Hampstead and the Royal Parks : Green City Spine

Route:
Hampstead Heath - Primrose Hill - Regent's Park - Hyde Park - Green Park - St.James' Park -The River Thames

Brief description:
You start in the wilds of Hampstead Heath and end by the Houses of Parliament on the River Thames with a maximum of ten minutes on roads between each park. Who would have though you can spend 2 hours walking in green spaces in the heart of the city. Forget the remote London Ring and London Loop, this is central London at it's best.

Length:
Estimate of about 6 miles / 10km

Time to walk:
2.5 hours, without breaks. (But an ice-cream, pint and picnic on the way help immeasurably.)

Submitted by:
Bridget

The Royal Parks : Hyde Park, Green Park, St James Park and Kensington Gardens

These 4 Royal Parks are all in Zone 1, and are all connected. Just use the A-Z to devise a walk.

For example, starting at High Street Kensington tube:

• Kensington Gardens,
• the Serpentine,
• Hyde Park,
• cross Hyde Park Corner
• Green Park
• pass Buckingham Palace
• St James Park
• under Admiralty Arch
• finish in Trafalger Square

The complete circumference of the parks is 8 miles (12 km).

Thames Path

The Thames Path is a National Long Distance Trail which runs all the way through London, from Thames Barrier in the south east, past Greenwich and Tower Bridge, through central London, then out to the west past Hammersmith, Putney, Kew, Richmond, Hampton Court, Walton to Weybridge and beyond.

All this places have tube or train stations, and there are many tourist attractions along they way (e.g. Tower Bridge, St Pauls, Kew Gardens, Ham House, Syon Park, Hampton Court Palace). Just use the London A-Z and try a stretch. There are many riverside pubs along the way.

Outside the London A-Z area is the stretch from Hampton Court to Walton (station) to Weybridge (station). The stretch after Weybridge is less interesting. It starts to get pretty again after Windsor.

For a different walk, start from Tower Hill tube. Go past the Tower of London and over Tower Bridge. Turn right and follow the southbank along the river to Westminster Bridge (Parliament). Cross the bridge to Westminster tube.

Another nice stretch is walking west from Hammersmith. The river is 5 mins walk from the tube. Continue to Putney, Kew or Richmond.

The route is well signposted, and its hard to get lost - just follow the riverbank.