Free Walks in London

Once you’ve moved to London, a great way to get to know your way around is on foot. You can either just pick up an A-Z and see where the wind takes you, or you can have more of a planned route in mind. There are dozens of fascinating walks in and around London, taking in historic monuments, former residences of famous people or maybe themed walks along the Thames or around London’s parks. Here we’re going to list some guide books written about some of the more interesting walks available to you. Some of them involve pub stops along the way! If you’ve recently moved to London and the Christmas period has made you skint, then these walks are an excellent way to pass the time and enjoy living in the capital without breaking the bank!

Dickensian London – take in many of the locations featured in Charles Dickens’ books. As well as learning about the places that were so integral to the writing of Dickens, you’ll also get to find out about the development of London during the early Victorian age. You’ll come across Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, the former home of John Forster who was a great friend of Dickens’ and Lincoln’s Inn which is featured in Bleak House.

Jack the Ripper walk – take in the murder sites of prostitutes who were butchered by our country’s most famous murderer in the late 1800s. Pop into some pubs along the way to take the edge off the gore! The walk will take about 2 hours and is located in and around the Whitechapel area in the East End of London.

The Kray Twins walk- also in the East End, you’ll have undoubtedly heard of the Kray brothers, Reggie and Ronnie? The Krays were gangsters who were involved in murders, protection rackets, armed robberies, arson and violent assaults, with their most infamous period taking place during the 50s and 60s. The walk takes in their schools, boxing clubs, their old house on Vallance Road and pubs that they used to frequent, including the Blind Beggar at Whitechapel where Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell in 1966. I would highly recommend doing this walk in conjunction with watching the 1990 film, ‘The Krays’ as portrayed by Spandau Ballet twins Martin and Gary Kemp. The film is a fantastic account of their lives and you’ll appreciate the walk much more if you’ve learnt about their background beforehand.

CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) have created several London Walks in their London Pub Walks by Camra book. The book contains around 30 walks of varying lengths, includes clear colour maps and a description of each pub mentioned en route. Rather than walk around touristy London, this walking guide allows you to sample ‘real’ London and quench your thrist with a variety of real ales along the way.

London’s Waterside Walks – our entire city is built around one natural feature – the River Thames, which runs through the middle of the capital. You can’t avoid it, but why would you want to when you could spend a very pleasant Sunday afternoon meandering along it? However, this book does not only concentrate on the Thames, but also on the manmade, yet picturesque canals in London. The walks in the ‘London’s Waterside Walks’ book, last for around 2 hours and as well as including maps, they also mention places of interest that you might want to visit on the way, complete with ticket prices and opening times.

Walking Shakespeare’s London – although Stratford-upon-Avon might be famous as being Shakespeare’s birthplace and place of rest, let’s not forget that Shakespeare spent a great deal of his adult life in London and felt incredibly at home here. 20 walks have been put together in this book that combine interest in the 16^th century, Westminster, St. Pauls, the Globe Theatre, the Tower of London and Hampton Court with the theatres of modern London.

Finally, Time Out have put together yet more of their excellent guides in Volume One and Volume Two of Time Out London Walks that combine history, beautiful scenery and fascinating architecture from a range of centuries.