Explore the hidden parts of London
LONDON is the best city in the world – precisely because it does not feel like a city in places.
The capital is full of parks, walking routes and green spaces. There are so many of them you will never be done exploring.
The Woodland Trust is encouraging the public to discover the hidden gems that are “urban woods” this winter and one of them is in east London, but there are also attractive walks – which can be enjoyed at any time of year – in the north, west and south of the city.
Check out our list of some of the best walks:
This walk starts following an old railway route and ends at the stunning sight of Alexandra Palace.
It has a bit of everything, offering views towards the Gherkin, the City and Canary Wharf, while also passing through parks and residential Victorian terraces.
A stroll along the Regent’s Canal offers one of the most pleasing walks in our wonderful city.
An almost direct route from London Zoo to Camden Lock, this walk is usually quite quiet.
When the weather is fine it’s particularly nice, especially if the canal barges and boats are out.
Little Venice is situated a short walking distance between Edgware Road and Warwick Avenue, so starting at Camden may be easier.
However, if you want to end the exercise with a bite to eat, the markets and street food stalls of Camden could be a better climax to the walk.
The gardens of Kenwood House are the perfect place to chill with the family, or to enjoy a meandering, lazy stroll.
You can explore 112 acres of glorious parkland.
The house, an English Heritage property that is free to visit, sits on the crest of one of the most popular open spaces in the capital, Hampstead Heath.
You will find sculptures and more in the beautiful green spaces.
In contrast to the natural wildness of Hampstead Heath, the park around Kenwood is a designed landscape created by Sir Humphrey Repton.
There is something to enjoy here in every season, whatever the weather.
This wood has been selected by the Woodland Trust as one of a number of urban woods to explore in the UK.
The idea behind encouraging people to visit urban woods is to show that there are green spaces and woodlands surprisingly close to our biggest cities.
We all know London has many hidden gems when it comes to parks, but woods are perhaps not as widely known.
Joyden’s Wood is only 13 miles south-east of central London, near Bexleyheath and Dartford.
The wood provides greenery all year round with large conifer trees and is great for budding archaeologists who can hunt for remains of Iron Age roundhouses.
Who knows what you will discover in the woods?
Several walking websites encourage ramblers to explore Bethnal Green in East London.
You can visit Weavers Fields, Hackney City Farm, the Regents Canal and Victoria Park in a day of exploring the area.
City farms are particularly good for entertaining the kids.
Remember how happy we all were in 2012, when the Olympic Games put London at the centre of the universe?
With 560 acres of parklands, there is lots to explore even now at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. There are four trails that give you the chance to take in the many sights and sounds of the park
You can pick up copies of the free Parkland and Wildlife and London 2012 trails at information points located at the entrance to the park.
The Vanguard Way is a 66-mile trail which stretches from East Croydon to the south coast at Newhaven. It passes through Selsdon, Warlingham and Oxted. It’s perfect for both long and short walks.
Large chunks of the Vanguard Way are farmland, so youngsters who enjoy seeing farm animals should love the route.
If you are planning a shorter walk, you can enter the Vanguard Way in Selsdon and walk approximately one mile to an exit on Coombe Lane.
The start can be reached in five minutes from East Croydon station.
Morden Hall was once a country estate but has been a National Trust site since 1941.
The River Wandle weaves through Morden Hall Park, which dates back to the 1770s.
The park provides a habitat for cormorants and herons, along with around 100 other species of birds. It is an ideal spot for bird watching and there are also more than 2,000 types of roses in the park.
The Narnia Trail running through Banstead Woods, a short drive from Croydon, features figurines of the characters from C.S. Lewis’ famous Chronicles of Narnia collection.
The surrounding woodland is dense in places creating a feeling that you could be in Narnia – if you have a good imagination.
Characters such as Lucy and Aslan have been carved into deadwood across the trail.
It begins at Holly Lane car park and is well suited to a family weekend visit.
West London
Bedford Park to Chiswick Park
This three-mile walk explores a Victorian residential community (Bedford Park) and a 21st century business community (Chiswick Park).
It begins at Turnham Green Station (District line) and finishes at Gunnersbury (District and Overground).
There are places for refreshments along Chiswick High Road.
A tour of Fulham could be a day out in itself.
A walk around the area could take in the site of a former polo ground, market gardens which supplied grand houses with exotic plants and trees and the location where women prisoners were housed in the nineteenth century.
Westfield shopping centre might be the only reason some people head to Shepherd’s Bush, but Shepherd’s Bush itself is worth exploring. Discover the green, then walk to the site of the 1908 Olympics, through a hidden Japanese Garden and to Lime Grove where many films and television programmes were made.
Find out more details about West London walks on Caroline MacMillan’s website www.westlondonwalks.co.uk.