include numbered stopping points, so they’re easy to follow. When living in central London it can be difficult to remember that it’s quite a hilly city, and a new guidebook to the hills of London has been written showing off the best spots to get vistas of the London skyline. The book is full of walks that will let you explore various London neighborhoods. It’s fully illustrated with hundreds of color photographs and detailed maps, so it makes for good armchair walking, too.
There are a lot of candid descriptions of the less idyllic stretches, as you’re never that far from a busy road in London, and the description of the concreted canal in Lewisham as the lowest point in that walk may have been a reference to its height or appearance. You can decide on that.Each of the 15 sections of this London walk features local landmarks like the Thames Barrier, Eltham Palace, Richmond Park, Oxleas Meadows, and the London Olympic Park. The book is a great companion guide as you walk the ring. I had lunch at the then Good Beer Guide-listed Vine pub, but although it’s great a pub pays attention to its beer, its food was rudimentary – no puddings! Now it’s an Indo-Chinese fusion restaurant, sigh. There’s a broad pathless meadow on the way up to the M1 before you skirt round Aldenham Reservoir and cross fields with good trees north of Elstree village. The station lies across golf course 3, not in the village but the more workaday suburb of Borehamwood; you are only passing through. I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide to the best London walking books and that it’s inspired you to head out and discover more of the city. Whatever your interests, I’m sure you’ll have fun exploring. There are ten walks to follow, or you can mix and match to fit in with where you end up on the day.
Next on my list of the best London walking books is 33 Walks in London That You Shouldn’t Miss. This book features unusual places and under-the-radar areas of London, so it’s ideal if you like getting away from the busy parts of the city. As with any walking guide, they tend to appeal to people who want to follow a set path to a pre-determined location, whereas I am more of an ambler around town. That is more relaxed, but I wonder now how many vantage points I’ve accidentally missed on my perambulations because I didn’t know there was one a few hundred yards off from where I was walking. Yes, you do, otherwise you won’t be able to plug in your electronics/phone/lifelines. I recommend this one, which is all-in-one so you can use it in other countries.
Similar to The Capital Ring, The London Loop is another of the best London walking books for long-distance London walks. This book covers the London Outer Orbital Path (LOOP), a 140-mile (225-kilometer) ring around the city.
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