Doing tourism means walking and some of the best walks in London are worth the extra energy you spend. Exploring this capital on foot might help you appreciate better the things that make it so charming. By doing this you will get to know better how the local life really is and you will find more pubs, bars and things to do.
You can find a lot of places in London with scenery that will take your breath away and will be worth a few photos. The best about this is that most of them are inside the city, so you won’t have to walk very far. On the other hand, this can be the perfect opportunity to boost the aesthetic of your feed.
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The Line
Maybe this is the perfect route for you if you think of yourself as an artsy person and you daydream a lot. The complete route runs from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the Greenwich Peninsula and it’s a contemporary art walk full of installations. Many of the sculptures were made for famous artists, as Joanna Rajkowska and Alex Chinnecks.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
This Olympic legacy has a lot of art pieces and trails to explore that are worth the hours you could spend here. There are a lot of famous installations throughout the park, like the commemoration of 9/11 made by Miya Ando, one of the most complex tile murals in the world. Another one is Keith Wilson’s Post in the Waterworks River.
After watching and photographing all of the art pieces, you can enjoy the wildlife scattered in the park. If you are lucky you could see otters, kestrels, and a variety of colourful fishes and flowers on the side of the routes. In case you walk until late, don’t worry, every route is fully illuminated and there are guards around the park.
St James’s Park
As the oldest park in London, this is a great place to get to know the British wildlife without leaving the city. Here you can pet the squirrels and enjoy one of the staples of this park, the pelicans, the oldest residents of the park, and a tourist attraction. All of these animals are accustomed to humans and you can give them food without any guilt.
The park is near St. James’s Palace and Buckingham Palace, making this a hot spot for tourists. This doesn’t mean you can’t take pictures but this park is busier than many others, so you might want to come here in the late afternoon.
Battersea Park
Located in the southwest, this is one of the best walks in London because you can see a lot without so many people. Here you can find a lot of green venues, impressive art installations, and a wide view of the London Peace Pagoda. One of the sculptures that you must see is the Barbara Hepworth that is facing the Pump House Gallery.
Other hidden gems inside the park are the gardens it has. The subtropical garden in the west of the lake is perfect for relaxing for a while after a busy day, and the best is the exotic flowers you can see. The other garden is the Old English Garden, a hidden space ideal for enjoying a cup of tea.
The Jubilee Greenway
We spoke of this place in our guide about things to do in Little Venice but we can’t help to mention this place again. Being one of the best walks in London – and one of the most gorgeous inside the city – this is a place you must go at least once. Very quiet and peaceful, you can truly enjoy the natural scenery around the canal.
After you finish your exploration in the Regent’s Canal, you could go to the London Zoo nearby. If you want something to eat or drink, Camden is the destination you want to go to and is fairly close to.
Parkland Walk
This is the longest local Nature Reserve in London and one of the best spots if you love nature and need a break from the city, inside the city. During your stroll, at every side of the route, you could see hedgehogs in their habitat, foxes, or Dinky Muntjac deers. The route is 4km long and connects Finsbury Park with the Alexandra Palace, iconic places you must visit in London.
Morden Hall Park
Before being a Park, Morden Hall used to be a country state built in the late 1770s but was bequeathed to the National Trust. If you have your camera ready, here you can capture Cormorants and Herons, and maybe another 100 species of birds. Thanks to the wide variety of birds you can see here, this is a favourite spot for bird watching.
The park is open all year round, there’s no entry fee and you can enjoy every green spot until you have enough. Not many tourists come here so this park is very quiet and, overall, an ideal place to pass the time
Thames Path
You probably won’t be able to explore the entire park in one day, but it’s worth the multiples visit you will need to do. Located in central London, you can do cross through its many routes to cross the heart of the city. From here you can go to many iconic places of London, like the South Bank, the London eye or many local theatres, galleries, and restaurants.
Inside the park, you can visit the Albert Bridge or you could take some photos in the Hampton Court Palace Gardens. These gardens offer a marvellous view of nature cultivated to be a piece of art, and if this wasn’t enough, you can go to the Amazonian Growths of Kew Gardens.
The Wandle Trail
Finally, you could spend your day on this trail around the River Wandle. We recommend that you do this walk one day you want peace and tranquillity, after visiting everything you wanted to see in South London. The flora and fauna here are quite colourful, and everything contrasts with the calm waters of the river.
