Walking the Capital Ring

Taking the river in the East as a starting point, as we did, the ring begins in Woolwich, at the southern end of the foot tunnel. To give an idea of the route it passes through Grove Park, Streatham, Richmond, Greenford, Hendon, Stoke Newington and Hackney Wick before finding the river again at the north end of the Woolwich foot tunnel.

Some driven and energetic people, perhaps with more free time that I currently seem to have, appear to complete this walk in short order. I have not. My friend Tom Holloway (who takes the credit for the idea) and I have done this very gradually over the last 7 years. That may mean we’ve forgotten lots about the experience on the way, but we’ve also aged as we’ve picked our way around, seen our children grow from tiny babies to characterful small people, and been able to stop in more pubs and cafes than would be sensible if you were doing this in a week. That last part may not be true, but I’m going to cling on to the notion.

I’m going to share a few highlights, but perhaps the most interesting and rewarding thing is how this route affords you the chance to see a huge cross section of London, her landscape and architecture, which never touches the centre. For obvious reasons we’re so used to journeys which take us into & out of the centre, whereas this has such a different feel.